Corpse Flower, for oboe and piano

The Corpse Flower is not only one of the largest free-standing blossoming plants in the world, it also it also highly unique in that it requires 7 10 years to bloom for the first time. The plant must go through several germination cycles, moving through a single leaf phase multiple times prior to the first bloom. This work tells the story of a corpse flower, beginning with the initial single leaf. This leaf returns to the corm, the 100-pound bulb from which the plant stems. When the bloom finally arrives, it can be as tall as ten feet tall, but only lasts about 48 hours until it begins to wilt. The withering can take much longer, as the bloom decays and the single leaf stage begins anew. I had the good fortune to get to see a corpse flower in full bloom in the fall of 2020 (The cover art was taken from this flower), and the opportunity to see this marvel in person was the primary motivation behind writing this work. This work was made possible by the following consortium of musicians: Erin Webber, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas Stephanie Carlson, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky Amy Collins, The University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida Heather Killmeyer, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee Theo-Hans Kuijvenhoven, Ridderkerk, Netherlands Kelly McElrath Vaneman, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC