Ben Tibbetts Studio: Piano Performances and Original Music

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Flute Sonatine
Movement 1, "Sea Legs":

Movement 2, "Inner Life":

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Audio for separate movements:
1. Sea Legs
2. Inner Life

In 2019, the Flute Sonatine was a collaboration between myself and flutist Samantha Levreault. I wanted to compose something for her recital at the Northampton Community Music School. We performed it in the summer of 2019. Then it was picked up by flutist Cobus du Toit, who performed a revised version of it at UMass Amherst that December.

This piece is divided into two movements. The first movement is called "Sea Legs". In this movement, I tried to depict the idea of being introduced to a new skill or experience and becoming gradually more comfortable with it. The first movement loosely follows sonata-allegro form.

The second movement is called "Inner Life". It depicts a character who is different on the outside than the inside, like a person who acts differently when they are around others. It is a rondo, which means it alternates between a primary melody or aesthetic and other more ancillary material. In this movement, the primary material is formal and only slightly playful, while the ancillary sections show a more uninhibited personality.

I'm grateful to both Sam and Cobus for helping me work on this, improving the flute and piano parts, and performing it with me. I had a wonderful time.

Sheet music for this piece is available to subscribers.

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