"Smorgasboard" for solo flute/piccolo

Nicole Chamberlain: "Smorgasboard" for solo flute/piccolo was written in 2010. The piece was performed in 2010 at the Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) Conference at the University of Central Missouri and broadcast on WPLN’s "Live in Studio C" that same year.
The title is a metaphor for the wide variety of sounds (the "ingredients") a flutist can create by manipulating their air stream. Chamberlain uses the term to describe how a flutist has a "smorgasbord of ingredients in the pantry" that can be combined into a complete work.
Each movement’s title represents a different food texture translated into sound through extended techniques:
1. Crunchy: Uses aggressive attacks and "punches".
2. Gelatinous: Uses pitch bending to create a fluid, unstable sound.
3. Carbonated: Features pops, clicks, and varying embouchure shapes to simulate fizzing.
4. Fluffy: Performed on piccolo; incorporates singing while playing and flutter tonguing.
The year 2010 was a pivotal breakout year for Nicole Chamberlain as a composer. She won the "Audience Favorite" award at the Atlanta Opera's 24-Hour Opera Project for her short opera Scrub-A-Dub Raw, which led to her first major commission for the children's opera "Rabbit Tales".
In 2010, Chamberlain was still balancing her career in web animation and graphic design with her music. Many of her works from this period began to explicitly reflect the visual storytelling and "metamorphosis of sound" influenced by her animation background.