human nature: Program Notes

March 16, 2026

Reaching for The Moon

By Irving Berlin. A reimagining of a haunting tune from 1930, it's theme of longing and distance and the feeling of being close to something (or someone) emotionally but far from it in reality are magnified here into something eerie and discombobulated.

Paris

By Dominic Everitt: Based on the poem "If I Were The One For Nicola" by Daniel Turner, this piece describes a lonely romantic pining for love in Paris.

Bottles And Bowls

Bottles And Bowls is a short piece that manipulates recordings of various sounds made with a glass wine bottle, a metal water bottle and a metal bowl.

Rain on a Tin Roof

Rain on a Tin Roof is an open score composition (variable/open instrumentation) intended for spatialized performance by an ensemble of 3 or more performers. The music mirrors the progression of a rainstorm falling on a metal roof — from sporadic droplets to a torrent of activity before evaporating back into the sky.

Human Nature

By John Bettis and Steve Porcaro; originally performed by Michael Jackson; arranged by Dominic Everitt: Re-arranged for four hands on piano, this classic MJ tune encapsulates the feelings we cannot describe, the behaviours we cannot explain, and the habits that dictate our everyday lives. All peoples share common ground in that we all abide by human nature.

Just a Habit

Just A Habit is a song by an Icelandic band Low Roar, about how our actions in a relationship can become patterns that we are not fully aware of. This simple arrangement replaced the guitar and sound design in the original song with a simple piano accompaniment, emphasizing the lonesome and pensive tone of the song.

A Chantar

A Chantar (Full title: A chantar m’er de so q’ieu no volria; I must sing of what I'd rather not) is a medieval song by tobairitz, Comtessa de Dia. The song expresses a woman's anger and frustration toward her unfaithful lover who she loves deeply.

Rubber Sky

Written and performed by Griffin Noriega a improvisational composition using lapsteel and multi effects. This piece is meant to create soundscapes and paint sonic pictures in real time with the use of effects and slide.

Folia

Folia (Portuguese), is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes on record. With a distinct harmonic, rhythmic and intervalic pattern, the class collectively created 3 variations or tableaux using extended techniques and altered harmonic and melodic patterns.

Stripsody

This is a reinterpretation of the vocal piece Stripsody by Cathy Berberian. Audio is taken from the original recording by Berberian herself, and the words and sounds are playfully reorganized and edited to give the piece some rhythm, a tonal center, and also a vague narrative.

Beautiful Stranger

Written by Marcus King, Dan Auerbach, Paul Overstreet; performed by Marcus King; arranged by Griffin Noriega. Re-arranged for piano and guitar. This piece represents the magic of simple, yet magnetic progressions that highlight the nuances in each player and offer a depper connection.

The Water is Wide

The Water is Wide is a folk song from the early 1900s that reflects the timeless challenges of love. Its imagery, allusions, and nature based metaphors find deeper resonance here in a shift from major to minor tonality and through the interplay of voices and instruments.