Jerk

For 2 French Horns:

We all have at least one person in our lives we cannot stand but put up with. When this interaction occurs, most people present a calm composure but internally there is a litany of frustration. The energetic horns represent this range of emotion with the extremes of the instrument: large intervals between parts, repetitive and jagged sixteenth note patterns, and gnarly falls that mimic a snarl of the title. 

Contrary to this inspiration the performers I wrote this for (Emily Judd and Katie Rudzik) are two of the nicest people I had the pleasure of meeting in Orlando. Their enthusiasm and advice were crucial to the formation of this work.  JERK was premiered by the commissioners on March 15^th, 2015 at the University of Central Florida.