DURATION: Approximately 8 minutes

This single-movement quintet is a response to an artwork by Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, titled Tifkas. This artwork takes inspiration from the writings of queer author Leslie Feinberg, and more specifically their unpublished novel Stone Butch Blues (Tifka’s is the name of a fictional gay bar in the novel). Throughout this novel, which depicts a turbulent search for identity and belonging, there is constant conflict between periods violence and tenderness, passion and stoicism. These dichotomies, as well as the restless nature of both the artwork and novel, were major driving forces behind the creation of my quintet.

to Melt the Stone was premiered at the Royal Academy of Music as part of the Persistence of Memory festival.