The Emerald Necklace
Year
2022
Length
7'30"
Category
Chamber
Orchestration
Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello
Commission
American Wild Ensemble, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Landscape Music, and Michigan Technological University Department of Visual and Performing Arts
Premiere
March 26, 2022
Juventas New Music Ensemble
Program Note
In 1880, Frederick Law Olmsted, widely considered the father of American landscape architecture, envisioned a ribbon of greenspaces winding through the city of Boston, Massachusetts and neighboring Brookline. The 7-mile linear route would ultimately connect the existing Boston Common and Public Garden to Franklin Park, with a series of new paths and parks, including The Fens, The Riverway and Jamaica Pond. The realized dream became known as the Emerald Necklace for its appearance on maps of Boston, like a string of green jewels. Today, the Emerald Necklace encompasses 1,100 acres of parkland, over half of the city’s park acreage.
When I first moved to Boston in 2004, the Emerald Necklace captured my imagination. It seemed almost a contradiction, to be in the heart of the city, yet able to walk for miles through wooded groves and along winding riverways. In Olmsted’s parks, I found peace, refuge and inspiration for my composing.
This piece is a love letter to a dear old friend, a remembrance of myriad moments in urban nature, from misty mornings to spring blooms.Performance History
- October 9, 2022: New Music Weekend at Michigan Tech, Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Houghton, MI
- August 7, 2022: American Wild Ensemble, Highland Park Bowl, Rochester, NY
- June 4, 2022: Juventas New Music Ensemble, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Brookline, MA
- May 28, 2022: American Wild Ensemble, Spitzer School of Architecture
City College of New York, New York, NY
- May 28, 2022: American Wild Ensemble, The Boat House at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY
- May 27, 2022: American Wild Ensemble, The Dongan Lawn at Fort Tryon Park, New York, NY
- March 26, 2022: Juventas New Music Ensemble, Multicultural Art Center, Cambridge, MA
