Drift (2026)
for electric (or amplified) cello and orchestra
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PROGRAM NOTE
Drift, for solo electric cello and orchestra, was commissioned by Craig Hultgren and the Oneota Valley Community Orchestra (Matthew Cody, music director). The piece is an expansion and reimagination of Driftless, a work for amplified solo cello and digital reverb composed for Hultgren in 2021. In Drift, the orchestra provides a misty cloud of reverberation that surrounds the soloist — amplifying, extending, enhancing, and transforming the sound of the electric cello over the course of the work’s twelve-minute duration. Though a brief central passage of unaccompanied cello resembles the cadenza of a traditional concerto, the composition celebrates the idea of musical community: soloist and ensemble always work together as equal partners — never in opposition — as they collaborate to create a shared musical environment. The work's title refers to the Driftless Area, a region comprising parts of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin that was bypassed during the last ice age and is therefore topographically distinct from the flat landscape usually associated with the midwestern United States. Craig Hultgren and the OVCO make their home in this beautiful land of steep hills, forested ridges, and sculpted river valleys.