A Beetle's Journey

A Beetle's Journey is an Intermediate level work, under 4 minutes. It is inspired by a what-if prompt: What if the flute represented a character other than a bird? Thus, A Beetle's Journey for flute solo, traces the happy travels of this ancient, original pollinator on a flowering bush; swirling, changing directions, tangling and jumping halphazardly from one place to another, leaving a delicate trail of debree in its wake. (The beetle is known as a "dirty pollinator" for this reason!) The journey begins with a climb up to the top of a vine for a tasty bite (or two), and continuing to eat along its way back down. Sometimes it must hide from a predator, before moving unpredictably toward more nourishment. At last, this ancient insect finds rests in the heart of a flower blossom, warmly snuggling deep into its center; gathering pollen before it starts its climb again on another vine. Oh, beetle, aren't you tired?! Like the beetle, this flute solo requires the instrument and its player to be persistent, robust, agile, and velvety soft in all the ways necessary to thrive.