2016 | for solo viola | 7’
The Driftless Area of the Midwestern United States is a small patch of the continent that the glaciers forgot to flatten. Lined with rolling hills and bluffs, carved with deep river valleys, and dotted with quaint family farms, it is a uniquely beautiful corner of the country. I spent the summers of my girlhood in the heart of this region, in the tiny town of Kendall, Wisconsin (population: 472). This set of variations on the old Scandinavian hymn-tune “Jeg ser deg o Guds lam å stå” is my ode to this region. It is dedicated with love to the Michelson family, my relatives who have lived in this region since before Wisconsin achieved statehood.