Program Notes: Etude No. 1 - The Girl Speaks:        The Girl Speaks was the first of 12 etudes that I wrote between 2015 and 2017. At this time, I began writing my first opera titled, "Letters to a Terrorist," portraying one woman's life while she lived in Algeria. The opera opens with her meeting, falling in love with, and marrying the head terrorist of one of the GIA (terrorist organizations) groups there in Algeria, and ends with her waiting to see his death through a TV screen. The Girl Speaks is thus about taking the initiative to speak up for injustices and an attempt to have one's voice heard.  Etude No. 2 - The Ground Beneath My Feet: 'The Ground Beneath My Feet' was written in honor of the victims of the Nepal Earthquake in 2015. Growing up in California, I've seen, first hand, the disenfranchisement and the devastation caused when the ground beneath your feet begins to ripple towards you like a wave in the ocean. Etude No. 3 - The Delusion of Will: This piece is the third in a set of solo piano pieces. The impetus for the piece came while is was in L’viv, Ukraine. I met a composer who had been in Nepal during the massive earthquake that leveled all the buildings in town. She was fortunate to make it out alive, though she remarked constantly about the lives that were lost and the devastation the town faced going forward. The heavy burden she had taken upon herself was shortly transferred to me once I realized how bad the carnage was. It is in this vain that the piano piece came to light. It is a raw introspection of life, destruction, and the will to carry on. Etude No. 4 - To: Philip Glass: As a young child, discovering the music of Philip Glass was revolutionary. This discovery taught me that there are actual living composers thriving even today. This really motivated me to try my hand at composition. After various failures and successes, I have only Philip Glass to thank for starting me off on my path to discover and uncovering the vast caverns of contemporary classical music. A genesis of music can come from many places. For me, the genesis came from the man this piece is titled after. As a deep introspective meditation, 'To: Philip Glass' stands as a doorway into a dimension of endless exploration. Much fun came from many hours of assembling this piece premiered by pianist Borah Han.  Etude No. 5 - To: Erik Satie: Many years ago, when I first learned about Erik Satie, and played through his piano works, I was amazed at how brilliant of a composer he was. Most people know about his famous Gymnopédie suite, but few have heard the wide array and variety of sounds and color he was able to achieve in these works. Not only are the sounds of his works still relevant today, but the philosophies he held that were “avant guarde” at the time, are maybe even more relevant now than ever before. To create this etude “To: Erik Satie,” I took deconstructed Satie’s Gymnopédie No.1, and reconstructed it with a modern aesthetic, while adding a few of my own notes into the mix. Etude No. 6 - To: Michael Gordon: I moved to New York in 2014 for one reason: to study music composition with Michael Gordon. Fortunately, Michael didn’t kick me out after the first lesson, but continued to mentor me. It was during this period of time, that most of these piano etudes were written and edited. So, it is safe to say that this entire set of etudes only exists because of Michael’s brilliance and patience. Thank you Michael! Etude No. 7 & 8 - Innocent Bystander Part 1 & 2: The Jack String Quartet commissioned Innocent Bystander in 2015. The piano version was then recomposed in 2016. It was inspired by a vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada, where I met with a friend I hadn’t seen for years. In the two short movements of the string quartet, I tried to capture the awe-inspiring power of the massive, half-frozen falls. Though it was freezing cold outside, the rushing waves pushed on over the huge chunks of ice that had frozen months ago. The first movement portrays the slow, calmness of the water as it pushes towards the falls, whereas the second movement depicts the quick, vertical descent towards the bottom of the falls. Etude No. 9 - Light Waves: Light Waves is one of my favorite etudes. I wrote it with an unconventional sound where there is no strict melody and harmony. Instead, I used the pedal of the piano to create dense textures that blur together to create and create sounds that engulf the listener. Etude No. 10 - S.L.O. Down: You know that water is essential to life, but you may not know the fear and uncertainty one is faced with, when water finally runs dry. The impetus of awareness for this piece thus came from a visit to San Louis Obispo during the 2015 drought in California. Water rations were implemented, the plants had dried up, and many of the wildlife were leaving for a more suitable habitat.  The downward spiraling lines in the piano parallel the depleting level of water in California. However, there is hope, in that right when the piece hits its lowest point, the spirals begin to head upward. Unlike the realities of a drought, S.L.O. Down ends optimistically with the piano ending at the same level in which it began. Etude No. 11 - What You See Isn't Always What You Get: What You See Isn’t Always What You Get is probably the longest title for a piece that I have ever used. The piece is all about tempo modulation where the right hand is in one tempo, the left hand is in another tempo, and at various points, they switch. Unlike traditional etudes where the pianist is focused mainly on playing the rhythms and pitches, I wanted to focus the performer on experimenting with tempo modulations. Etude No. 12 - The Ballerina: Writing The Ballerina was very special to me because it was the last piece I wrote in this set of etudes that took me over two years to write. It was inspired by the many trips I would take to Lincoln Center's David Koch theatre to watch the New York City Ballet perform various numbers by Balanchine, Peck, Martins, Millepied, and more, to many of my favorite composer, including J.S. Bach. In this piece, I tried to capture the simplicity of a pirouette, where the dancer spins around while standing en pointe. Composer Biography: Craig Michael Davis is an internationally known composer, conductor, and pianist from California who currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana. He travels the world performing with ‘Command-E,’ which he founded in 2015. Receiving a Master’s Degree in Theory and Composition from the New York University, Craig studied predominately with Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe. Craig's most recent work Re-Creation, for String Orchestra, was premiered by the L'viv Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2015. For the theater, Craig is currently working on a piece entitled, “Letters to a Terrorist,” portraying one woman’s journey and life as the wife of the leader of a terrorist organization in Algeria. Since 2009, Craig has conducted various full and scratch orchestra-type ensembles, including the Broadway Chamber Players, the New Music Ensemble at California State University, Fullerton; the Fullerton Choir; and The White Noise Contemporary Music Ensemble. These ensembles have curated music from the Renaissance through music of today including David Lang, Louis Andriessen, Terry Riley, Kyle Gann, Lloyd Rodgers, and Frederic Rzewski. As a pianist, Craig has toured The United States and Europe giving performances of his original works. He often collaborates with painters and dancers to create new works that last anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours. Craig has become increasingly interested in writing and performing music in cross collaborative-genre venues that deal with multiple mediums simultaneously. His writing has earned a number of awards and residencies, among which include Finalist in the 2015 Sacrarium International Composition Competition and Forum, The 2013 Alan A. Mannason Award for Composition, and The 2012 Henriquez Award for Composition. His music has been played in the United States as well as in Europe. Most recently, his works have been performed by the New York University Philharmonic Orchestra; the L'viv Philharmonic Orchestra in L'viv, Ukraine; the JACK Quartet, in New York; and at various new music performance spaces in and around New York City. Craig's music is published through Jack Harrison Publishing Inc. For commissioning information and other inquiries please contact Jack Harrison at info@CraigMichaelDavis.com or JackHarrisonArtistRep@gmail.com www.CraigMichaelDavis.com