Superbloom

Program Note

Superbloom was born thanks to a collaboration with pianist and friend Rebeca Ordóñez Rodríguez and Conductor Luis Viquez to be premiered by the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra with Rebeca as soloist. We had the first meeting in December 2020, the first sketches were written in January 2021 and the work was completed in May 2021. 

As I conceived the work I was fascinated by the way flowers bloom in the desertic areas in California, I learned that this unusual phenomenon is called Superbloom. As you might say, I fell in love immediately with the title. As I wrote the first melody sketches I shared my ideas with Rebeca, she said: “I love the title, it is like our careers in music, there’s a moment in our careers in which everything that we have worked for blooms.” Those words were exactly the inspiration I needed to complete the work. 

I designed the piece following the concept of blooming in our musical careers. The first section represents the desert, in which we, as musicians, start with a lot of basic rhythms and notes, eventually, as we progress we add more notes and different rhythms. The seeds have been planted but they need water to grow, the central section of the work tries to represent that. This section begins after a subito piano from the orchestra in which the piano will paint some “water drops” with the help of other instruments. As we progress in our musical journey, we are ready to play more challenging music. A cadenza in the piano will serve as a link between the “growing” and the “blooming” section of the piece. A new exposition of the “water” theme will be the link to the “blooming” section. In which the orchestration becomes fuller and richer. All instruments will play a very important role in this section, hopefully guiding you through that valley of colors and magic. 

Superbloom is dedicated to my dear teacher Dr. Ivette Herryman Rodríguez, whose guidance has helped shape my craft. 

Thanks to Dr. Rebeca Ordóñez, Dr. Luis Víquez and Dr. Esteban Barquero for their support during the composition of this work.

Superbloom will be premiered by the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra in 2022.

More info to follow.

• Juan Guerra González