Bryan’s Blog

for B-flat clarinet

Notes

Searching the Shore for Silence was written to commemorate an afternoon spent with a good friend, Jennifer Lohrer. She and I were at her house one winter afternoon in northeastern metropolitan Detroit. She was showing me around her hometown and the area and suggested we might want to visit Metro Beach. So we did—in December. We walked the beach for a small time, then made it to the point farthest into Lake St Clair. An hour later we still waited at the point, standing on rocks so it even seemed like we were standing in the middle of the water. The two movements of Searching attempt to capture the feeling of serenity that overcame me while standing on the point. That feeling has never left me and hopefully comes across in these movements. The first movement is very slow and contemplative with interjections from the few sea birds that still flocked in the area. The second movement is faster and more fluid and represents us and our desires as we try to understand ourselves and the world around us.

Performances

Premiere—Saturday 5 April 2003
Senior Recital
Alexander Recital Hall, Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jennifer K. Lohrer, clarinet

Thursday 9 February 2006 at 8 p.m.
Student Composers’ Forum
Bryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center,
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
Shannon Paschall, clarinet
Hear this recording (9-02-2006).

Sunday 2 April 2006 at 6 p.m.
Master’s Recital
Bryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center,
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
Shannon Paschall, clarinet
Hear this recording (2-04-2006).