For Sevan

for solo cello

After studying cello with Sevan Pogosyan, my teacher of more than 10 years, I felt the need to thank him for everything he had done for me as my mentor. With only one more recital for me to play, he was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t know that I will ever have someone like him again. “For Sevan” is an homage to my teacher through a depiction of the myth of Sisyphus, which correlates so much with his life as an immigrant Russian musician during the Cold War. That is another story in itself. This piece is my thank you to him.