Túyshtak

Commissioned by Helia Music Collective and Jeff Anderle
for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Clarinet Ensemble
Premiered at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, March 23, 2022
Listen on all major streaming platforms
Download on bandcamp (from 05/31-6/30/24, all proceeds from the purchase of this track on Bandcamp will be donated to Native California Research Institute)

I began composing this piece at my childhood home in the San Francisco East Bay, at the foot of a mountain now known as Mount Diablo. The piece is intended to be a gateway into playing and hearing intervals in just intonation, a tuning system based on the natural overtones of resonating frequencies. Like a re-cognition of these basic musical intervals, I wondered as I was writing this piece what Mount Diablo is called by Native people. I learned that while several tribes had distinct names for the Mountain, the one most commonly used today is Túyshtak, meaning “at the day” in the Chochenyo Ohlone language. 

Performed by Jeff Anderle, Bb clarinets
Recorded and mixed by Jeff Anderle & Theresa Wong,
July 2022 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Mastered by Zach Miley, February 2024
Artwork by Theresa Wong
Special thanks to Beverly Ortiz (nacri.institute)
In memory of John Anderle