Rhythmic Shifts was written as part of Hammer and Nail 2008: a collaborative effort between students of the composition and modern dance departments at Indiana University. It was premiered over two performances on April 19 and 20, 2008 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, Indiana.
When choreographer Kelly McCormick and I first met, the only idea I had for a dance piece was the instrumentation I wanted to use. Though not the most obvious material for ideas to spring off of, she had been exploring movements inspired by the wind, which naturally aligned with my plan to write for a reed quintet. Eventually, we arrived at some more productive details and decided to pursue a piece about exploration, growth, and enlightenment. While Kelly developed a story rooted in reality, I interpreted our ideas in a purely musical way. In order to represent a quest for enlightenment over the course of a scant 5 minutes, I wrote Rhythmic Shifts as a kind of rhythmic metamorphosis. The piece starts out with regular phrases in common time and gradually introduces more complex rhythmic elements; first phrases lengths become irregular, the rhythmic interplay between the instruments gets more interesting, and eventually, regular meter gives way to free (perhaps enlightened) mixed meters. All the while, a set of simple motives and harmonies hold the work together providing some resolve for the task of seeking liberation.