Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

Aether: Fire — passion/psyche

OTHER/INNE/dope

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This is my movement of "In Memoriam", the collaborative requiem created by Inversion Ensemble in 2020-2021. This was such a meaningful project to be part of. Huge thanks to all involved for this incredible recording!

Performed by Inversion Ensemble under the direction of Trevor F. Shaw
Soprano Soloist: Carol Brown
Pianist: Michelle Schumann

Text:

...as the fowl can keep
Absolute stillness, poised aloft in air,
And fishes front, unmoved, the torrent's sweep,
So may the Soul, through powers that Faith bestows,
Win rest, and ease, and peace, with bliss that Angels share.

- William Wordsworth, excerpt from “Rest and Be Thankful! – At The Head Of Glencroe”

Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be.
- Christina Georgina Rossetti, excerpt from “Rest”

The direct perceptions which I now have are those which now fall within my "specious present".
Of those which are beyond it, I can only have memory or anticipation. Now the "specious
present" varies in length according to circumstances, and may be different for two people at the
same period. ...The [objective] present through which events really pass, therefore, cannot be
determined as simultaneous with the specious present. And thus an event may be past when I am
experiencing it as present, or present when I am experiencing it as past. The duration of the
objective present may be the thousandth part of a second. Or it may be a century... What reason
can we have to believe in the existence of such a present, which we certainly do not observe to
be a present, and which has no relation to what we do observe to be a present? Whenever we
perceive anything as existing in time -- which is the only way in which we ever do perceive
things -- we are perceiving it more or less as it really is not.
- J.M.E. McTaggart, excerpt from “The Unreality of Time” (1908)

Pie Jesu: Her Rest Shall Not Begin Nor End But Be

This fixed media piece was spliced together from two improvisations (totaling about 10 minutes) by 4 members of the BISoN iPad ensemble (including myself) using a Max/MSP patch I created. The goal of the patch and of this piece was to create a kind of 4-person meta-instrument in which each performer physically controls a narrow parameter of the sound in order to demand a novel type of sensitive communication between the improvisers. No overdubbing was used to create the final piece, and all effects were controlled by the iPads through Max using touchscreen, gyroscope, and accelerometer data sent via the MIRA and GyrOSC apps. Once the initial recording/improvisation process was over I spliced together the final piece in Logic, only adding crossfading between sections and panning.

Source sounds included the Renaissance French song "L'homme Arme" and the ensemble reading together at random from Arnold Schoenberg's Structural Functions of Harmony.

Performers:

Trevor Villwock - sound file looping
Selena Wellington - reverb
Aidan Cook - delay effects
Hunter Ewen - filters

I'm excited to announce that this piece has won the 2016-2017 CU Boulder Undergraduate Spark Award for electronic music!

[Cover image source: http://glitchtext.tumblr.com/]

Broken Franglish

lattice for climbing, for trumpet, smartphone, and max/msp. 

The gyroscope is used to control various effects in the Max patch throughout the piece (delay, filter, pitch shift, etc.) as well as the speed and pitch of a recorded trumpet soundfile being looped in small sections. The performer wears the smartphone in an armband and moves their arms and rotates to control 3 different parameters at a time.

Trevor Villwock - Trumpet
Recorded January 2018 in Austin, TX

lattice for climbing (2018)

Premiered by Inversion Ensemble under the direction of Trevor F. Shaw on March 3rd, 2019 at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX. Scored for 3 electric keyboards and SATB choir. 

Keyboards played by
Cina Crisara (tuned 33 cents flat)
Verlaine Shaw (concert pitch)
Trevor Villwock (tuned 50 cents sharp)

[1 cent = 1/100th of a semitone]

I was incredibly thrilled with this premiere!! To everyone involved, thank you so so much for making my piece come to life in such a beautiful way. This was without a doubt one of the most fun and stress-free rehearsal experiences I've ever had with a piece. Special thanks to Trevor Shaw and Robbie LaBanca with Inversion Ensemble for creating such an incredible force for adventurous and diverse new music in Central Texas.

