Our Web Premiere series is back with three brand new commissions by Becky Turro, Patrick Holcomb, and Mario Godoy! This November, we held our first digital new music marathon where we released these 3 web premieres in 3 days for a live online audience around the world. We premiered these works and recorded these videos at Connecticut Summerfest this June and have loved performing them around the country ever since. Akropolis is grateful to Connecticut Summerfest for commissioning these works and for giving us the opportunity to mentor and collaborate with each composer that resulted in the creation of three stunning pieces. We hope you enjoy each new work for reed quintet, and to watch more new music, please subscribe to and visit our YouTube channel here.

Thaw by Becky Turro

Thaw is inspired by a trip Becky and her girlfriend took to Acadia National Park, Maine in early March. Each movement is about a specific part of Acadia they encountered during their time in the national park. The first movement, “Hyperborea,” was inspired by Cadillac Mountain, seen in the aftermath of a snowstorm that arrived on their first day there. The second movement is titled “Echo Lake,” which is also a place within Acadia. This movement begins with a smooth, frozen texture that slowly thaws and melts away as the sun comes out. The third movement, titled “Kaleidoscope Cove,” is the most flowing and bright, and characterizes the ocean dancing and crashing against the orange cliffs. Chronologically, the movements move from frozen to melted, thawing into the arrival of spring.

The Sun Rising by Patrick Holcomb

The Sun Rising borrows its title from John Donne’s aubade of the same name. In Donne’s poem, the speaker mockingly chastises the sun, knowing that the coming of the day means that he will have to leave his lover’s side in bed. Although Donne’s poem has a much lighter tone than Patrick’s piece, both works have in common the themes of leaving home and the passage of time. The piece is a manifestation of Patrick’s intense feelings of sadness over the end of his time at Ithaca College and fear over the start of the next chapter in his life. The conclusion of the piece represents his acceptance that although the sun has risen and his time at Ithaca has come to an end, the sun always sets, and he will be back again someday.

create. process. by Mario Godoy

create. process. is a reflection on the act of creation. Every new work begins with a small seed of an idea that grows, evolves, and changes with the artist’s mindset and thought process. There is an exciting energy that emerges when the work begins to take shape, but that can quickly devolve into crippling self-doubt. Often times making art takes determination and the willingness to show up and keep trying, even when your mind is telling you what you are doing isn’t good enough. Hopefully—usually—that hard work leads you to more moments of inspiration and something you are proud of in the end. This piece follows the journey through the creative process, from the swirl of thoughts and emotions that accompany it, to the eventual exciting, uncertain, and hopeful release of the work into the world.