Juggle is a kind of scherzo. At times it bursts with energy and puts on substantial airs, only to backpedal and disappear into itself. There is a steady stream of composer tricks— retrogrades, inversions, quotes—leading to a sense of déjà vu, a feeling that we’ve heard these notes before. The winds are kept on a tight leash, given sardonic and terse lines, and only rarely allowed to wax lyrical.

Juggle was commissioned by the Guelph Spring Festival with the assistance of The Laidlaw Foundation.