Vigenettes - UCLA Winter Undergraduate Composers' Concert

Donor Acknowledgement

This performance is in part made possible by the David and Irmgard Dobrow Fund. Classical music was a passion of the Dobrows, who established a generous endowment at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to make programs like this possible. We are proud to celebrate this program as part of the 2023-2024 Dobrow Series.

Program Notes

In The Traveler’s Tale, a wise, arcane traveler recounts the various sights and adventures he has experienced throughout his wanderings. With whole tone and octatonic harmonies woven throughout, the music combines the glittery, bell-like sound of the vibraphone with the lyrical, melodious sound of the flute to create an atmosphere of magic and mystique.

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Please enjoy this pre-screening of my first ever – to be released- single, “Delusion”! Directed by my best friend Chelsea Trotti, this project was a labor of love, please stream it on major listening platforms and watch the music video once it’s released tomorrow- February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Delusion by Mia Ruhman

You are not holy, just a man in a suit.
Deep blue eyes call me, your siren song hurts my ears,
But I’ll listen, I’ll dictate it just for you.

You make me cry every time that you sit by my side-
Like the air, ever present but intangible,
I Breathe you in, but you’re gone in the blink of an eye.

Like a windy day,
A storm that is coming to blow all I’ve worked for away.
Do you want to destroy me?
To bind me in place to the bow of the ship that you made.
You callous handed sailor,
My personal jailor, my sorrow, my joy and my end.
But never my lover.
I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone, old friend.

You’re not my God, you’re a delusion
Fading in the smog, you control me with your breaking waves
And leave my body to surface on the rocks.
And all will gather but only some will mourn,
That’s what she gets for playing in a storm.
No one will know just how much I was torn,
How I tried to resist your tidal force.

Let the elements lay their claim
To a corpse that would still rise at your name.
On your mark, I’m set, I go.
You’re my favorite album, my guilty pleasure comfort show.

You call I obey,
One word from you nourishes one second of silence decays.
I maladaptive daydream away
That I’ll be in danger and you’ll come to save the day,
But YOU FUCKING EXHAUST ME!
You toss me on your sea and don’t provide a lifeline.
You know everything about me,
I bet you know I love you so,
I tell you all the time with my eyes.

You engulf my heart like a fire in a park,
Where the schoolgirls pick petals and cross their hearts.
Too busy singing to notice the fire,
They mistake the heat for the beautiful summer.
Heads low, they labor over love potions,
So unaware of the danger in motion.
The girls cannot see past the smoke that is forming,
There’s heat in the air and there’s ash in their eyes.
They wish for an ocean where they may find refuge,
A break from the waves, a merciful tide.
But I know it’s hopeless, I understand now.
There’s no way to bridge the gap of twenty years time.
I’ll leave you alone, I’ll leave no trace.
But I remember your hand on my face.

You’re absolute, you’re my absolution.

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The Absent King

Hello (x9)
Hello (x9)
I’m looking (x2) For the king
Hello (x9)
Can you help me?
Will you help me?
Will you help me find the king?
Your subjects (x2)
Your subjects are dying Hello

Advisors say he’ll be right there Cynics say he never cared Skeptics say he disappeared Your subjects are just asking for some help
Your scepter and your crown Won’t compel us to bow down If you want to be our king
Just listen to the suffering of
Your subjects (your subjects) (x2) The Absent King

Hello (x9) Hello (x9) I’m looking
I’m speaking To the king
Hello (x9)
Can you help me?
Will you help me?
Will you help, your majesty?
Your subjects (x2)
Your subjects are dying

Advisors say he’ll be right there Cynics say he never cared Skeptics say he disappeared Your subjects are just asking for some help
Your scepter and your crown Won’t compel us to bow down If you want to be our king
Just listen to our suffering
Your subjects (your subjects) (x2) The Absent King

The king (x—)
The king is (x—)
The king is hiding (x—)
The king is hiding from his subjects (x—)
Hello? (x—)
I’m looking (x—)
(All cont. throughout bridge)

Hear the voices of your subjects (subjects, subjects, subjects) Plead for your return (return, return, return, return)
While you’re lost in a palace of mazes (mazes, mazes, mazes) We watch your kingdom burn (burn, burn, burn, burn)
You’re lost in a palace of mazes (lost in a palace of mazes) (x4)
You’re lost in a palace of mazes (lost in a palace of mazes, your subjects) (x8)
Your subjects are dying The Absent King

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The Weight of Tears

The heaviest, darkest, and most potent of human emotions are embodied by tiny droplets of water — tears. Each tear that escapes the eye is unique in its composition, weight, emotional range, like a kaleidoscope snapshot of one’s spirit. Tears of sorrow are dense, possessing a gravity that pulls at the heart. And as the weight of a single silent tear serves as comfort and company in times of profound emotional pain, the tear’s gravity truly can anchor the soul.

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soul awakens

As the sun ascends,
My soul awakens.
As the light of the day conquers darkness,
The world is at peace.
As heaven and earth meet in orange hues,
I thank God for sending something,
So perfect, so precious, for me.