Popcorn was commissioned by the Michigan Flute Orchestra, Gail Green, conductor. When Gail Green approached me about composing Popcorn, I immediately thought that it had to be rhythmic and might lend itself to International Morse Code rhythms. When I looked up the code, the letters POPCORN worked so well that when combining POP and CORN, it creates a palindrome! (minus the last note). The ostinato that appears throughout the piece is based on P, and frequently the word POP will appear. At the end of the piece, POPCORN is spelled out then layered to form the palindrome.
