_Sunken Monadnock_ is a mostly indeterminate combination of three distinct processes, or surfaces. The three begin together and converge again briefly before the ending, but with very few exceptions, other convergences and correspondences are products of chance. Each of the three surfaces deals generally with stasis and circularity, and they may exist separately as stand-alone pieces, but are modified here somewhat. 

Surface I, "Stone Mountain", isorhythms (Lisa Bost, flute; Vanessa Gilbreath, clarinet; Jolene Masone, bassoon; Sarah Summar, violin; Blake Turner, cello; and sometimes Armin Abdihodzic, electric guitar)

Surface II, "The Ventriloquist", phasing (David Falterman, piano; Robert Chapman, marimba and metals; Keven Braswell, xylophone and woods)

Surface III, "Vladimir's Song", revelatory process (Angela Bou Kheir, Fionna Gillespie, and Laurissa Backlin, sopranos)

text from Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett:

A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a piece of bread
And cook up with a ladle
And beat him until he was dead.

Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb
And wrote upon the tombstone
For the ages of dogs to come:

A dog came in the kitchen
etc.)

Recorded 4-22-13, Denton, TX.

Sunken Monadnock (mixed chamber ensemble)

I'm a composer. I'm currently an associate professor of music and chair of the music program at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia. I have degrees from Appalachian State University, Brigham Young University, and the University of North Texas. 

My music is grounded in a fascination with visual art, textures, sound spectra, non-linear narratives, and extreme temporal manipulations, and it has been heavily influenced by studio techniques of electroacoustic composers. I've been commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the Nova Ensemble at UNT, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Virginia Wesleyan University, and many amazing performers. I've composed two feature film scores—King Rat (2017) and HUM (2020), and my concert works have been performed throughout the United States as well as South Korea, and is available on the SEAMUS and Ravello record labels.

Check out additional pieces at my YouTube channel (link below).

Email me at jkharriscomposer@gmail.com

Sunken Monadnock (mixed chamber ensemble)

Joshua Harris