Flight: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (2005-06)
1 . In Shadows
2 . Remembrance
3 . Sea and Sky
Commissioned by the Albany Symphony Orchestra with funding from Meet the Composer/American Symphony Orchestra League
Instrumentation: 2/picc 222 4210, timp, perc (2), solo flute and strings
Duration: 18 min. 30 sec.
In 2005 I was commissioned by the Albany Symphony Orchestra to write a work that would reflect the theme of their season: “American Memories, American Dreams”. As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, I knew immediately I would write of my own family’s ‘coming to America’ story.
My mother was just a young child in 1949, when the Chinese Communist army's takeover of China was nearly complete and the formerly ruling Nationalist party in full retreat to the island of Taiwan. The focus of my grandfather, a lieutenant in the Nationalist air force, had turned to the safe evacuation of his wife and children. Having fled their rural hometown with the battle within earshot, the family reached a small airport to join thousands of other refugees, all awaiting rescue.
Food and water were nearly depleted after several days, and it was increasingly clear that no evacuation plane was ever to arrive. Distraught and desperate, my grandfather wandered to a remote and restricted corner of the airport where he found a small military cargo plane loaded with ammunition. There was no way of knowing if the plane would fly to the safety of Taiwan or straight to the front lines of the war, but it was the only hope of escape. That night, my mother’s family stowed away on the plane, hiding under heavy tarps. After takeoff the next morning, it was only when they saw the ocean below that the family knew they were on their way to safety, and a new life that eventually brought them to the United States.
This concerto is an attempt to capture the powerful imagery and emotions the story evokes. The first movement, "In Shadows", is the most narrative, moving from a feeling of despair to determination and action. The second movement, "Remembrance", is based on a Chinese folk song that my mother tried to teach me when I was young. However, having been so long away from her native country, she could no longer remember the words. I found this a bittersweet and poignant representation of all the family had left behind and lost, including their loved ones, homeland and culture. The folk song as heard in the second movement is thus distorted, fragmented, and barely recognizable. The third movement, "Sea and Sky", is bold and dramatic, inspired by the struggle of beginning anew, and eventually overcoming hardship to rise to new heights.
Flight is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather.