Motion and Music

THE GREAT INDOORS by Mark Fish is a 10-minute, three-movement work composed for Music at the Mission’s, Ledge Trio - flute, piano, double bass - about having to stay indoors during the COVID pandemic lockdown. THE GREAT INDOORS is made possible through the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF, and supported by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and San Francisco Grants for the Arts.

The first movement, “Going Home and Staying There”, concerns the peculiar nature of how COVID-19 interrupted my own family's life, bring our daughter home from college and keeping our son home from school as well. We loved having everyone home more, but not given the circumstances. The second movement, “Another Walk (Dog Encounter)”, describes the only outdoor activity our family could count on practically every day - walking our very small dog, Taffy. Taffy is a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a chihuahua, and weighs only 10 pounds. Every time Taffy encounters another dog, she gets riled up and charges her enemy. The third movement, “Endemic”, describes this disease which it now seems will never go away, with a very brief ritornello that comes back several times in the piano. The studio recording was performed by Rhonda Bradetich, Katherine Lee, and William Everett.