Ladders of Anxiety (2007) for flute, string trio and guitar commissioned and premiered by flutist Clare Chase of Ice. It has been performed on WFMT with Caroline Pittman as soloist with the Avalon String Quartet (13 min.)
Ladders of Anxiety for flute/alto flute, guitar and string trio is dedicated to the incomparable Claire Chase and ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble).
In starting the piece, I got my initial inspiration from very colorful medical computer-generated charts not unlike sound wave files. Starting an abstract musical work for me is always a challenge. Once one goes along in the compositional stream of a new work, a magical process takes hold and the notes begin to create their own story from deep inside the unconscious mind. This piece operates subliminally on levels of anxiety that we all experience increasing and decreasing as we go about our complex and interactive lives.