After I discovered that my guitar counterpart would be Audrey, I immediately emailed her asking what composers she enjoyed playing, what she believed her level of playing was, and what references there were to help me write a piece that would not only be interesting technically but also playable and a fun experience for her to learn. Audrey then replied back to me with a hefty playlist with multiple composers who wrote in a multitude of styles; as well as the link to the youtube video of her playing the piece her former collaborator from last year's Twisted Spruce Symposium. Three days later, though I was unsure with what I had, I sent Audrey a sixteen bar fragment not expecting to keep it. But the next day she sent back an audio file with a note saying she liked it and suggested adding thicker textures to keep it from feeling empty. She also sent me a pdf of Some Notes on Writing for the Guitar by Jonathan Leathwood. In my second sketch I added fourteen more bars though my writing approach was slightly different. Since this was my first time composing for guitar, there was still some doubt in my mind about what I wrote; so I decided to metaphorically throw things at the wall to see what stuck; I then sent it to Audrey to weed out anything that would be impossible. For the next couple of weeks I took a break from the piece and listened to a couple of the pieces that were on Audrey’s playlist as well as took notes from Leathwood. And I came back ready to tackle the remaining three minutes I had left to write. In sketch three, I listened to Audrey’s advice that she gave from the first sixteen bars and added harmonies to support the main melody. Immediately it made the piece feel more alive, and it eventually stemmed into the creation of the title and overall vibe I wanted the piece to have. After sending Audrey the third draft she sent me an email with more insightful advice; this time being to transpose the piece to either b or c-sharp minor which were two very refreshing options seeing as that the pieces I wrote prior to Twisted Spruce were in c or f minor (they’re currently my favorite keys to write in) and I knew I needed a change in key signature before I got stuck; Audrey’s suggestion just confirmed it and officially cemented the choice to do it. Thus leading to the final draft of the piece being in the key of c-sharp minor. Though our conversations were mainly through email and the suggestions Audrey made were small. I truly valued my time with Twisted Spruce and enjoyed collaborating with Audrey on this piece. I have grown to enjoy it and I am very excited to hear it live.