CITY LIFE

for chamber orchestra

Composed: 2026
Premiere:  Cleveland Chamber Symphony, April 19, 2026, Cleveland, OH
Duration:  11 minutes
Instrumentation: 2111; 1110; perc; strings

PROGRAM NOTES

I. Images
II. In the Streets

Though planned with musical motifs in mind, I became aware that the motives might have been influenced by my thoughts and preoccupation with the struggles going on at that time in Minneapolis. The first movement, Images seems to begin with musical images of dawn in a city - the quiet calmness of dimly lit streets - occasionally a person walking along. But there is an underlying tension, possibly the feeling that things might be happening that day.

The second movement, In the streets, was planned using certain musical motives and rhythms. But the underlying feeling in the music seems to me to portray people on the move in the streets. It could be a festive parade, or it could be a march, or perhaps a gathering of a mass of determined people.

REVIEWS

“Brouwer has said that ‘City Life’, receiving its premiere, took shape as she reflected on the unrest in Minneapolis. In the opening movement, ‘Images’, Smith kept the ensemble on a low simmer. Chimes sounded at a distance, the strings edged upward in small steps, and woodwinds and brass raised the tension without breaking the apprehensive mood. The second movement, “In the Streets,” turns its gaze to the crowd as the tempo quickens and the music grows jittery. Basses and timpani set a firm pulse, and the brass answer with clipped, insistent chords. Motives pass from section to section, gathering force. Whistles and sliding gestures suggest sirens, heightening the sense of impending violence. By the end, Smith draws the ensemble into a single, concentrated surge — what Brouwer calls “a gathering of a mass of determined people.” - Kevin McLaughlin, ClevelandClassical, 2026