ABOUT THIS WORK
When George began this piece during the winter 2020 lockdown, she did not know it would be a set: the undefined course of the pandemic provided indeterminacy and ultimately informed the instrumental groupings for each movement, which range from solos to a trio.
In its final form as a six-movement work, Solitude & Secrecy is a meditation on the strain of social distancing, the quiet complexities of solitude, and the longing for musical collaboration. For the performers as well as listeners, the piece offers the opportunity to sit alone for a moment—fear and anxiety hopefully sidelined—with the daunting secrets of an uncertain future.