DMA, University of Cincinnati, 2023, College-Conservatory of Music: Composition

Turbulent Mind is a four-movement concerto for piano and orchestra. It was commissioned by the CCM Concert Orchestra and premiered by them at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory in April 2022, with Michael Delfin, piano soloist, and Brett Scott, conductor. I started to write this piece during the most threatening time of COVID-19 in 2020, when I had just moved from Boston to Cincinnati. However, a monotonous lifestyle under the pandemic could not stop my spiritual world, and that's how I decided to write this piece, in which I used music to express my turbulent mind. The four movements are written chronologically from the beginning of the pandemic till the Russian invasion of Ukraine, expressing what I witnessed and felt. The first movement, Predictable Pattern, introduces the pitch set [0157] and the pitch center "E," which runs through the entire concerto. The second movement, Turbulent Mind, is a fast-paced scherzo that serves to highlight the pianist's virtuosity. I enjoy the explosive timbre produced by striking the piano's lowest register. This movement was written mostly at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2021. Prior to leaving for Tanglewood, I had already lived in my tiny apartment without any social life for a year, and upon arriving at Tanglewood I couldn't stop working on this movement even though I was now freed from my four walls. The third movement, Back to Normal is quiet and lyrical. While composing this movement, I experienced a wealth of complex emotions. My sorrow and happiness are directly reflected in the piano's melodic material in this movement. I composed the last movement, titled Air Raid Siren, after hearing the tragic news of the war in Ukraine. It features glissandi in many different instruments to imitate the sirens I heard in the many devastating videos of the war in Ukraine. I hope to send my blessing to the people who are suffering from the war and emphasize the importance of world peace.

Committee: Michael Fiday Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Douglas Knehans D.M.A. (Committee Member); Mara (Margaret) Helmuth D.M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition