Much of my recent work deals with the issue of reappropriation. Where do we get our ideas? What do we owe, if anything, to our sources of inspiration? Historically, composers have stolen ideas from each other regularly, reworking these into…
Blog Archives
Love in the Time of Connectivity
Love in the Time of Connectivity is a collage. In fact, even the title is a collage: I took the title of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, and combined it with a reference to the…
Tagged with: bass, clarinet, flute, guitar, horn, large ensemble, love in the time of connectivity, orkest de ereprijs, percussion, piano, saxophone, soprano, trombone, trumpet, tuba, vocal
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Community-Normed
Only a small part of music is actually about sound. The majority of music-making has to do with social interactions more than anything else. Music fulfills certain functions (usually pre-determined) within certain social situations, or serves as a replacement for…
Tagged with: cello, chamber, clarinet, community-normed, continuum ensemble, flute, percussion, piano, violin
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Jackhammer Lullaby
Jackhammer Lullaby is an arrangement of Community-Normed, which was commissioned by the Continuum Ensemble in Toronto in 2008. I’ve become increasingly interested in presenting pieces in multiple versions and combinations. Jackhammer Lullaby, with a few changes, is also the middle…
Tagged with: cello, chamber, clarinet, community-normed, continuum ensemble, flute, jackhammer lullaby, percussion, piano, violin
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Shit Around the World
This piece is based on the sound of the word shit in twelve different languages. It travels from west to east geographically across the world. The languages were chosen either because I speak them, or because I could find a…
Culture no.3
Culture no.3 is the last in a series of pieces that deals with the ways that modern popular culture can inform Western art music. More specifically, Culture no.3 is involved in exploring the interrelation between the visceral elements of popular…
Tagged with: cello, clarinet, contrabass, culture no.3, ensemble contemporain de montréal, flute, horn, large ensemble, percussion, piano, trombone, viola, violin
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Nothing
Why call a piece Nothing? Well, in a word, curiosity—most of my music has as its theme the question, “What happens if…?” At the time I was writing Nothing (winter 2004), I was bothered by the almost total reliance on…
Tagged with: cello, contrabass, flute, large ensemble, nothing, percussion, saxophone, viola, violin
Posted in Music
Posted in Music
Argument in Ternary Form
The title of the piece is in reference to an argument between two of the composer’s friends, regarding the meaning of form in new music. The piece explores this question musically: is it in ternary form or not?
- @elcush Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
- My response to @elcush's The Bacon-Wrapped Economy http://t.co/PFKEL7p9eH
- My latest blog post, looking at the difference between crowdfunding and traditional philanthropy:http://t.co/PFKEL7p9eH
- My latest article: Working for Free: Helpful or Harmful? http://t.co/TvNqXlxT54 a composer's response to @tanehisi Atlantic piece
- Composition Lessons: The Dirty Projector’s “Police Story” and on how to write for voice http://t.co/1ze2kTuBF0
- A friendly review of my premiere at Other Minds last weekend: http://t.co/d1EspIr1Q9
- The @OtherMindsSF Festival was pretty great this year, thanks to all involved.
- Soundcheck for @OtherMindsSF complete, come check out the show tonight, premiere of my piece.
- Apparently my "Machiavellian Guide" now ranks for the search term "iconoclast composer". ;-) http://t.co/tRwTLccA7R
- I will be interviewed by Sarah Cahill on @kalw_radio tonight for the @OtherMindsSF Festival, 8:00pm PST, check it out.
