Vaquita

Vaquita was composed between September/October of 2018 during my first semester at Mason Gross School of the Arts. During that time I was taking a prerequisite course called Extinction, and one of the articles assigned was about the vaquita. The vaquita is the most endangered porpoise animal in the world, with only an estimated dozen left. After learning of its near extinction, Miranda was inspired to write a piece that portrayed the plight of the animal. With this piece Miranda hopes to raise awareness that humans are the main cause of the vaquita’s endangerment, prompting others to take action on its behalf.

The piece is a tone poem that with progression becomes darker and more dramatic; symbolizing the timeline in which the vaquita becomes endangered. Miranda also gives a watery essence to the piece, thinking of the piano as the water and the bassoon as the vaquita.