Child of Spring: An Evening with UCLA Undergraduate Composers

Landscapes of Los Angeles is a piece about a few different places in Los Angeles that are meaningful to me. Each movement seeks to musically represent one of these places. The first is about downtown Los Angeles: the part of downtown that by Disney Hall with all of Frank Gehry’s architecture. This movement is set in the evening time, at the peak of rush hour. I wanted to represent the hustle and bustle and also the beauty that exists there. Movement two takes us to a very different place. Just north of Santa Monica, in a quiet neighborhood, there is a broken road. It used to sit on the side of a bluff, but it caved down the side of the hill, and now big asphalt chunks have become part of the hillside. While fenced off, there is a way to climb down to these huge asphalt pillars. From these pillars, there is a pristine view of the entire Santa Monica bay. This movement is set at nighttime. It is supposed to be eerie, but also express the beauty and dilapidation of this place. The third movement brings us to the Santa Monica pier, also in the evening. This area is especially alive in the evening time, with people riding the ferris wheel, enjoying the ocean, and spending time with friends and family. It is vibrant, cute, and a little silly.

I am grateful for this wonderful city we live in, and I enjoyed writing this piece about it!

O magnum mysterium

O magnum mysterium

Et admirabile sacramentum

Ut animalia viderent Dominum natum

Jacentem in praesepio!

Beata Virgo, cujus viscera

Meruerunt portare

Dominum Christum

Alleluia”

From its inception, Loco Moto was a deep dive into the bizarre. I was immediately inspired by the strange combination of string and percussion instruments, and I wanted to write a piece of music that highlighted this absurdity. With two string quartets, two marimbas, two percussion set-ups, two sets of timpani, two guitars, and a lone electric bass, I had all of the tools to create a musical spectacle. The resulting music was a collage of styles from concert and commercial genres, full of contrast and conversation. The great joy of this piece was pulling together these disparate musical instruments and styles to form something rhythmic, outlandish, and fun.

Horizon

Text by Luca Filiz and Jahan Raymond

I don’t say I love you often
I get so scared that it’s not true

I feel like I’m dreaming
Don’t wanna wake too soon

I don’t call you like i used to
Don’t wanna hear you say my name

Cuz then it feels like you know me

And there are no winners in that game

Cause I
Can’t bear to lose
Your promises your miracles our

rhythm and the way you cure my blues

I learned
I had to stop
Questioning this paradise this bubble cannot

pop so what can

I do
Lost lost lost in the moment of you
If I i ever pause to think
This beautiful boat of ours will start to sink

Into our dreams

Do anything to keep from knowing

My Ignorance is bliss
But should my mind start to clear

I’d have to die so that I live

Cause I
Can’t bear to lose
Your promises your miracles

our rhythm and the way you cure my blues

This lie
I wanna choose
To buy it I can’t fight it I’m in love but

it’s one sided so

What can I do
Lost lost lost in the wonder of you
If I ever pause to think
This beautiful boat of ours will start to sink

Into our dreams

But I’ll
Go right to the brink
I could close my eyes and still not miss a

thing
The dreams you bring

Intrusion (2023) presents the musical representation of intrusive thoughts that occur through traumatic experiences. The piece intends to reflect and explore the ideas of how trauma can leave people feeling mentally isolated and disconnected from reality. The mind can create  calming or stressful moments, independent of the world around us. Intrusion ties the coloristic and spacious qualities of the music to the physical and emotional reactions of intrusive thoughts passing through a person.

Play

The fun, playful character of the vibraphone and flute inspired me to write “Play,” a light-hearted, simple piece meant to create an exciting and almost child-like musical conversation. I was reminded of the innocent, simple mischief my brother and I created as children and was inspired to reflect that in the interactions between this duo. Both instruments take the lead at different moments in the piece, but eventually they conspire to reach a climactic, cheeky conclusion.

The Moon that Moves the Sea

This piece takes inspiration from the commensal relationship shared by the moon and the sea. Trapped by the Earth’s gravity, the moon retaliates by influencing its massive oceans. Swelling gestures in the harp call upon the rising and falling of the sea. Just as tides may be imagined as long flowing waves responding to the moon’s forces, the tuba’s slow and carrying melody lines embody these fluid motions. The soundscape evokes images of a bright moon at night high above the horizon, its light mirrored in the calm ocean waters encircled by sparkling stars.

Child of Spring

Text by Sydney Wang

Winter father,

Guardian of night,

Keeper of summer’s

secrets,
Sower of autumn’s wisdom,

Sing us to sleep beneath

your wings of white,

Mother nature,
Mild April rain,

Awaken the slumb’ring

earth
With blessings of warmth

and wonder
And promises of life to

come again;

Awaken,

Awaken!

Daughter of spring,

Mayflower child,
Lead me by the hand

Through your verdant

gardens
Where daffodils and bluebells

bloom wild;

Oh, sweet child of light,

Won’t you sing for me!
The long night is behind us,
A golden summer before us!

Sing us your songs of eternal life!