mAtrix[Blue]ooM

Initially, this piece was an etude study into a new theory I was devising. As I was finishing the work, my anxieties resurfaced during the Black Lives Matter protests following the aftermath of George Floyd's death by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin. I am not a Black person, but as a person of color with a traumatic history with white supremacy, I am hurting for the black community. 

The title is meant to catalog my confusion in such devastating, semi-Orwellian times. Bloom - a term used to describe diminishing returns on the accuracy of semi-automatic guns. [Blue] - those we've anointed our guardians of justice. 

Performed and Recorded by Jacob Mason 
http://www.jacobmasonpianist.org/

rynejsmusic@gmail.com
www.rynejsmusic.com

Picture: Richmond, VA protests

mAtrIx[Blue]ooM (Two Quarter-Tuned Pianos)

| drɔ-ˈki ˈow-ɾʊ is a composer, educator, and EID advocate. Under their new mononym, ˈtoʊ-drɔ-ˈki’s music has been described as “beautifully haunting” (Robert Avalon Competition), “patiently evocative” (George Lewis), and “unsettling, [yet] interesting” (Joshua Weatherspoon, Cycling ’74). Their recent works engages with experiential intersectionality as an idiosyncratic mechanism for musical creation and sonic processing. Droki's music has been performed by Hypercube, Duo Sequenza, and Musiqa, and has been featured at several festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, SEAMUS, and ICMC, among others. Droki's music has been commercially released with several labels including Navona Records, PARMA Recordings, Petrichor Records, and RMN Music.  

Recently, Droki was a composer in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, working on their intersectional dissertation Project 본인 for soprano, megaphone, and decet. They are also in the process of having several works published with Universal Edition and Elision Publications. In 2022, they were awarded 2nd prize for Loop38’s Rothko Chapel “Will and Soul” Commission and were selected for the inaugural Ensemble Vim Composer Fellowship to compose a thirty-minute work entitled Project 기억 for cello, piano, spoken word, 5.1 electronics, and live artist. Droki's current and upcoming projects include ‘chr_om-I-qƆrt for two sopranos, two pianos, and live electronics and a violin and cello concerto for Sarah Grimes, CJ Point, and the Mississippi Valley Orchestra. 

Droki is an Assistant Professor of Music Technology and a mentor for an orchestral composer fellowship. Droki received their Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, studying under Lansing McLoskey, Dorothy Hindman, and Juraj Kojs.