Listening Room
Chakra (2007) for 11 instruments
Tiffany Billings-Sandall, alto flue; Janet Hildebrand, bass clarinet; Amy Rischling, horn; Tobin Stewart, trumpet; Jonathan Raftery, percussion; Kurt Knecht, piano; David Snow, violin; Caroline Faflak, violin; Lexi Woodard, viola; Sakura N. Ewer, cello; Garrett Hope, bass; James Wilson, conductor.
Bodhisattva (2006) for 8 instruments
Michael Reichman, alto flute; Elizabeth Aleksander, clarinet; Daisy Smith, bassoon; Ben Koch, horn; Mikiko Sakamoto, piano; David Snow, violin; Derek Mosloff, viola; Jessica Dussault, cello; Leonardo Lebas, conductor.
Bodhisattva features three seamless micro movements interlacing into an organized whole. The piece, calling for a mixed ensemble consisting of piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin I, violin II, viola, and cello, is centered on the piano with other instruments delicately radiating around it. The musical sum and current are constructed by interweaving independent linear constituent that is commanded by each instrument. By presenting this composition, the composer hopes to express the abstraction in formulating a thought or contemplation and the richness of one’s subordinate conscious as one goes on to interact with daily surroundings.
Ch’i (2008) for 8 slide whistles, percussion, and piano
Caleb Bailey, slide whistle; Sarah Cochran, slide whistle; Andrew Gades, slide whistle; Todd Garrison, slide whistle; Sarah Louden, slide whistle; Michael Selvage, slide whistle; Randall Snyder, slide whistle; Kyle Sweitzer, slide whistle; Yu-Han Huang, piano; Jen-Kuang Chang, percussion and musical saw; Bill Louden, conductor.
Statements (2005) for piano, woodwind quintet, and string quartet
Heath White, flute; Renée Ouellette, oboe; Janet Hildebrand, clarinet; Amy Rischling, horn; Paul Hegstorm, bassoon; Lily Spader, piano; David Snow, violin; Caroline Faflak, violin; Lexi Woodard, viola; Jessica Dussault, cello; Chris Watson, conductor
. . . et cetera (2008) for saxophone, piano, and percussion with live electronic
Kyle Sweitzer, alto and tenor saxophone; Bill Louden, piano; Jen-Kuang Chang, percussion and live electronics
. . . et cetera is a personal quest to examine the inadequacy of human sensory in dynamically and continuously detecting external occurrences and the circumscribed benevolence in responding to the surrounding emotions and sentiments bordering one’s existence. The composition calls for three performers with the instrumentation of saxophones, piano, and percussion. The live electronics part, controlled by percussionist, is realized with two USB joysticks and one LED lighting sensor. Six buttons in each joystick are assigned to an individual custom patch, while X-Y-Z motion of joysticks are assigned to common controller data such as volume control and pitch bent, enabling real-time control. The LED lighting sensor is created with a LED lighting stick and a webcam, translating lighting signals into MIDI data to trigger custom patch.
Vritti (2007) acousmatic composition in two channels
Vritti is a sonic poem depicting the fluctuation of human conscious during the meditative state. It utilizes both computer-generated sound sources and sampled files. By presenting this sonic poem, the composer invites listeners to contemplate the kaleidoscopic mind state and its interaction with the surrounding reality.
