I first became aware of Shulamit Ran's name shortly after I entered Mannes as an undergraduate. She is an alumna, and she had recently won the Pulitzer Prize for her Symphony. But it wasn't until several years later, when I was consulting on a dissertation about her wonderful flute solo, East Wind, that I first heard her music. That work is included, along with five others, on this wonderful recording by the Da Capo Chamber Players, long advocates of her work.

It was a difficult choice for which work to use for the CCM—I genuinely like them all—but, in the end, I've decided to sample the duet for clarinet and cello, Private Game (1979), if for no other reason than it shows off her technical prowess, her lyricism, and her playfulness all in a single clip.