Victor Zheng

When the leaves flutter in the wind, the sunlight filtering through the shifting shadows they cast seems to shine ever brighter where it shimmers on the ground, each ray of light heightened by each shadow it adorns, until the shadows themselves seem to glitter.

Commissioned by Illinois Modern Ensemble

glittering shadows takes its inspiration from the the forests of the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. Driving through the valley, the world seems to change as the trees cover the road with a canopy of dazzling green, a mass of countless individual leaves, each fluttering independently, simultaneously glowing against the sunlight and producing its own shadow amongst all the others.

Listening closely, we can follow the similarly independent movement of each individual instrument, and we can pick out the moments that stick out to us, whether the moments of unity or individual timbres shining through the collective movement.

Performances:

• 16 February 2022 – Urbana, IL by Illinois Modern Ensemble at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts