Composed for the University of Memphis's Contemporary Chamber Players Ensemble in September of 2022, Scenes from a Village is a collection of five short movements musically capturing multiple lively moments happening in an imaginary village. The work is meant to give a programmatic feeling that could be accompanied by dancers for a deeper connection with the musical scenery.

Evan's whimsical, pseudo-minimalist voice is prominent across the work. Motifs are created that are made to represent important things in the village, like a very delicate flute solo acting as the children frolicking together as they play in the woods. As the piece opens, the audience is treated to a flight over the village. The buildings, people, and natural landmarks are being grazed past, setting the mood for the coming more spacious "scenes" happening in the village. In the second movement, Evan wanted to invoke a feeling of nostalgia for things like exploring and playing with friends as a child. Delicate footsteps through the woods lead to a beautiful and gentle line showing the adventures of the children. While this is happening, a group of bullies find the group, but are quickly stopped by parents who scold the group. This is immediately followed by the next scene, where a child and his parents are walking back home. At first, they are being lectured for being out in the woods and getting into a dangerous situation; as they calm down and silence takes over, the sounds of the lonely night walk are what the child focuses on. Short interruptions through the empty space give a delicate, peaceful atmosphere to the situation.

Jumping to a different day, the weekly market is happening in the village. The indistinct tumult of conversations are filling the area as people walk around with friends and talk to the vendors. In this movement, the cello pizzicato voice is the main person we hear talking. However, sometimes other conversations become more present while weaving through the marketplace before fading into the background again. In the final movement, many different themes from across the piece come together while a snowstorm happens during the school day. Throughout the storm, the children's theme comes back as they have their daily recess indoors while the window shows the hazy snow coming down. Eventually, the movement comes to a close and wraps up the Scenes from a Village.

Thank you, and please enjoy Scenes from a Village!