Text (original):
locked 
always approaching 
almost breaking

This piece was written specifically for Inversion Ensemble and was inspired by my (many) experiences with sleep paralysis, a sometimes-terrifying condition in which the mind is awake and aware but the body is unable to move. It usually occurs during either the process of going to sleep or the process of waking up. Despite usually being quite uncomfortable, this very strange liminal state somewhere between consciousness, dreaming, and unconsciousness is extremely fascinating to me. The title refers to the pre-Socratic philosopher Zeno of Elea (pictured), who is most famous for his paradoxes that suggest all motion is impossible and thus an illusion.

Dreaming of Zeno

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

The Heart Asks by Trevor Villwock
Text: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
The Heart asks Pleasure – first – 
And then – Excuse from Pain – 
And then – those little Anodynes 
That deaden suffering – 
And then – to go to sleep –
And then – if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor
The liberty to die –

Upon reading this Emily Dickinson text for the first time, my mind was immediately drawn to the current opioid epidemic in the U.S., and then to the broader theme of addiction in all its manifestations. At many times our conscious thoughts, motivations, and actions are driven only by our base animal desires even if we tell ourselves another story. In my piece I tried to capture our fraught relationship with our reptilian brain and the way this relationship intersects with a modern world where quick satisfaction is a very easy thing to find.

The Heart Asks by Trevor Villwock

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

The Inferno by Robbie LaBanca
Text: Dan Hoeweler from The Schizophrenic Writer

Electric waves 
Passing through my brain 
In a haphazard fashion 
Turbulent and inconsistent 
My neurons exploding 
Like firecrackers in the night 
From this blight 
Popping 
And out of sight 
My prefrontal cortex 
Burns
While my eardrums sizzle
And smoke
Suffocates my consciousness
Flames engulf and
Incinerate
My cerebrum
               Till it becomes
Embers in the night sky
Thousands of glowing
Smiles of freedom

Dan Hoeweler's text is a vivid, personal description of a psychotic episode as a result of schizophrenia. As a way of preparing to set this text, I did research into some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and came across the concept of 'disorganized thinking/speech'. Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized speech. Effective communication can be impaired, and answers to questions may be partially or completely unrelated. I decided to explore this feature by aligning this serious text with music that, at times, does not match the weight of the subject matter. Over the course of this piece I pair this text with various music styles including, Verdi-esque opera chorus,
Peggy Lee inspired Jazz, a quotation of a Bach chorale and more. The piece also begins and ends with an electronic track utilizing disembodied voices to reflect both an internal monologue and another feature of schizophrenia -auditory hallucinations. For too long we have silently maintained the stigma of mental illness in our society and by giving voice and music to this text I hope to do my small part to help end that stigma. 

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects less than one percent of the U.S. population. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. However, with treatment, most symptoms of schizophrenia will greatly improve. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, research is leading to new, safer treatments.
Experts also are unraveling the causes of the disease by studying genetics, conducting behavioral research, and using advanced imaging to look at the brain’s structure and function. These approaches hold the promise of new, more effective therapies. The complexity of schizophrenia may help explain why there are misconceptions about the disease. Schizophrenia does not mean split personality or multiple-personality. Most people with schizophrenia are not dangerous or violent. They also are not homeless nor do they live in hospitals. Most people with schizophrenia live with family, in group homes or on their own. Research has shown that schizophrenia affects men and
women about equally but may have an earlier onset in males.. — American Psychiatric Association

The Inferno by Robbie LaBanca

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

your little voice by Anuj Bhutani
Text: E.E. Cummings
your little voice
         Over the wires came leaping
and i felt suddenly
dizzy
         With the jostling and shouting of merry flowers
wee skipping high-heeled flames
courtesied before my eyes
                        or twinkling over to my side
Looked up
with impertinently exquisite faces
floating hands were laid upon me
I was whirled and tossed into delicious dancing
up
Up
with the pale important
                            stars and the Humorous
                                                        moon
dear girl
How i was crazy how i cried when i heard
                                         over time
and tide and death
leaping
Sweetly
              your voice

My younger brother and I have often heard the story of how my parents immigrated here in the 1980s while in their early 20s. My mother had to wait for her visa for two years, so my father came first with no money, and no immediate job prospects. He worked minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet despite having completed medical school in India. 

