We believe the sound of the flute can bring a fresh interpretation to pieces composed for another instrument. Our “Translations” program explored different possible translations: text to melody, movement to sound, violin to flute, and birdsong to sonata. “Translations” featured Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano transcribed for flute and piano. While the violin brings a bold, intense color to Debussy’s work, the flute highlights the shimmery passagework with ethereal brilliance.

Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Op. 30, No. 3 Violin and Piano Sonata in 1802, the same year he spent time in Heiligenstadt trying to recover his hearing. During this time, it became clear his hearing would not return. Beethoven expressed his despair in a moving letter to his brothers, now known as the Heiligenstadt Testament. We think it is remarkable that Beethoven composed a piece with so many joyful and exuberant moments during a time of great sorrow.

In Footprints, composer David Dzubay creates unique sounds by combining the middle register of the flute with the high register of the piano. The piece was written in response to the September 11 attacks in New York City. For us, it captures the piercing tragedy and pain, a foggy hazy landscape in which we feel lost, and the dance-like energy of hope in the aftermath.

Pencilled Wings by Emma O’Halloran combines sparse writing for the flute and piano with a slowly pulsating electronics track, suggesting the vastness of our universe.

In 2019 we performed “Pencilled Wings” in Multiverse Concert Series’ “Shadows of Exoplanets,” which featured lectures about the latest research on exoplanets in outer space by Dr. Roy Gould of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Although the title of the piece refers to butterflies that migrate enormous distances, we love the connection between butterflies migrating and humans exploring outer space.