Music marks time—gathers, embraces, endures it. Thunder in the tympani, nectar in the run of a flute; arpeggios of wonder, terror, and desire. When the orchestra plays, the world flies at us on a fierce wind.

For composers and musicians, labels can be limiting. They usually aren’t coined and settled until after a musical movement is past, but they stick around long after they would have been useful.

Ask your average classical concertgoer what they think of when they hear the phrase “new music” and after a moment of trepidation, their answers are likely to fall along a few well-worn narratives.

Missy Mazzoli first came to Cabrillo Festival in 2007 to participate in the Composer Workshop. On Saturday, Aug. 15, her piece River Rouge Transformation will receive its West Coast debut.

Composers are famously isolated creatures who treasure solitude, and not without good reason.