This piece, in the broadest sense, a set of six variations on a theme. Yet the theme, rather then functioning as a mold for each subsequent variation, is abstracted to a minimum set of components. Each variation reconstructs these components freely, with little regard to their origin. Premiered by David Horne at the annual Thelma E. Goldberg concert, Paine Hall, Harvard University.

variation (1996)

This work explores merged discontinuities and scattered continuities. The title is taken from Allen Ginsberg's 1969 poem "Northwest Passage." The form of the work seeks a balance between forward propulsion and frictional resistance. The algorithmic composition system athenaCL is used to deploy polyphonic textures made of sound shards, short samples larger than grains. Repertories consisting of hundreds of these short samples, algorithmically extracted from sound files of recordings done in Tokyo and elsewhere, are recomposed into horizontal and vertical textures. The sieve theory of Iannis Xenakis, also implemented in athenaCL, is used to create pitch groups and polyphonic rhythmic canons. Additional processing and synthesis is done with Csound, Max/MSP, SoundHack, and various other software and hardware.

onomatopoeticized (2004)

This work aspires to anti-development and anti-lyric, to textural and formal circumvolution. The title is transliterated from Lao Tzu.

the square perfected has no corner (2001)

This composition attempts to develop an idiomatic language for the concert hall based on rhythm, texture, and design. I turned to Allan Ginsberg's 1955 "Notes on Howl" for the title; the beats and bebop, like hip-hop, provide inspiring examples of triumphant idiomatic languages.

flexatone