Commissioned by marimbist Mika Stoltzman and premiered at Carnegie Hall, NYC in May 2023.

Past Life Lullabies explores the sounds and rhythms of Okinawa, whose culture and music have captivated me since the 1990s, when I first heard traditional Okinawan music on the radio while on a tour of Japan. Those beautiful, haunting melodies immediately felt familiar on a cellular level, even though I was born and raised seven thousand miles away in the Midwest.
Past Life Lullabies is a theme and variations divided into two parts. The first, slower, section uses undulating ostinato patterns with the “lullaby” melody floating on top, as well as sustained rolled chords. After a brief cadenza interlude, the second section dances along to the lively triplet pattern of a sanshin — a three-stringed banjolike instrument that is the centerpiece of Okinawan folk music.