Feuille Morte

written for Emma Kieselhorst, in collaboration with The Cortona Sessions for New Music

premiered February 22, 2026 at the Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, IN)

Feuille Morte translates from French as “dead leaf.” Dead leaves often symbolize beauty in decay, the slow drift of time, and the ache of nostalgia. In this piece, a single dead leaf (feuille morte) becomes a single preserved moment: an instance of memory, change, or loss. Built around guided improvisation and accompanied by a corpus-based electronic track, the work is shaped as a reflection of the commissioner’s musical identity.

Feuille Morte is written for and commissioned by Emma Kieselhorst in association with the Cortona Sessions for New Music.

photography by Anika Luehrmann