String Quartet No. 1 Anything Might Be Something Else (2020)

Composed by Eliza Gelinas

“And this was the main precondition, that anything might be something else. Once I'd accepted that, it followed that I might be mad, or that someone might think me mad. How could I say for certain that I wasn't, if I couldn't say for certain that a curtain wasn't a mountain range?” - Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

The piece focuses on the strange conundrum of questioning reality and trying to communicate with others that doubt your sanity. The piece was written during a graduate fellowship for the Young Composers Project at Hartt Preparatory Academy (Hartford, CT), and was premiered by Sixteen Strings led by Teri Einfeldt at HarttWorks 2022.

Sixteen Strings Quartet: violins: Lauren Gauvin, Samantha Kramer viola: John Kramer cello: Maggie Slap