Watch: Four Flutists Play Refreshing ‘Music For Water’ By Young Composer Dianna Link

Dianna Link, a composer and flutist, won the Denver Young Artists Orchestra composition competition earlier this year. She earned the honor of hearing her orchestral piece “Ebullient” premiered at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver.

This CPR Performance Studio session featured a different Link piece, called “Music of Water” for flute quartet. It opens with a serene, deliberate movement called “Ocean,” which you can watch above.

The gently percussive second movement, “Rain,” is brief and refreshing, like an afternoon rain shower.  

The ensemble that recorded the piece is something of a supergroup of Colorado flutists. The quartet featured three of Link’s flute teachers -- Katy Wherry, Colorado Symphony flutist Brook Ferguson and University of Colorado flute professor Christina Jennings -- as well as Elisa Muzzillo . The group called itself Music For Water, a nod to Link’s piece.

The young composer's piece includes some trickier moments for the musicians. The staff here at CPR Classical had fun watching the four flutists figure out how to navigate the score.

More exclusive music from the CPR Performance Studio:

• Anderson & Roe Piano Duo Plays Music by Gluck
• Cellist Jay Campbell Plays Bach In The CPR Performance Studio 
• Vocal Group Roomful of Teeth Sings A Stunning Song From Ted Hearne's "Coloring Book"
• Pianist Hsing-ay Hsu Plays Kevin Michael Olson's Jagged "Dichotomiae" 

Link snagged the DYAO prize while she was a senior at Littleton High School, though she’s now moved on to study composition at the University of Colorado. One of her teachers is composer Daniel Kellogg, who talked with us about his violin concerto, “Rise of The Phoenix,” last year.

(photo: courtesy of the artist)