Lagrangian Point – April 27, 2025, 2:00 pm, Center for New Music, 55 Taylor St, San Francisco.
Lagrangian Point is a short, lyrical hymn to Earth, inspired by Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital, a dreamy work that follows six fictional astronauts aboard the low-orbiting International Space Station. Borrowing a similar narrative device, the composition features a fictional character observing the solar system from a Lagrangian Point — a stationary position in space. The piece shares some of Orbital’s philosophical motives: our gratitude for lovely Earth, its smallness in the cosmos, the perhaps surprising flourishing of life on it, and the force of “want” that seemingly drives life.

Nel Tardo Mezzo – April 26, 2025, 8:00 pm, Center for New Music, 55 Taylor St, San Francisco. Buy tickets here.
An intimate piece, Nel Tardo Mezzo (In the Late Half), is a sort of musical confession written for soprano, clarinet, violin and cello. The lyrics employ “terza rima”, the poetic form favored by Dante Alighieri, exploring some of the doubts and anguish that may strike us at any stage of life. Despite its theme, the piece maintains a playful tone, offering a tongue-in-cheek nod to the monumental Divine Comedy.

Tell es-Sakan – March 15, 2025, 8:00 pm, CMC, 544 Capp St, San Francisco.
Motivated by the current war in Gaza, Tell es-Sakan is a protest, pacifist, concert-length piece for string quartet and percussion, named after the oldest known settlement in the area. It follows on one side a couple that meets, falls in love, vows trust to each other, and on the other the War Machine, an ominous presence that eventually takes over in a fury of destruction. You can watch the whole concert on Youtube, just click on the link to the right.