The Endling Suite: Last of Its Kind

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Program Note

I – No creature ever knows it’s the last of its kind

II – It just is

III – And then it isn’t

There is a comic titled “Last of Its Kind” by IZCOMIC that struck me when I first saw it, and I found myself obsessed with it. The serene quality of the image, juxtaposed with the various messages behind it, speaks volumes. This piece is for endlings, those who are the last of their kind, and is my commentary on extinction.

I - No creature ever knows it’s the last of its kind: This movement explores the idea of music sprouting from a single moment and attempts to embody blissful ignorance of one’s own circumstance.

II – It just is: My intention is to take this phrase as out of context as I can. By itself, there is something calming about the phrase “it just is.” It is not a sad realization, but a celebration of life itself. Launching immediately into driving, playful, and declamatory moments, the music then settles down. It plays out in the context of the preceding movement, and as a harbinger of what is to come in movement III.

III – And then it isn’t: The music reintroduces the dissonance from the first movement and gives it further context. Behind the ignorance, there is a knowing quality that steadily moves into the foreground until it simply stops.