Forrest Pierce, who is currently Professor of Composition at the University of Kansas, also teaches Sufism in the Inayati tradition. In his saxophone quartet piece “Kansas Rapture,” Pierce depicts the tallgrass prairie as “a crowd of cantors.” He describes this final movement “Wichita Vortex Sutra” as Allen Ginsberg reciting “apocalyptic poetry into a dictaphone in the back of a Greyhound bus somewhere near El Dorado, Kansas, and the plains begin to unbreak.”
The use of extended saxophone techniques, resulting in quarter tones and striking pitch-bending effects, highlights the summertime freedom of the children in Julie Blackmon’s “Picnic,” but also the ominous birds above.
Want to explore more music inspired by Julie Blackmon's art? Listen to our Spotify playlist for full pieces.
Find more information about 'Julie Blackmon: A Life in Frame' on the Kemper's website.
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