I have written two chamber works previous to this including clarinet; Quartet for a New Beginning, for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and Grand Serenade for clarinet, cello and piano. While most of my chamber music includes piano, sometimes I like to get away from it for a bit. At first I intended to write a clarinet quintet for the usual clarinet and string quartet, but from the first few measures the music insisted on an extra cello. So—I went with the flow.
          In July 2012, I decided to expand the sextet by adding a double bass part and thus make it a work for clarinet and string orchestra. Then in 2014, I thought that the second and third movements could stand alone as short works for orchestra. Curious Interlude is the third movement of Clarinet Sextet. The instrumentation is for winds in pairs (first Flute doubles Piccolo), two horns, two trumpets, tuba, timpani, and strings. While the tuba is not generally used in an orchestra of this size, and might complicate getting the piece performed, the music demands its inclusion; there are passages where no other available instrument will suffice.
          Accidentals hold through the measure and not beyond, and do not refer to other octaves. Sometimes I include courtesy accidentals to avoid confusion.