Tales of the Twelve Zodiac Animals

For Recorder Orchestra
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I was very glad and honored when I received the commission to write a longer concert piece for the Meguro Recorder Orchestra, the largest recorder orchestra in Japan. I immediately knew I wanted to compose something on a Japanese theme, and I was delighted to arrive at the idea of writing a piece for each of the twelve zodiac animals.
I began with the animals I felt most connected to—the vivid monkey, the gentle sheep, the swift rabbit, the hunting tiger, and the wild horse (I am a horse!). From there, I tried to avoid clichés: my dog does not bark or run, but is portrayed as a faithful companion. My dragon is not dangerous, but majestic. My rat is groovy; my snake expresses a sense of melancholic longing. My rooster is truly joyful—in an African way. And my ox is not dull but endearing: he bears the burden of us all, doing his work slowly, patiently, steadily, and reliably. Living among wild boars where I do, I portray the boar as something big, strong, and unpredictable.
It was a great joy for me to depict all these very different zodiac animals in a way that reveals something admirable in each and every one of them.
My sincere thanks go to all the members of the Meguro Recorder Orchestra and to their conductor, Takanori Matsuura, who premiered the piece so wonderfully in Tokyo on June 14, 2026. I would also like to thank my Japanese editor, Tomoko Otsuki, for her longstanding friendship and support, and for establishing the connection with the orchestra.

Here you can see the premiere on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/C04aLxEV4eQ?si=4w5s4kSjuc5xGHhC