The inspiration for the composition comes from a promotional video created by the Vienna Philharmonic. In this video the philharmonic is advertising the summer nights concerts at the historic Schoenbrunn Palace, (Schonebrunn was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, Vienna.) The summer nights concert is one of the highlights of the Philharmonic season and my personal interest was that our son Robert had been invited to perform in the violin section for this concert as part of a 2 year internship with the orchestra. When a promotional video for this concert popped up in my newsfeed I was curious. The video had a yearning wistful and nostalgic quality with members of the orchestra and support staff preparing for the performance amidst the backdrop of the beautiful castle as throngs of eager concert goers are waiting to enter the grounds. As a musical backdrop to this video you can hear the beautiful melody of the Intermezzo from Cavaliera Rusticani written by Mascagni.

Having been to the castle and to Vienna I realize the complexity of the setting and the history. There is something bittersweet about this setting, the history of the Hapsburg dynasty and the echoes of imperialism… It is actually hard to put into words. Ii also miss my son but I am ultimately pleased that his musical journey has taken him to this place so, there is a twinge of bittersweet nostalgia in that regard. Mascagni's melody and the wistful, bittersweet feeling stuck with me long after I was finished watching the video, eventually sending me to my studio and violin to begin to work out what would eventually become rustika.

This project gave me an opportunity to work with a mentor and longtime collaborator Doug Lofstrom who helped me to amplify this sentiment and also with my longtime colleague, percussionist Jean Christophe-Leroy, whose mastery of Afro-Cuban sacred music deepened the emotional and spiritual impact. This was also the first creative project that I was able to utilize the Viola and discovery what it’s voice could bring to the table