Marilyn Shrude

Violin and Cello

Composer's Note:

“Lost in My Garden” is a duo for violin and cello that was commissioned and premiered by Drs. Yu-Fang Chen and Peter Opie of Ball State University on November 17, 2021. The work captures the antics in my garden which I began observing more closely during the onset of COVID in March 2020. This quiet time gave me an opportunity to see things differently – nature was undisturbed and the seasons transformed seamlessly one into the other. Most immediately while working on the duo I tried to focus on the flora and fauna in spring and summer 2021 – the flowers (poppies, columbine, daisies); hostas; grapevines; trees (walnut, redbud, Japanese maple) – and the creatures (gentle but invasive deer, pesky mosquitoes, resolute but annoying bees, neighborhood cats in their curious prowls, insane squirrels, melodious birds). You need not know the secrets therein, but they help me immerse myself in the private sound world that puts a piece to paper.