Roger Bourland: “Emily” (for string quartet, banjo and bass) for Ardis Bourland

Here it is, the encore piece for string quartet, banjo and bass called “Emily” after “Emily Dickinson.” This was of course the encore to FOUR POETS for string quartet which the Ives Quartet has just finished performing five times around the country. It was recorded on the fly by Daniel Shiplacoff with his trusty MacBookPro’s built-in microphone, whose opening is the size of a pinhead. You may recall that there was no bass player at this particular concert, so I added it. The banjo was acoustically and personally shy in the concert, so I rerecorded the banjo part later as well. Although the recording and performance (mostly my bad) are not perfect, you get the idea. I like this piece as did the players and audience. All the string players confessed to never having played with a banjo before. I’m just a beginner and would love to hear it done by a real banjo player. [click below to hear EMILY]

[wonderplugin_audio id=”4″]

This piece was commissioned by and dedicated to my aunt, Ardis Bourland.