Joe Kessler and colleagues performing all four movements of "Four Daughters" in the auditorium of Pentucket Regional High School. November 8, 2016.

Four Daughters

The NOW Ensemble performing all three movements of "Fragments" in the Frederick Loewe Performance Hall at the University of Redlands. February 19, 2018.

Fragments, Mvt. I - III

Resonant Metal performing "Tonight, I Drown (duet)" in the Frederick Loewe Performance Hall at the University of Redlands. March 23, 2018.

Tonight, I Drown (duet)

The University of Redlands Percussion Ensemble performing "A Far Cry From Here: Birds of Another Feather" in the Frederick Loewe Performance Hall at the University of Redlands. November 18, 2018.

A Far Cry From Here: Birds Of Another Feather

An amalgomation of recordings collected throughout European cities and then manipulated with SPEAR and Logic.

Europe Through a Retrospective Lens

A very short story told through a Maggie Roger's quote.

quell my panic

A harmonic design based on the kazoo's overtone series and processed through several DAWs.

Cannibalized Kazoo

This piece was written in partial fulfillment of Professor Valerie Rountree’s EVST-100-01 class at the University of Redlands during the Fall semester of 2020. The soundscape (not scored) was written as a substitute to a final reflection and therefore functions in place of it. The piece utilizes samples, taken by myself, of various recycled and waste materials that I encountered throughout my week of journaling (found attached). Specifically, the sounds of bottles, cans, a compost bin opening and closing, and water dripping make up the beat of the piece while samples like plastic bags and trash bags rustling and running water all contribute to a pad that plays throughout the majority of the piece. A small concession was made with the addition of a synthetic bass sound to add to the beat, as well as a brief audio sample of myself speaking the words “recycled cycles” which was then processed through several effects. In terms of how this functioned as a reflection, this piece made me think about every piece of material that I used throughout the week because I had to actively sample it. By interacting with these items on a level that was more involved than just the consumerist nature of ‘use and dispose’, the obvious nature of how much I was actually using became everso more apparent. Overall, the piece at least can serve as an aural representation of the day-to-day goods that we dispose of, along with alluding to ways and means to limit your produced waste (i.e. composting, reusing, sampling trash for music, etc.).

Recycled Cycles

Composer, Arranger, Publisher, Musician
For more recordings, scores, and videos, follow the link to collintarrmusic.com

Collin Tarr