Compositions: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

for orchestra (2022)

Duration: 4′

Instrumentation: 3[1.2.pic].2.2.2 – 4.2.3.1 – tmp+1 (perc: cr cym, sus cym, tri) – str

Premiere: Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2023. Helen Martell, conductor.

Originally composed for an animal-themed family concert with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, It’s Raining Cats and Dogs portrays the passing of a storm, from its earliest raindrops to its howling climax, followed by its eventual dissipation. Audience participation is optional but encouraged—and actually written into the score: listeners can be invited to meow, hiss, bark, and howl on cue, with a fun optional PowerPoint slideshow to assist with the cueing. The piece also references and pays homage to the storm movement of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony as well as the bulldog movement from Elgar’s Enigma Variations.