049 - Etuditina

A small sonata is a sonatina, so why can’t a small etude be an etuditina? At least that was my rational several years ago when I composed a set of piano etudes designed to fit on a 61 key keyboard.

This “etuditina” is really only concerned with relatively simple right hand runs.

On a completely different note I was shocked today to discover the name of an an old friend of mine, Kevin Hiatt, listed as an unclaimed deceased individual in Jackson County, MO. Kevin was a classmate of mine when I was attending UMKC as an undergraduate composition student in the 1970’s and I’ve kept up with him on and off ever since.

According to the report he was homeless at the time of his death which occurred on January 15, during the period when the polar vortex was freezing most of North America. I fear he likely froze to death.

I called the number listed and it appears I was the first person to step forward that knew Kevin. I’m trying to help them sort this out. I know he has a few remaining family members that live out of state but I have no idea who or where they are so was unable to help them.

I know some of the people that read this are, or were at some point, friends of his. He and I were somewhat estranged this last year for reasons I’m not going into here, but I know somewhere in this city he has left with someone reams of finished, handwritten compositions that should not be destroyed. Nobody that created such a body of work should have it lost like this so I would like to see that it’s recovered.

It’s the least I can do for him at this point.