VolatilisĀ I started as an idea to write a piece for a large ensemble that could be played by high school or even middle school groups by relying on the talent of the conductor to shape the music. The piece is designed so that most players have musical material that they play on loop, entering, exiting and moving to the front or back of the texture as the conductor indicates. On top of these layers of sound, the conductor brings in two separate foreground layers, one high and one low, for single hits at points loosely designated in the score. The overall effect sounds like placing stars against the night sky; tiny bright pinpricks of sound, on a mostly uniform background texture.