fractures with grain and the dust on the window-sill (2021)
This piece for piano trio is impactful on this research for multiple reasons; firstly, it serves as the first piece of mine which utilized an early version of my analysis-to-notation Max/MSP patch, and secondly it was workshopped and recorded with ensemble Longleash at the same time as my first major explorations with electromagnetic field recording at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky. To date, it has not had a live performance and only exists as this recorded version (fantastically recorded and engineered by Chris Kincaid).
say all before (2022)
This piece for ensemble (flute, trombone, cello, piano, percussion) and transducers is another collaborative work with Netherlands-based ensemble Sketch351. In this case, the source material comes from recordings of shortwave radio transmissions recorded from February to September 2022, some of which were then turned into notation for the ensemble and played through transducers into different resonant objects. Utilizing a repetition-based structure, this piece is worth noting for our use of transducers in the piece; while phantom islands, saltwater superstructures featured recordings played directly onto the instruments being played, in say all before these recordings are transduced into different standalone resonant bodies, with the shortwave recordings essentially becoming members of the ensemble. say all before was performed twice in September 2022 in Porto, Portugal and The Hague, with a fantastic studio recording produced by Leonardo Santos and Luuk van Leeuwen.
initial gesture protraction (2023)
Written for the New European Ensemble, this piece is essentially a sequel to (almost always is nearly enough), taking its name from another song by Tortoise and containing similar inspiration to the earlier piece. In this case, a case of mistaken spectral analysis resulted in the piece’s material — a file was analyzed and converted to notation, but I simply collected a set of pitches from the analysis and subsequently forgot what file I had analyzed. When I returned to the material, it had lost its identity, leaving the piece to become a type of study on ‘creating place’ from something which had lost its relationship to place. This piece will receive its premiere as part of the Royal Conservatory’s Spring Festival in late April 2023.
metal on wind on metal (2023)
Written for American percussionist Luke Helker, metal on wind on metal follows techniques explored in Untitled.exe in the interaction between performance and live manipulation of sound. In this case, field recordings of found metal objects (taken in The Hague) are in turn manipulated live by a player interacting with different metal objects, including found “junk metal,” saw blades, and vibraphone. This piece will receive its premiere in late April 2023 in Lawrence, Kansas, followed by a repeat performance at the New Music Gathering in Portland, Oregon, in late June.
good day sunshine (2023)
Developed with Hague-based ensemble Kali along with singer Kristia Michael, this work is based on a field recording I took in my hometown of St. Augustine, FL. Winter 2022 saw a significant cold snap in St. Augustine, resulting in a surprising die-off of a number of plants in the area — one which is already beginning to be ravaged by the impacts of climate change. The text is derived from a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate analysis from December 2022, when the source field recording was taken. good day sunshine will receive its premiere as part of the Royal Conservatory’s Spring Festival in late April 2023.
