Melia Watras

MARY KOUYOUMDJIAN: FUTURE ERUPTIONS ARE EXPECTED
for violin and viola (2025)

World Premiere: Coming soon

Program Notes:
When violist Melia Watras and I met, we connected over our shared fascinations with volcanoes. As I reflected on the idea of writing a piece inspired by these magnificent mountains that erupt with the deepest parts of our earth, I thought about the other types of eruptions in our world today — from the 46 active volcanoes currently erupting as of August of 2025, those of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza, and those that may occur even within our closest relationships. Living in an environment in which eruptions are expected impacts us each so differently. We may flee, we may fight, we may wait in anticipation, often not knowing when the next one will occur.

Future Eruptions Are Expected was commissioned by Melia Watras.

—Mary Kouyoumdjian