Conversations for oboe and percussion is dedicated to and composed especially for oboist Alicia Cordoba Tait and percussionist George Blanchet to celebrate their new friendship and engagement. It has three movements: “Early Morning” evokes an intimate conversation one might have upon waking up in the early morning with one’s partner. “Liquid Light” portrays the sensuous patterns of light playing on and flowing across the surfaces of one’s environment. “Fallen from the Garden of Eaton” was composed as a 75th birthday tribute to John Eaton, one of my composer-mentors at The University of Chicago.