note from the composer

mi sueño: afro-flamenco is a work for solo piano commissioned by pianist Clare Longendyke as a part of a series of commissions inspired by Maurice Ravel's five-movement piano suite, Miroirs. My work is a musical response to Alborada del gracioso, the dynamic, virtuosic, Spanish-inspired fourth movement of Miroirs—qualities I reimagined in mi sueño: afroflamenco. composed this work during the 2020/2021 global pandemic, a challenging time for our world. The title means "my dream: afro-flamenco" which references my own prepandemic nostalgia and my post-pandemic dreams. It represents my longing to visit Africa again and experience my Nigerian musical heritage, to travel to Spain and once again savor the boundless artistry of flamenco performfers, and to experience new places, cultures, and music. This piece is a musical dreamscape that infuses my musical language with African and African-American-inspired rhythms and sonorities and flamenco musical styles. If you are familiar with Alborada del gracios, you will recognize my nod to the quick castanet-like repeated notes, and the dyadic glissandi.