Piedmont Duo Plays Mariola at CNU

The Piedmont Duo, consisting of violist Ayn Balija & percussionist I-Jen Fang, commissioned and recorded Mariola. The title delightfully combines their names and also refers to a hardy shrub that grows in the Southwest of the US and can handle extremely dry conditions. It overcomes them to blossom in the summer with delicate white flowers. This provided a rich metaphor for the compositional process, from pushing ideas into shape to their gradual flourishing. The piece begins with the intensity of seeds taking root and growing. The harmonic anchor gradually changes, ultimately rising a major second as the plants reach the light, culminating in a stratsopheric registral and timbral close. For more information visit www.judithshatin.com.