Composer’s Note:

“Asking a Shadow to Dance” was written for Trio Con Brio of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, at the request of clarinetist Gary Whitman. The musical material is based on themes from the opera My New Voice, formally structured on the concept of communication between the three main characters: Trevor, an inventor and artist who is disabled and cannot speak; his inner ego, Trevor Shadow; and Elizabeth, his Personal Care Assistant. The musical motives are traded between the three performers, evolving and changing with each iteration, becoming a dance of exploration, frustration, misunderstanding and compromise, eventually finding delight and disappointment, laughter and longing, and the unRelenting Reality of Life.