Crystal and Cloud was composed during the early weeks of the 2021 Walden School Young Musicians Program when the work’s composers found themselves immersed in Walden’s creative community following the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The composers worked together to integrate their ideas into a cohesive sonic environment that was unified around themes of listening, guided improvisation, and eco-acoustics. The title refers to the union of real and imagined soundscapes, mirroring the composers’ intention of complimenting organic sound in the environment around them in Dublin, New Hampshire, as well as the emergent soundscape of the music being created in real time by an ensemble.