Dawn Rituals (2005) for flute quartet was commissioned by LAGO, Carnegie Mellon University’s flute quartet. It is in two movements and the harmonic language throughout derives from chords built upon the interval of thirds.

The first movement, Moon Halo, is slow and mystical. The basic material of the movement is presented by a single flute at the opening. A section of two intertwining canonic strands follows. A contrasting middle section leads back to a second canonic section before the reposed conclusion. The harmonic material derives from a stacked chords of thirds, re-voiced into two chords of stacked fifths.

The second movement, Sun Ride, is joyous and exuberant. Textures and musical ideas are tossed quickly between the four flutes. The harmonic material of thirds is presented in its most straightforward form.