sangre

elliot humberto kavee: cello, drums, composition

francis wong: flute, violin, clarinet, tenor

ben goldberg: clarinet, bass clarinet

1requiem for the sacrificed
2remorse
3son cacho o de toros
4robert
5death/rebirth:the river

sangre is about blood ties.

requiem for the sacrificed is about the blood sacrifice that we literally exact from some of our fellow citizens in order to keep our society moving. we seem to agree that certain members of our society are more fit for this role than others.in our guts and our hearts we know we are doing this, but repress it in order to go on with life (so to speak). every society has it's true victims.

remorse is for my father. it is a portrait in a way. he always struck me as remorseful about something. but actually, upon reflection, maybe the remorse is mine for not getting to know him better.

son cacho o de toros is a nicaraguan folk song. our rendition managed to capture the spirit of my mother, a vibrant and forceful person.

robert is for my brother. the tenacity he exibits in dealing with the severe challanges in his life never ceases to amaze me. we tried to embody that struggle in our performance. i feel like ben and francis were playing for their brothers too.

death/rebirth:the river is about our ultimate connection and dissolution
into the river of life when death comes;
also the moments when we die while living,
the transformations at key stages in our lives.

this was my farewell performance before moving to new york. my mom, dad, brother, his partner and mine were all there: it was the only time i've ever performed for all of them at once. the room was filled with folks i'd worked, laughed, and shared interesting times with.