Linnunrata (The Path of the Birds) for flute and guitar was commissioned in 2024 by the Quatra Duo (Michelle Stanley, flute and Jeff LaQuatra, guitar). The work was composed in January and February 2025. In Finnish folklore, Linnunrata (translated as The Path of the Birds) is the name for the Milky Way. It was believed that birds followed this path in the winter when migrating to the warm, paradise-like place called Lintukoto. The poetic images of the arrival of winter and the birds’ imagined mystical journey along the Milky Way inspired this composition.