String Quartet No. 1: Anything Might Be Something Else

The conceptualization of this string quartet was inspired by a quote from the book Girl, Interrupted (1993) by Susanna Kaysen that reads as follows: “And this was the main precondition, that anything might be something else. Once I'd accepted that, it followed that I might be mad, or that someone might think me mad. How could I say for certain that I wasn't, if I couldn't say for certain that a curtain wasn't a mountain range?” The piece focuses on the strange conundrum of questioning reality and trying to communicate with others that doubt your sanity.

The piece was written during a graduate fellowship for the Young Composers Project at Hartt Preparatory Academy (Hartford, CT), and was premiered by Sixteen Strings led by Teri Einfeldt at HarttWorks 2022.

Sixteen Strings Quartet: violins: Lauren Gauvin, Samantha Kramer viola: John Kramer cello: Maggie Slap