for solo piano

~ 8 min

Tiny Forests is inspired by the urban planning concept of breaking up a city's concrete-and-glass jungle with plots of miniature forests.

While small in scale, they still adhere to the principles of how forests form and grow: a nourishing layer of soil, above which lies (in ascending order) the shrub, sub-tree, tree, and canopy layers.

Musically, the piece presents three tiny forests interacting within a city environment, and charts their growth as they extend root networks, to connect with each other, and eventually remake their urban contexts into an ideal "garden city."

Tiny Forests is a Jury Prize winner in the Sydney International Piano Competition's "Composing the Future" initiative, generously supported by Creative Partnerships Australia; the work is also a part of James Palmer's “What is a Prelude?” project.