Composer’s Note:

The Charlie Effect was written at the request of Elizabeth Crawford Kilpatrick, for performance at ClarinetFest 2004, Baltimore, Maryland. The piece is an energetic and playful rondo, whose character is reminiscent of a large furry cat who occupied the same premises with the composer for several years. The title, however, comes not from the cat (whose human name was Beau), but from a close friend

who helped shape my attitude toward cats, children, and other multidimensional creatures with whom one happily shares one’s life.