The idea of Rituals came about in 2007, when Dr. Angela Rowland, a founding member of the Macau Chamber Orchestra in Macau, proposed an idea to write a piece for piccolo and percussion inspired by the popular Chinese lion dance. I adopted the idea, and incorporate other urban scenes that I have encountered in New York City, to create this three-movement piece. Rituals was commissioned by the Walden School, for the Firebird Ensemble, Boston.