Of course at that time, they didn’t have the internet, Skype, or cell phones. My parents wrote letters that would arrive three weeks later. One day my father scraped together every penny he had to call my mother from a phonebooth in the freezing snow. The cost for an international call was $17 for the 1st minute, and $3 for every additional minute. 

He had exactly $20. Two minutes. 

He called the medical dormitory in India where my mother lived. Someone in the common room answered the phone, and my father asked her to hurry and get my mother. My mother ran to the phone and asked “Sonu, is that you?” He said “yes”, and the line went dead. Please insert $3 to continue. Two minutes were up. That was the first time they had gotten to hear each other’s voice since my father moved to America several months earlier.

On February 20, 2020, my parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. This is for them.

your little voice by Anuj Bhutani

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano

My Brilliant Image by Jasper Sussman
Text: from "I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz" by Daniel Ladinsky
One day the sun admitted,
I am just a shadow.
I wish I could show you
The Infinite Incandescence
That has cast my brilliant image!
I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The astonishing Light
Of your own Being!

In my youth, I would settle down behind the piano anytime I was overwhelmed with emotion. I’d write mainly songs — I found the process of pairing words with music cathartic, allowing me to find resolution and understanding. This same experience occurred for me when I set Daniel Ladinsky’s translation of Hafiz’s “My Brilliant Image” to music. I had just gotten out of my most significant relationship to date, and it seemed that everything in my life was cast in shadow. Ladinksy’s words became a sort of mantra for me. They reminded me that even in darkness, I am surrounded by light. Even in our worst moments, we’re made of beauty. And even when we cannot see it, our worth is unmistakably clear.

My Brilliant Image by Jasper Sussman

Inversion Ensemble
Aether: Fire - passion/psyche
March 1, 2020
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas
Trevor F. Shaw, Artistic Director / Clinton Bray, Guest Conductor
Austin Haller, piano
World première performance

Fireflies by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP)
Text: Margaret Noodin
Waawaatesiwag [Fireflies]
Aaniin ezhi-pogozid dibikigiizis?[How does one taste the moon?]
Aaniin ezhi-pogwad waasamowin? [What is the weight of wind?]
Aaniin ezhichigeyaamba [How can I understand]
ji-nisidostawaag waawaatesiwag? [the fireflies?]
Nimbagamaashi ina giizhigong [Sail kisses to heaven]
gemaa bimaakogomoyaan ode’agaming? [or row to a heart’s shore?]
Waa ninzaka’amawdiz ganabaj [Perhaps I will set myself alight]
atooyaan ishkodensan ishpiming [place the flames in the sky]
anangziibikeyaan dibikong [make a night river of light]
miidash bizaani-ayaayaan [then become as quiet as]
dibishkoo baashkaabigwan-ininiwizh. [a milkweed blossom.]

Commissioned by Inversion Ensemble for its Aether: Fire concert in the winter of 2020, Fireflies (2019) for mixed chorus, piano, and optional percussion evokes vivid imagery of Margaret Noodin’s bilingual poem Fireflies from her 2015 book, Weweni, poems in Anishinaabemowin and English. Honoring the composer’s Ojibwe ancestors, the piece sets the poem’s English text including the Anishinaabemowin word for fireflies (Waawaatesiwag). Moments of musical and whispered aleatory capture visions of fireflies on a summer night. Colorful augmented sixth chords and lush harmonies kindle visions of love and nature amidst the dreamy mixolydian modality and lilting ¾ time. The text used by permission is Fireflies by Margaret Noodin from her book, Weweni, poems in Anishinaabemowin and English, Wayne State University Press, Detroit.

Fireflies by Adrienne Inglis (ASCAP)

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Dust (Dope Boii x TayE)

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Dope Berry - LET'S GET IT

{BAD BOY} #Likilik #toujou #dope

Inversion is a collection of vocal ensembles dedicated to commissioning and performing timely new works by living composers. Inversion presents themed concerts on myriad topics, including LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, immigration, climate change, and democratic rights as well as space exploration, philosophy, natural science, and the ancient elements. Inversion advocates for inclusion through outreach with local public schools, college partners, and annual emerging composer contests.