Lee of the Stone was written by Phil Swasey for an exceptional group of young performers, the 2024 Austin ISD Middle School Region Ensemble. The character of the piece very lullaby-esque, with calm repetitive phrases that land on resonant textures.

The title is inspired by Robert C. O'Brien's novel, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". The book is about a group of rats who live in a technologically advanced society and come to the aid of a field mouse whose house is threatened by a farm plow. The rats end up moving her house to the “Lee of the Stone”, which is the safe side of the stone that the tractor will not be able to get to as it passes.

Enjoy the many opportunities for creative and expressive decision making and treat the resonant texture with a delicate touch. Adherence to specific fingerings will allow notes to ring out over each other creating depth and space in the textures.

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