Keepsake (for Rishi)

Keepsake for contrabass flute and contraforte honors Rishi Dhanivan Sweeney, the daughter of a close friend who passed away at two months. The piece weaves themes from rock songs the composer and Rishi’s father once played together with cryptogram-based transcriptions of quotations addressed to her. These contrasting musical languages form a mosaic reflecting memory, grief, and a metaphysical call to a life gone too soon.