ORCHARD: NEW PIANO MUSIC

An orchard is a piece of land planted with fruit trees, and the central programmatic idea behind this work will be botanical fruit. Each piece will share the name of a fruit, such as blood orange, peach, fig, loquat, avocado, mangosteen, tamarind and many more. Like fruits, the pieces included in this collection will be brief, have a specific identity/flavor (mainly via texture or harmonic language), and may be recontextualized based on how pieces are grouped and programmed together. - Tyler Kline

The Orchard project was one of the most successful projects. I served as a lead commissioner of the project and a producer of the Orchard album. I was searching for new repertoire for piano that I can introduce to my students who are often intimidated by twentieth and twenty-first century piano music. Over a dinner, I casually asked Tyler Kline if he has piano works that could be used for teaching and performing. A simple question fanned out! 27 pianists, including my students and piano teachers from around the world, joined the project. It resulted a collection of 50 solo piano pieces and an album. The whole process of commissioning, playing new pieces and extended techniques, working with Tyler, and recording the pieces was a rich learning experience for my students.

​