A global Call for Scores invited original ukulele compositions, resulting in a unique website that showcases one piece at a time. On the Ukulele Odyssey site, each work is featured for a few days before a countdown reveals the next. Visitors can read performance notes, watch the video, and play from on-screen sheet music—though downloading or printing isn’t allowed. There’s no archive; only the current piece is visible. I was thrilled when my first submission, Tulips in Triple Time, launched the site in October 2025. Since then, these rotating works have continued to inspire my own composing.
Meeting the founder
In late October, I met with Thijs Kevenaar, founder of the Ukulele Odyssey Project. We intentionally chose Utrecht—a Roman, cobblestoned city where I once lived—as our meeting place. We settled into Winkel van Sinkel, the famous former pharmacy-turned-restaurant, and five hours later we were still deep in conversation, talking about composing for teaching, and composing for our shared passion: the ukulele.
As a composer, I’m always intrigued by what others create—what they write, how they write it, and the ideas behind their music. Seeing and playing their work also gives me a way to benchmark my own and reflect on how it compares.
Work that inspires
Today I visited the Ukulele Odyssey website and discovered a new piece by a Finnish composer. Its title, Kuura, even included my surname. The piece was a pleasure to sight-read—short, simple, and elegant.
The effortless shift between D minor and A major reminded me of a piece by Lindsay Higgs, the English composer who dedicated his Waltz in D Minor to me. I learned and recorded it the very day it arrived. Once I sorted out the left- and right-hand fingerings, it became great fun to play. I was especially struck by how naturally the harmony moved from D minor to A7 and then to G minor along with the sliding motion of my fretting hand.
Inspired to write
My fingers ached to play the notes forming in my mind, so I dropped everything to write Minor Mood and give that new piece a place to rest.
As always, there’s more than one way—and more than one place—to play a note. Repetition can be powerful: it reinforces technique and gives you another chance to express the idea differently. In the second section, I repeat the opening but offer alternative ways to play it.
To create contrast and avoid repetition, Section C introduces a new idea: a second voice and a temporary modulation from D minor to its relative major, F major.
The art of dedication
There’s a long-standing tradition of dedicating a piece to someone. I still remember how honored I felt when Lindsay dedicated his piece to me. Likewise, I could sense the joy in Choan Galvez’s recording of Thijs Kevenaar’s waltz below. Did Thijs dedicate his piece to Choan?
Now I wonder: to whom should I dedicate Minor Mood? Perhaps Markus Rantanen, whose Kuura inspired me today?
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