The title, Of Five Minds, is both a play on words given the ensemble it is scored for, and a succinct description of how I often feel when starting the writing process of a new piece of music. I often feel myself pulled in many different directions by varying influences, and it can be a challenge to hone in on a single idea. So my approach to this piece, despite being ‘of five minds’ about what I wanted to write, was to focus on a singular idea from a single point of inspiration; namely, riffs/ostinati. Much of my foundational listening experiences through my childhood have been with rock and metal music, in which riffs are ubiquitous, and this inspired me to channel two different ostinati to base this piece on. Each ostinato forms the foundation of each section of this binary piece, defining the form and structure as well as informing the melodic and harmonic content. While there are influences of minimalism throughout, I did not want the ostinato itself to be an omnipresent feature; it instead drives the piece forward, all the while allowing new melodies to appear, interrupting and embellishing on existing features.