With virtually no light pollution in my hometown, gazing up at the stars and planets at night during camping trips and in my backyard is an experience I remember fondly. STELLIFEROUS (ste-lif-er-uhs), meaning star-shaped or full of stars, is a piece that aims to capture the vastness of space and my childhood awe of the night sky.

The piece begins and ends modally in D Phrygian. A five-note motive comprised of an eighth note and four sixteenth notes are sprinkled throughout, reflecting the typical five points of a star. Because of the theme of this piece, it was only natural to include constellations. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor were two of the essential constellations to know back in my scouting days. The more well-known Big and Little Dipper make up part of these constellations. With these, one can find Polaris, which lies in Little Dipper, pointing the way towards true north. The score shows this notationally through a specific combination of notes between the two marimba staves. In the B section of the piece, the mode switches to D Pentatonic, highlighting the five notes of the scale and giving the section a floaty, ethereal quality, ending with a transition to the A’ section to bring us home.

From Thomas’s Program Note