LAPSO.

Scroll down for program note, recording, perusal score,
purchase options, and commissioner biography

PROGRAM NOTE.

When Rachel Hacker approached me about writing a piece for the Kingma System Flute and Glissando Headjoint, I was fascinated and intimidated by that piece of machinery. What I discovered as I delved into creating this piece for her was that the microtones and glissandi this system provides gives the ear an alternate world to slip into, something almost akin to what lays in the back of the coat closet in the novels about Narnia, or what lays beyond the looking-glass in the novels of Lewis Carroll. I had at the outset fallen in love with the name Lapso for the piece — which means slide in Latin — quite suitable for a piece written for the glissando headjoint! Rachel and I had agreed that I would write something reminiscent of folk songs, and so it quickly became clear that I wanted to write a new-feeling folk song for this new instrument, and use this incredible system of other pitches to let the folk song be something of a musical fairy tale, letting the audience fall into an alternate world of tones and colors. Thank you to Rachel for commissioning this piece; I’m so happy to have been included in this project to write new pieces for this fascinating tone-maker.

COMMISSIONER biography.

Rachel Hacker is a flutist and educator living in Los Angeles, California. Having lead a colorful life of music, friendship, and travel, she draws from all of these influences in her artistic pursuits. An active improviser and creator of experimental music, Rachel has performed for a variety of musical experiences in the Southern California area. She plays on a Kingma System flute made by Lev Levit and a Robert Dick Glissando Headjoint, both of which she has used to premiere numerous new works for solo flute. Additionally, Rachel loves playing on her bass flute, the Japanese shakuhachi, and the Balinese Suling. When not “fluting,” she can be found singing and playing piano or ukulele. Rachel is also a passionate educator, having previously worked as an adjunct instructor at New York University and with the CalArts Community Arts Partnership.

 A native of the Cincinnati Ohio area, Rachel has obtained an undergraduate degree from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. She also holds graduate degrees in performance from New York University and California institute of the Arts. Hacker is currently completing her Master of Arts in Teaching degree with Bard College/Longy School of Music in LA, an accelerated, one-year, social justice-based music education program. Hacker loves working with children of all ages and intends to pursue a career in elementary general music education. She hopes to make a difference in the world through equitable education experiences.