Benavides: LEK

• Composer: Nicols Benavides (1987-)
• Format: Score & Set of Parts – Format guide
• Instrumentation: String Quartet (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello)
• Work: LEK (2023) (String Quartet & Electronics)
• Binding:
• Size: 8.7 x 11.8 inches
• Pages: None

Description

Developed in collaboration with the Fry Street Quartet, the NOVA Chamber Music Series, and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM), LEK is a dynamic work for string quartet and electronics. The title stems from a Swedish word for “play,” a term also used by biologists to describe the arenas where male birds gather to perform exhausting, months-long courtship dances.

The composition is directly inspired by the intricate rituals of the Greater Sage-Grouse and the Sharp-Tailed Grouse, species known for producing percussive popping noises, vibrating their wings, and stomping rapidly across frigid hilltops to attract a mate. Integrating actual field recordings of these mating displays into the accompaniment, the work casts the string players in the roles of battling males and a highly selective female evaluating their performances.

Beyond capturing this avian dancing marathon, the piece carries a strong conservation message. It draws a parallel between human artistic expression and the birds’ instinctual need to perform, while highlighting how human activities such as fracking, mining, and land development threaten these pristine habitats and the ongoing survival of the species.