Program Notes:

Auroras was written for the Hammond Duo: Fred and Marina Hammond. It was commissioned by the Hammond duo and the Latin American Music Center from Indiana University to be recorded in their CD “Fire Proof, Latin American Music for two pianos”. While writing this composition, the composer felt a relationship between sound colors of the work’s different sections and the many colors found in the bright dancing lights of the Northern lights (aurora borealis). Furthermore, these variations of color evoked in Pérez Velázquez’s mind the bright colors found in Caribbean culture. This composition presents elements of Caribbean musical tradition, in some cases disguised as its “shadows.” In other cases they are more noticeable, especially towards the end of the piece, in a section where one can hear the “clave” rhythm in a distorted fashion.