Kyle Kindred: Music
Short-Eared Owl
(Kyle Kindred, piano)
2002
The short pieces that make up OWLklahoma were composed over a perios of five years, beginning with my first serious projects as a composition student at Wichita State University in 1997. Most of these were written as "preludes" only later to recieve their new associations with the six of the ten different species of owls found in the state of Oklahoma. The idea for this programmatic association was inspired by my friendship with a zoologist at Oklahoma State University, Tiffany Weston. Weston has been a very important part of a research program designed to track and study behaviors of the crow population in Stillwater, Oklahoma--the only study of its kind in North America. She helped to provide me with information about the variouis species of owls in Oklahoma, and thus the entire set is dedicated to her. Each composition is somehow associated with or inspired by one or more unique characteristics of each specific owl.
The Short-Eared Owl (Asio flammeus) nests not in trees but on the ground. With tiny ear tufts and yellow eyes, this bird can emit various snarls, squeals, and dog-like barking noises in addition to a more typical low-pitched "hoo."
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) has the most acutely developed sense of hearinf of all owls, pinpointing prey with 100% accuracy in total darkness. With a white, heart-shaped facial disk and dark eyes, this feared hunter is capable of creating harsh hissing and screeching sounds along with metallic-sounding clicks.
The Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio), nesting in tree cavities, is the only small owl in the East with ear tufts. Its call is best described as an eerie whinny, rising and falling in pitch, in addition to a long trill on one note.
The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is a species fiverse in appetite as well as rhythm of its call. Its prey range from small insects to animals the size of a great blue heron. The call of the species is generally made up of four to six hoots, given in various rhythms by different individuals.
The Snowy Owl (nyctea scandiaca) is a large white owl more commonly found in Canada and the Arctic where it typically nests on tundra. While capable of emitting barking sounds, usually on breeding grounds, this bird remains silent during the winter.
The Burrowing Owl (Speyoto cunicularia) could be described as "funny-looking," with a flattened head and widely-spaced eyes. This unique species is the only of the owl family to burrow under the ground. As a defense against against predators this bird can imitate the rattling sound of a rattlesnake.