The Common Thread

Description

Audio

Video

Instrumentation

Percussion: vibraphone, bongos, suspended cymbal, soft yarn mallets, wood drum sticks, bow

Movements

spathiphyllum
aloe vera
solanum lycopersinum (cerisaforme)
chlorophytum cosmosum
crassula ovata

Program Notes

In the rural area of northern Vermont where I grew up, gardening is widely accepted as a fundamental part of life. Everybody grows something; whether it’s a full vegetable garden or a small patch of phlox. Over time I have come to recognize the remarkable unifying power of caring for plants – it brings joy to everyone, no matter their opinions on anything else.

As a student, I do not have the luxury of a home permanent enough to allow for a garden – and so I have an ever-growing collection of potted plants. No matter where I go, they make it feel like home.

“The Common Thread” is a set of miniatures, each of which is inspired by one of my plants: a “peace lily” that was a gift from a co-worker (and which is not actually a peace lily but is simply a mystery); a cutting from my mother’s aloe vera, which is older than I am; a cherry tomato that I planted when I started graduate school, and which it seems will never blossom; a spider plant that comes from my brother’s and reminds me of him every day; and an alien-looking trumpet jade, taken from the much older plant of a dear old friend.