Presence

for four violas

Composer: Kelly Catlin

Performers: Nathan Groot, Claudia Malchow, Neelee Brauner, Elizabeth Boyce

I started writing "Presence" as a song about the feeling of being with someone you love more than anything: your mother, your best friend, your life partner. I found that words couldn't fully express that feeling, though. So I made it a piece for lots of violas. The viola is the perfect instrument to express closeness and love. The best of all worlds, the viola's rich, resonant timbre in the low register and simultaneous clear high register sound like a warm hug to me.