BLINK (for orchestra, electronic sounds and video) will be premiered by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra this Monday March 29th under the direction of Mtro. Aram Demirjian.
Short program note about the work:
BLINK celebrates the uniqueness of the synchronous fireflies, a singular species of fireflies that lives in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park whose individuals synchronize their flashing patterns.
In the piece, the magic of the event is captured in the form of a journey that starts and ends in the National Park, going through imaginary worlds that exist inside of the Smokies. The glide through surreal underwater worlds, giant caves and Daliesque cities ends where it started, in the park, with the synchronous fireflies in full splendor.
BLINK was commissioned by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for the 2021 Young People’s Concert: “Nature at Night: A Smokies Symphony.”
Recording of Blink – Knoxville Symphony Orchestra March 17th 2021 at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville.
Violist Hillary Herndon has earned a national reputation for her brilliant playing, “sweetly soaring tone” (Time Out New York), and insightful teaching. She has been heard on NPR and PBS and has collaborated with some of the world’s foremost artists, including Itzhak Perlman, who described Hillary as “having it all… a gifted teacher and an excellent musician.” Ms. Herndon teaches at the University of Tennessee, the Viola Winter Intensive and is the director of Daraja Strings in Moshi, Tanzania. Her recordings are available on MSR Classics. Herndon holds degrees from Eastman and Juilliard and serves as President for the American Viola Society.
Jorge Variego was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and is currently on the Music Theory/Composition faculty at the University of Tennessee. His book publications include “Algorithmic Composition” with the National University of Quilmes (2018) and the upcoming “Composing with Constraints” with Oxford University Press.
