Cloud-Like (2014), Kirsten Broberg (5:56)

Ali Wright, alto saxophone
Dylan Ward, alto saxophone

Joe Tesoro, audio engineer
Colin Mosely, artwork and design
Recorded August 2019 at the University of Missouri–Kansas City

Cloud-Like, Kirsten Broberg

Tyler Kline: Yuzu

Alexandra Gardner: Tourmaline

Landscapes and Lamentations

Richard Carr: Rainbow Falls

Aeon Transfer (2023) for saxophone quartet 

Dylan Ward, saxophones
Kenneth Michael Florence, composer 

Program Notes:
Aeon Transfer is conceptually inspired by physicist Roger Penrose’s recently proposed theory of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology. As its name suggests, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (or CCC) is a cyclic model of the universe in which the temporal extremities (the beginning and ending states) of successive universes are identified, forming a potentially infinite chain of self-propagating space-time entities called aeons. Penrose’s model, in which each successive aeon is attached to the next via a common boundary, is based on the prediction that in the very distant future, all of the matter in the universe will have dissipated, rendering the concepts of time and size meaningless as they are both defined in terms of mass. Using a clever mathematical trick, Penrose shows that the conditions of such a massless state are synonymous with those currently ascribed to the hypothesized Big Bang singularity of our universe.

In Aeon Transfer, I have attempted to sonically portray the sort of activity I imagine would take place along the actual boundary between two successive aeons. Though Aeon Transfer is to some extent loosely organized and by no means follows a strict formal procedure, coherence is maintained through the continuous development and recontextualization of the material presented in the first few pages. The opening gesture is perhaps the most pervasive element in the piece, represented in some way in almost every measure. It is derived from a twelve-tone row comprised of three contiguous transpositions of a single tetrachord (0, 1, 6, 7 in set theoretical terms). The opening gesture is the result of vertically combining the set with itself from different starting points. Using this approach, I was able to achieve the kind of mechanical sound I was looking for. As previously mentioned, I used the intervallic relationships expressed through this procedure to generate the vertical sonorities for most of the A section.

Since this piece deals conceptually with phenomena that occur over large expanses of time, I thought that it would be fitting to reflect that in terms of musical style. In order to accomplish this, I incorporated compositional techniques and stylistic elements spanning from the Renaissance to modern popular music. Many of the rhythms I have employed were directly inspired by pop music. For instance, the rhythm in the viola in m. 23 would feel equally at home in a Michael Jackson song. However, I have treated this rhythm here in a two-voice canon and later (m. 133) in a three-voice canon. In fact, canon and general imitation are probably thecompositional devices I used most frequently in Aeon Transfer. I also drew rhythmic inspiration from a relatively new genre of progressive metal genre called “djent,” which is known for its use of syncopated pop rhythms organized into patterns containing odd numbers of beats which repeat in complex ways over even metric underpinnings. Interestingly, this technique is itself reminiscent of renaissance isorhythm. I have made use of it in several places, most obviously in mm. 25-33, where I have actually applied the renaissance concept more literally, using a continuous cycle through the original twelve-tone row as the “color” of the “talea.” Obviously, the use of the tone row and the harmonic language of the piece in general evidence an influence of twentieth century music, and the notion of generating an entire work from a single basic idea reflects a musical aesthetic that was relatively ubiquitous from the Baroque through the Romantic periods.

Aeon Transfer

This piece is an exploration of a perceptual phenomenon I call "channel switching." It's meant to depict (more or less literally) the way music presents itself to me in states of detached, dream-like consciousness.  Each section of the piece "tunes in" to a different channel. But all channels seem to be broadcasting the same idea, only from slightly different angles, as if through a sort of sonic prism.

Continua (for guitar quartet - demo)

God Spoke with a Piercing Blast

This piece was written with a Moog Mother 32 with guitar for one of my musical heroes Weasel Walter. I will continue writing homages for composers and musicians that I like so stay tuned. The soundbites are from a news reel, a Lydia Lunch interview, and Weasel himself.

Deathamphetamine (For Weasel Walter)

A work for Soprano and Alto Saxophone.
Recorded at Dolan Studios in NYC by Dylan Ward and Andrew Koss November-December 2017

Trenches

A demo recording of a piece I wrote in the fall of 2016, first for guitar and loop station, later scored for full orchestra. Full band version in the works.

Rift (for guitar and loop station - demo)

"Espejos" (obra realizada con el apoyo del Fondo Nacional de las Artes)

(Eva García Fernández -2020-)

para flauta, clarinete bajo, piano, guitarra eléctrica, violín, cello, vibráfono y batería.

Concierto - Entre Huellas Sonoras - Radio CASo (Noviembre 2020)

Ensamble Tropi

Flauta: Sebastián Tellado
Clarinete bajo: Constancia Moroni
Piano: Malena Levin
Guitarra Eléctrica: Manuel Moreno
Violín: Florencia Ciaffone
Cello: Alejandro Becerra
Vibráfono y batería: Juan Denari

Dirección: Haydée Schvartz

Si la obra quiere ser espejo del texto, entonces la presencia del texto en la música no puede sino tener la estructura de una ausencia.

Espejos aborda el vínculo entre texto y música incluyendo dentro de su construcción estructural el concepto central de dos poesías concretas de Octavio Armand, concepto que está íntimamente ligado al funcionamiento del lenguaje; este concepto es el de presencia-ausencia. Para dar cuenta de este concepto la obra utiliza una metodología que se basa fundamentalmente en la ausencia de la materialidad del texto, lo cual da lugar a la presencia de un nuevo material (sonido) que funciona como suplemento; de esta manera la obra devuelve una re-presentación sonora de la estructura formal de las poesías, pero despojada de su materialidad textual original.

Espejos

Espejos - para ensamble pierrot, guitarra eléctrica, vibráfono y batería - (2020)

Acclaimed for his “ethereal saxophone playing” and “distinctive experimental approach” (Vital Weekly), Dylan Ward is a musician/improviser/sound artist specializing in contemporary music. Ward has released recordings on the Neuma, Mother Brain, and XAS record labels that have been described as “meditative, jarring, and cosmic…highly creative” (Take Effect Reviews), and has been praised for presenting music that is “clear and coherent in its discourse, original in its sounds, and as beautiful and intellectually stimulating as it is playful” (Pan M 360). Ward has performed nationally at the Bang on a Can LOUD Weekend Festival, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival, and Mostly Modern Festival, and appeared in venues including Lincoln Center, Constellation Chicago, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Mesa Arts Center, and Sheen Center for Thought and Culture.
In July 2022, Ward released his debut solo electroacoustic album, Tourmaline, through Neuma Records. The album explores ideas of sonic transmutation and alchemy, featuring music by Alexandra Gardner, Viet Cuong, Seth Andrew Davis, Kenneth Michael Florence, and Emma O’Halloran. From the Cave of Crystals to the cosmogonic Ogdoad, from Paul Klee’s depiction of the Angel of History to the structure of a Michael Jordan documentary, Tourmaline covers a wide range of creative concepts in pursuit of the alchemical magnum opus. 
Ward holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. His creative work has received support from the NC Arts Council, Charlotte Arts & Science Council, City of Charlotte, Infusion Fund, Foundation for the Carolinas, UMKC School of Graduate Studies, Charlotte Street Foundation, Semans Art Fund, Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, and William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

Aeon Transfer

Dylan Ward

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