written for Malka Bobrove

Premiered at the NYU Black Box Theatre on February 19th, 2024

Duration: 10 minutes

Program Notes:

Dispositions is a musical translation of different aspects of character that I’ve observed in the people around me. This piece is inspired in part by Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs, a set of pieces that act as musical “mirrors” or portraits of Ravel’s close friends. As well as Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a piece in which Elgar titles each movement corresponding with a person he has encountered in his life, with the exception of the last movement, which he titles with his own initials.

While my iteration of these musical portraits isn’t assigned to any specific people in my life, it speaks to the patterns of personality types that I find myself surrounded by, and act as examples to look up to when I am questioning how I should go through life.