Sophie McMillan-Myers - Hollow, Bright

Program notes: 

Sophie McMillan-Myers' Hollow, Bright premiered on March 12, 2021 with the Grossman Ensemble.

As the title might suggest, Hollow, Bright is about two timbres. The flute is both hollow and bright (in timbre and visually). The percussion instruments used in the piece are roughly arrayed in a continuum from hollow (the guiro and wood blocks) to bright (the crotales and triangle), with the cowbells serving as a brightand-hollow transitional timbre. The piece unfolds in four short sections, with Tim and John each exploring hollowness and brightness at different times. It begins with a hollow flute melody, punctuated by bright resonance in the percussion. The percussion punctuation becomes hollow, and the flute becomes more rhythmically active in response. The percussion joins in on the rhythmic activity, but by now the flute has abandoned its hollow timbres for a bright upper-register melody. Finally, the two align, and the piece ends after a fleeting, bright hocket between both instruments.