Out of Mud for Unaccompanied Viola Viola Solo - Digital Sheet Music

Fantastic addition to the advanced viola repertoire! This 4 minute work was awarded the 2019 Northern California Viola Society prize for a new work to be used in their spring concerto competition held in San Francisco, CA. It is inspired by a buddhist theme: a lotus grows in the mud but is not muddy. The viola solo begins "in the mud" and,through transformation, "flowers" into an expressive melody. Each note in the melody originates out of the opening "mud" of the first section which uses predominantly double-stops (when two notes are played at the same time). Through horizontal placement and removal of notes, the double-stop gestures and harmonies are developed into the arc of a tender melody. With this work, the composer wishes all performers and listeners the ability to create beauty, joy andhappiness, no matter what the circumstances!