Rūta Vitkauskaitė

Programme Note

Kilbarchan is named after a small Scottish town in my neighborhood – a beautiful place historically famous for weaving. This composition was written during the Covid-19 lockdown. While social interactions were completely forbidden, my one highlight of the week was taking a short hike in the empty fields and roads in the areas surrounding Kilbarchan. As I walked and thought about the short piece for performers in isolation for the East London Music Group, I really wanted to share the space that surrounded me on that walk and bring some of that sunlight and positivity into our small, isolated rooms where we have all spent most of our time for so many months. Another strong moment in the piece comes from my room, my space of isolation, quiet and still, accompanied by the constant sound of a ticking clock. The ticking of the clock gave a constant beat to my piece, which has an intro, four parts, and an outro.