Six Feet Apart (2020)

for solo viola

Duration: 8:30

Premiered by Faith Foster.

I. Avoidance

II. Patience

III. Loss

Note:

In the Covid-19 pandemic, much has changed in our world. This work is composed of three vignettes that expose certain life experiences during the pandemic times.

In the first movement (Avoidance), one character attempts to maintain a safe, six-degree distance while maneuvering in public, while the other character moves wherever they please, occupying a wide area as they move about without concern for anyone else. The safe character plays a one- sided game of avoidance, at times becoming frustrated and lashing out at the ignorant character, before deciding to simply leave the area altogether.

The second movement (Patience) paints a more static picture of six-degree distance, that of a waiting line. There are four marked-out waiting positions in this line, each successively inhabited by a total of six unique characters. Each character has a different perspective and experience, exhibiting either patience or impatience. This also reflects on the patience or impatience felt by many as their stamina depletes during this long pandemic time of separation.

The final movement (Loss) possesses a more serious, grave tone. One character is on their deathbed and waning in strength, as so many have over the course of this pandemic, while the other character grieves heavily for them before coming to terms with the loss and separation as their loved one is buried six feet under. The dies irae appears throughout the movement in the dying character’s melodies, though it also appears in the grieving character’s melodies as they begin to reach acceptance.