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Small Ensemble
2023
Cello
Electric Guitar
Horn
Oboe
Piano
Saxophone
- Program Notes
- Wolfsbane & Burn Scars examines body and transformation. I have always been influenced by werewolf movies and the ways they have been used to represent transformations of the body, bodily autonomy, dysmorphia, and agency. Lon Chaney Jr’s portrayal of Lawrence Talbot examines bodily autonomy, control, and the concept of “goodness,” Ginger Snaps investigates the duality of transformation and embracing monstrous quality, even if its destructive to the world around us. Wolfsbane is the supposed remedy to this transformation, though it necessitates action and immediacy in most of its applications. This piece mixes my fascination with the visual aesthetics of disfiguration as it is used in horror movies and my experience with body dysmorphia and scarification, both intentional and accidental. This piece uses a number of extended techniques to represent sonic variants of disfiguration. Each player moves through means of playing through instrument that omits key parts (like the body of an instrument), unordinary additions to instruments (like sponges on a guitar), traditional methods of playing, and finally ending with kinesthetic engagement. Kinesthetic approaches to performance is an important part of this composition as a direct way to create transformation, both through physical necessity and sonic exploration.