Dualities - Euphonium, Tuba, and Piano

Dualities is written in three movements, each title reflecting the mood or structure of the movement. The first, Ebb and Flow, is a constant push and pull between exciting technical and lush lyrical material. The second movement, By Moonlight, By Candlelight, is a dramatic and moody interweave of melodies and countermelodies. The third movement, Pathways and Diversions, highlights the more technical side of each instrument through a series of musical tangents, bringing the piece to an exciting finale.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on Dualities, my first for this specific instrumentation. It presented several challenges for me as a composer in learning to balance lines and timbres. I chose the title not only as a nod to the two performers, but because of my interest in duality as a philosophical theme. Throughout the work are various references to duality or “two-ness”, such as the dual-wording of each movement title.