For this commission from ROCO, I wanted to write something flat-out fun, something that didn’t take itself too seriously, and that could show off the incredible range of ROCO. I riffed on the additive form of such “fun” songs as The Twelve Days of Christmas or I Bought Me a Cat, or alternately the callback technique used by comedians in which material used earlier in the set takes on new meaning when added to subsequent material.

The title proved tricky: how to succinctly sum up the lighthearted nature of the piece while also giving clues as to its form? I finally settled on “Whirligig”, which brings to mind both circular motion and a sense of pure, unadulterated whimsy. My sincere thanks to the wonderful people at ROCO, especially artistic director Alecia Lawyer, for their world-class musicianship and commitment to new music!