for reed quintet (oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon) and piano
Named for the weather phenomenon that rolls into Southern California during the window between spring and summer each year, Marine Layer depicts gray mornings in La Jolla, California transforming into glorious sunlit afternoons. In the months of May and June, the mornings begin cloaked in light clouds, which persist util they break in the afternoons, revealing a cloudless sky beyond and illuminating the waves of the Pacific crashing upon glittering beaches and dramatic rock formations. Marine Layer’s gestural, almost improvisatory rhythms suggest the unpredictability of the ocean, both in its quiet morning grays and its joyous afternoon blues and whites.
The work was composed in consultation with Victoria Lee, oboist for Syrinx Quintet, a reed quintet based in Orange County and Los Angeles. The International Double Reed Society encourages its members submitting applications for inclusion in its conferences to apply to perform the music of composers from the place they are from, and Syrinx Quintet chose to center me and my partner, Kevin, in their application, featuring two works by Southern California composers inspired by California’s natural beauty for reed quintet and piano. Marine Layer is one of those works.
Marine Layer was premiered at the 2024 International Double Reed Society Conference in Flagstaff Arizona by Syrinx Quintet and Kevin Day.
You can purchase the score and parts for Marine Layer from Trevco.