"Spirit Flight" for flute solo, Op.75

Katherine Hoover: "Spirit Flight" for flute solo, Op.75 was written in 2012. The work was commissioned by Wendela van Swol, a distinguished flutist based in Cordoba, Spain, who premiered it on December 8, 2013, at the Maranathakerk in The Hague, Netherlands.
The piece was initially untitled until played for two friends. One of them described vivid images of varied landscapes as if flying, which inspired the final title. The composition continues her "Spirit" series but with a "soaring" quality that uses the full dynamic and tonal range of the flute to mimic the sensation of flight.
During 2012, Hoover was focusing on "international" connections and a more atmospheric late style, and the premiere in the Netherlands reflects Hoover's growing global reach late in her career. While she remained physically active in the New York music scene (her apartment in New York had become a "pilgrimage site" for doctoral students and young flutists), her life that year was defined by legacy-building and a shift toward shorter, more intimate forms of expression. 2012 was the year Hoover decided to revisit the "unaccompanied flute" genre that had made her famous in the early 1990s.
Additionally, she spent much of this year coaching performers and refining the performance guides for her older works, ensuring her specific "wooden flute" interpretations were documented for history.