Rhapsody for Viola

Conni Ellisor comments to the Tennessean’s Alan Bostick about the evolution of her Rhapsody for Viola and Strings, premiered by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and viola soloist James Grosjean:

“I had a melody in mind which I ended up not using,” she said. “I had all these themes sketched out and ended up not using a single one. This piece had a life of its own. I just gave in and went where it wanted to go.”

Ellisor said she later hit upon the title Rhapsody after discovering how closely that word’s definition matched the thrust of her work. “To me, it is fanciful, as in a fantasia. There’s a lot of emotion to it.”