Trece de Coco was a fun piece to write, all 3 movements completed in just a few weeks. It evolved from a study of the music of one of my very favorite choral composers, Morton Lauridsen (1943 – ), who achieves exquisite music very simply. For those familiar with his music, you may be able to hear a brief quote from Dirait – On in Movement I. The last movement is an expansion of music I composed previously for my son to perform as a Contrabass Duet and is written in Dorian Church Mode, giving it a sneaky feeling.
The Wind Trio (Flute, Oboe, Bassoon) version of this piece was premiered on 27 September 2025 in American Fork, Utah, by Ray Smith (flute), Christian Tran (oboe), and Jessi Vandagriff (bassoon). Recordings from the premiere are included below. It is also available for Sax Trio (Alto, Tenor, Baritone with AI Audio files generated by NotePerformer).
Live Wind Trio of Movement I, Coconut Delights:
Sax Trio, AI generated:
Live Wind Trio of Movement II, Moods:
Sax Trio, AI generated:
Live Wind Trio of Movement III, Sleuth:
Sax Trio, AI generated:
The title, “Trece de Coco,” is a play on words. In Portugese, “doce de coco” technically means “coconut sweets” but colloquially can be used to mean “sweetheart.” It is the name of a wonderful song by the Brazilian songwriter Jacob do Bandolim. However, the same “doce de coco” in Spanish means “twelve of coconut”. To go just a bit further, I gave this song the title “thirteen of coconut” in Spanish, or “Trece de Coco” —hopefully just a little sweeter than your favorite treat (of your favorite sweatheart).