Crested Saguaro Rhapsody - solo double second steel pan

Crested Saguaro Rhapsody was commissioned by Ryan Learned, my friend and a percussionist and steel pannist I met at my first SōSI in 2022. He wanted a solo pan piece that incorporated non-traditional implements, but beyond that I was free to write whatever piece I wanted. I decided to compose a piece based on the natural environment surrounding his home (at the time) in Tucson, Arizona. In my research, I learned about the crested saguaro, a rare mutation of the traditional saguaro cactus that causes wonderfully detailed, curved crests to form on the tops of the plants. I decided to depict a "day in the life" of such a cactus, depicting in a musical medium the ways in which light casts itself across the cactus's spines and curved surfaces from dawn to dusk.