Iskra (2006) was written at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. It was written for Gabrielle Athayde. It is dedicated to her and to Gerald Torres and Alice Teyssier. A version for flute, cello, and percussionists also exists, which is dedicated to all the previously-named as well as Jonathan Hepfer. The title refers to the late-19th, early 20th century journal of that name (meaning “The Spark”), published in Switzerland, and whose editorial board included Vladimir Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Julius Martov, and Georgi Plekhanov.

The matter of Iskra is political in many ways, as implied by the title. The cooperative aspects of the ensemble, their unity of purpose, and their ability to adapt to any course of development placed before them is metaphoric and, since these attributes seem lost at present, perhaps even a call to action. Musical issues are much harder to talk about. Material collides constantly, the idiom controlling what may or may not sound. A breakthrough, late in the piece leads to a (probably) entirely unexpected occurrence. Perhaps this clarifies the foregoing collisions and jostling of sounds; it’s equally possible that this is not a breakthrough at all, but only a hope, or a glitch, in the musical fabric that leads inwards rather than outwards.