Jigsaw - REED5 OB/CL/ASX/BCL/BSN

Jigsaw
for reed quintet: oboe, clarinet, alto sax, bass clarinet, and bassoon

by Kincaid Rabb (b.1993) - American composer

ABOUT THE MUSIC:

When the Driftwood Quintet approached me in late 2015 to write for an event benefitting a local Arizona LGBTQ youth charity, I enthusiastically agreed to work on the project. As an LGBTQ person, I thought this would be a great way to express some of the experiences I’ve had in the LGBTQ community and give back to that community in which I was an active participant. 

When I was coming out as gay, I was lucky and privileged to have several supportive communities around me: my family, my friends, and my school. Needless to say, not everyone has that privilege. Regardless of whether or not you have a supportive community around you, coming out feels like you are the odd piece out of a jigsaw puzzle; it can be hard to see how you fit into and navigate this heteronormative world. 

When you finally find your place in that puzzle, it’s a wonderful, glorious feeling: to belong, to be cared for, and to be loved. On its deepest level, “Jigsaw” is equally about finding community as it is about finding yourself. 

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:

Kincaid Rabb (b. 1993, they/them pronouns) is an award-winning writer and music-maker, working at the intersection of storytelling and new music. Kincaid is an artist-scholar whose research includes musical narratology, emotional catharsis, and the phenomenon of the theme park as inspiration. Using narration, worldbuilding, and a strong sense of fun and play, Kincaid creates musical experiences that immerse audiences into intimate spaces and that reward waders, swimmers, and divers alike. Kincaid produces works that trapeze artistic disciplines, curating performances that seamlessly integrate different sensory experiences and create lasting memories through relatable stories. 

Kincaid’s collaborations have included Paradise Winds, The _____ Experiment, the Driftwood Quintet, Kontra Duo, Keyed Kontraptions, Duo R2, the Brelby Theatre Company, and the faculty and students at the University of Arizona and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Kincaid is a founding member of Basket of Owls, an ensemble of musician-narrators dedicated to curating spaces for unheard stories, and flourish! new music ensemble, an ensemble committed to sparking joy in new music. Their principal teachers have included Douglas Harbin, Daniel Asia, Pamela Decker, Diego Vega, and Jennifer Bellor. 

Currently residing in Tucson, Arizona, Kincaid graduated with a Master of Music in Composition in 2021 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where they held graduate assistantships in theory, composition, and musicology. They graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Music in Composition in 2017. Kincaid is a member of the Millennium Composers Initiative, is affiliated with ASCAP, and is published with Trevco Music. Kincaid can usually be found at Scented Leaf in Tucson, Arizona, sipping on a matcha lemonade, watching the world go by and writing their next adventure into music. 

For more information about Kincaid and their music, please visit www.kincaidrabb.com