where we used to be — solo violin (2022)
Commissioned by Michael Jinsoo Lim, duration 6’
Approaching the concept of mapping through an indigenous cartographic lens (see Louis, Kanaka Hawai‘i Cartography), I wrote this piece thinking about spatial/temporal knowledge acquisition, representation, and transmission as encoded in dance and music. One endearing thing about giving / getting directions in Hawai‘i is that people will often use important local landmarks that are no longer there, or where something used to be. The memory of these places, either passed through oral tradition, or through personal recollection, becomes a mental map of the landscape, maintained simultaneously with the rapidly changing modern world. This piece is the dance between what is and what used to be.
Creation and development of the work was supported in part by the Bogliasco Foundation with the generous support of the Edward T. Cone Special Fellowship in Music
where we used to be performed by Michael Jinsoo Lim (Kinetic, Planet M Records, 2025)
Print edition of the sheet music for where we used to be for solo violin.
Digital download of the sheet music for where we used to be for solo violin.
This PDF is only for individual use. Libraries wishing to acquire the score should purchase the print edition.
Past Performances
Thursday, May 21, 2026 — Violinist Lilit Hartunian performs solo works centered around the concept of emerging light, the cyclical rhythms of nature, and slowly shifting ground including the East Coast premiere of where we used to be, on Sound Bites: Nancy Lee Clark Concert Series, Edward H. Linde Gallery (Gallery 168), MFA Boston, MA
Saturday, February 25, 2023 — Michael Jinsoo Lim, world premiere of where we used to be, Guest Artist Recital at Brechemin Auditorium, University of Washington, Seattle, WA