Land, Flooded by Human Greed
Nicholas Sasse (2023)

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction” --- Isaac Newton
While the famous Isaac Newton quote was originally intended to explain how things move, those words have incredible relevance to our daily lives. Every action we take, big or small, has effects which reach far beyond our direct circles. Land, Flooded by Human Greed is a commentary on the destructive nature humans have when we don’t think that our actions effect those around us. 
More specifically, this piece explores how the greed of first world countries impact developing nations. Everything from our garbage, to power, to food waste, is simply forgotten about as if first world nations don’t understand the concept of object permanence. Every time we pollute the world, it is our convenience which contributes to the death and destruction of not only our ecosystems, but even our own species. 
Land, Flooded by Human Greed only explores one of the many consequences to our actions; rising sea levels. Reading on how rising sea levels will affect us in the coming century, I was shocked to find out that this problem is already destroying the human species. Island nations such as the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of Fiji, The Philippines, the list goes on, are but a few of nations which are already seeing the effects of first world greed--- yet, no one is doing anything. Corporations are still polluting, governments aren’t passing bills to minimize our carbon output, individual people are still choosing convenience. This piece brings listeners to the affected nations, so they can experience the consequences of their actions. Land, Flooded by Human Greed does not exist to be beautiful. In fact there are many ugly sections of this piece, to show us how we are ruining our own lives--- and to also show that if we don’t recognize and change our ways, the consequences will get closer and closer, until we are the individuals sinking below the waves. 
There is not one solution, nor is there one person to blame. Each of us contribute to climate change, therefore we all have room to grow.

Clarinet: Nicholas Sasse
Cello: Francis Fay
Piano: Kamron Emery

Land Flooded By Human Greed

Lolita (born c. 1966), also known as Tokitae (Toh-Kee-Tay), is a female orca from the L Pod of southern resident orcas. She has been in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida since September 24, 1970, after she was captured and taken from her home in the Pacific Ocean. As of 2022, Lolita is the second oldest orca in captivity, and her enclosure (which is 80x35x20) is the smallest whale pen in the world. Lolita has been in this space for over 53 years, most of which have been spent alone, swimming in circles, over and over, as the bright inescapable Florida sun burns her skin. 
80x35x20 is written to tell Lolita’s story. The story is split into 3 seamlessly connected parts. Part 1, “Free Tokitae”, listeners learn about her life in the ocean, free, swimming with her pod. Part 1 is the shortest of the 3 sections in order to represent how most of her life has not been spent freely in the ocean where she belongs. Part 2, “Taken”, tells the story of Lolita’s capturing. Lolita is 1 of 7 whales captured from this violent event on August 1970. “Taken” is designed to recreate the events and feelings of that day from the perspective of Lolita.  Part 3, named “Free Tokitae” tells the story of Lolita’s life in her enclosure. This section showcases the isolation, and angst that Lolita experiences every day, for 53 years and counting. The very end repeats the main melodic idea in the piano, over and over, fading away, to visualize Lolita swimming circles in her tiny tank for eternity. One may notice part 1 and 3 are named the same. However from beginning to end, these names hold vastly different meaning.
The story of Lolita is absolutely heart wrenching, and is something I have known about since the age of 12.  I made this piece for Lolita, but also as a wake-up call to the world; animals aren’t for our entertainment. Afterall, Lolita’s story is just one of millions. As humans, it is our job to stand up for those without a voice, and to bring light to the very harsh realities of what we have done to the world and it’s other inhabitants. Ignorance is bliss, but not for the victims of these dark realities.

Recording: 
Central Washington University New Music Ensemble, May 20th, 2023
Nicholas Sassé, conductor

80x35x20 Premiere

Transient Canvas
Bass Clarinet and Marimba

Recorded in Alba Music Festival, Alba, Italy

June 2023

On White Mountain... (for bass clarinet and marimba)

Paris Fashion Week 2019 Mix

Nicholas James Sasse (B. 2001) is an American composer and clarinetist. Nick has been playing piano since the age of 9, clarinet since he was 10, and composing music since the age of 12. He has studied musical composition at a collegiate level since 2020 under the direction of Dr. Martin Kennedy and later under Dr. Jiyoun Chung. Nick has also participated in and won numerous composers competitions including the Trudie Woll Memorial Composition Competition, been a finalist in other competitions such as the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, and has been a composition fellow for the Alba Music Festival. Nick’s music has been performed both nationally, and internationally.
 Nick considers himself a composer whose goal is to make instrumental music accessible to the common listener. He strongly believes that instrumental music isn’t something that only a trained ear can appreciate; it is something that anybody should be able to understand and enjoy. He furthers his belief in that all music should have a meaning and hold weight in the larger context of the world. Nick constantly pursues this philosophy through his compositions; always drawing meaning to everything he writes. Pulling from many styles, Nick creates music which any person could connect to. His music is not categorized as “simply fun to listen to”, but instead as music which evokes specific emotion in people--- immersing them in environments which better connect them to their own self.


Land Flooded By Human Greed

Nicholas Sasse

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