Within the form of a harp concerto, this work borders on performance art, as we explore the devastating change ravaging our natural world.

Program Notes

Terra Infirma, written for and with Yolanda Kondonassis, is as much a concerto for harp and percussion as it is a one-woman monodrama. Kondonassis moves her instrument through a series of percussion “environments,” that evoke a journey through wildfire.

Though the idea had been set in motion four years earlier, the timing of its creation was uncanny. I began writing this concerto in January 2025, a few days before wildfire ravaged my neighborhood of Altadena, CA. The material for immolation came to me as I walked the hills of Los Angeles while we were evacuated. The piece draws on the ancient Hindustani raags of Deepak, which evokes fire, and Megh, which extinguishes it through rain.

The work begins with bone-colored branches, an arid wind sighing through parched trees—until, in an instant, a spark catches and ignites. immolation captures the terror and chaos of an actively unfolding wildfire, and helium ember follows a lone ember as it floats up into the night sky—as dangerous as it is beautiful. In roaming the ghost forest, we stand amid the ruins, taking in the enormity of what has been lost.

From there, the inner journey begins: skeletal silhouette grapples with this new reality and surges into the rage of swallowed, culminating in a cadenza that finds its way into a tenuous acceptance. facing the flame does not offer a palliative resolution: rather, it is an invitation — to let a flicker of that same flame that might have destroyed us become the light that guides us forward.

Recording

(forthcoming)

Special Performance Requirements

This work is for one soloist playing both harp and percussion. For more information on percussion setup/stage plots et al, please contact us.

Premiere/Performances

Terra Infirma was premiered on October 30, 2025 at Interlochen Arts Academy by Yolanda Kondonassis (harp & percussion), and the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra; Andrew Grams, conductor.

Press/Reviews

Full profile on Yolanda Kondonassis, including Terra Infirma
by Alison Reese, Harp Column

“The concerto positions the harp as the central character in a musical narrative exploring wildfire and renewal. During performances of the piece, Kondonassis moves the harp across the stage through arrays of suspended percussion instruments, combining elements of concerto performance and theatrical staging.”
– Broadway World