The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl for Piccolo and Harp, by Leanna Keith. Commissioned by Ann-Sofie and Peter Verhoye, and premiered at the 2024 National Flute Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is a very famous Chinese folktale. In the story, Zhinü (the weaver girl) and Niulang (the cowherd) fell in love, but their relationship was forbidden by the gods. So they were banished to opposite sides of a heavenly river (the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day.