for string quartet
The piece was written for a project inspired by an early-spring outing led by Roger Hangarter and was premiered by Natalie Chung, Alissa Chang, Charles Kritsch, and Angela Kim on April 12, 2026, at the Pillar Arts Performing Space in Bloomington, Indiana, as part of the reception for Artists for Climate Awareness’ “Art as Inquiry” exhibition. A second performance took place on April 19, 2026.
Program notes
There is a river in Indiana that disappears into underground caves for about a quarter of its length. Because of this unique geology, it is called the Lost River — a name that felt very striking to me. I thought about our perception of a river: something that flows, vanishes into the unseen, and later appears again. From our perspective, the river appears to change its state, yet in reality the opposite is true. Its flow is constant, even when hidden from our eyes.
People who live beside the river, however, are far more transient. We think about the river, walk along its bed, use its water for drinking and for irrigating our fields. Yet in the timeline of its life, we are only a moment—people come and depart across centuries, while the Lost River keeps flowing, disappearing and emerging again, fascinating minds that are themselves destined to disappear with the flow of time.