The Essence of Gravity - for Mixed SATB Choir
Duration: 18’
Commissioned by Robert Geary and the Volti choir of San Francisco
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=902
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/the-essence-of-gravity

PROGRAM NOTE
In The Essence of Gravity, I use a few key words, phrases and phonetic sounds rather than an elaborate text. Since there are so few words, I designed the text myself, and it is made up almost entirely of onomatopoeia words. The word ‘gravity’ in the title not only refers to the force of attraction by which objects tend to fall toward the center of the Earth, but also to a sense of seriousness. Each movement reflects one or both of these definitions.

The first movement, Echoes of War, contains words and phrases that make me think of war. A type of weapon called a “gravity bomb” also inspired me. This weapon is delivered by aircraft and does not contain a guidance system; it follows a ballistic trajectory. Until the later half of World War II this described all aircraft bombs, and the vast majority until the late 1980s.

The second movement is entitled Love and Kisses. Although love is an undeniably heavy subject, this movement is intended to be much more playful than serious. Perhaps it is more about the emotional pull that people have on each other.

Before I composed the third movement, Infinite Oceans, I walked along San Francisco’s Baker Beach and Lands End. Although I’ve been to the ocean many times, I am always struck by the seemingly infinite-sounding tides and lonely-sounding foghorns I often hear in the distance. This movement is inspired by the gravitational pull of the moon, the primary force responsible for the ocean’s tides. This movement also alludes to the stories of the mythological Greek Sirens that lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful singing.

Although many people might not think of machines as evoking a sense of gravity, they seem important in ways that may not be readily apparent. Without machines such as the Space Shuttle, we would not be able to explore outer space. For better or worse, they are integral to our modern way of life. In this sense, the fourth movement, Machines, pays homage to the machines that enrich our lives by allowing us to defy gravity.

Eternal Reflections

The Essence of Gravity - I. Echoes of War

“None but ourselves can free our minds.” 
Bob Marley

Just loving music and enjoying the world. Music makes everything better even it is jazz, hip&hop or electro. Make art not war!

American composer Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker—born and bred in Buffalo, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces a wide variety of themes, everything from goddesses and online dating to mathematics and the environment. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poem, Dark Mountains, regularly airs on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with Nashville Opera, then BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and across the United States. Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, The Oratorio Society of New York, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his works. Paterson gives masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. He is the Artistic Director and house composer for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and advocates for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with ground-breaking works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.

Sais Steely Dan keyboardist Jim Beard… “Congratulations on a marvelous album JOrdon!”.

Albany’s WXET Dave Michaels sais “ JOrdon your Pixie Dust album is a masterpiece!”.

Hello magical entity... Thank you for visiting..

Three names I go by are JOrdon (which I use for Bandcamp and SC) and Jae Ordon and Mascot’s Distance,(which I use everywhere else, such as Spotify, Apple, etc.).

I've written music for Taye Diggs, Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, Pete Yorn, the Gorillaz Dan the Automator, John Spencer Blues explosion’s Russel Simons and Bed Bath and Beyond.  In summer of 2022 my recording Life Whispers On was #7 on Canada’s Cashbox Radio.  Currently finishing up a musical called Humane.


I'm playing all the instruments on many tunes, ones I'm not are…Brian Allen of Lori McKenna, Christopher Cross and Robben Ford on Bass, Michael McDonald's horn section, in addition to Yutaka Uchida playing drums on some tunes and Laurent Medelgi on guitar, also Danny Zanker and Joe Bearclaw Burcaw playing bass.
Thank you for listening to my Vegan, Folk-Jazz-Rock recordings…

New album out now on all platforms https://open.spotify.com/artist/3VWVnJMSx3fttaeLYjfTx8?si=TpcQFkSpRtWOZgANNC20IA
 https://brotoek.bandcamp.com/album/meadowlands

.."revealing not only his depth and breadth of style but his intuitive grasp of all things considered outer fringe from not only the late 60’s and early 70’s but far and beyond to present day. A release that features amid its grooves the kind of head expanding pupil dilating aural accessorising that today’s space cadets so readily tune into."

Just a guy who has excessive enthusiasm /passion for the vibrations that propagates as an acoustic wave. I make said waves with guitars,keys and imagination.
Befriended music as an infant. Love music and have always lived, pondered, argued, read, worshiped, and hated it.
Just like you, I have gained consolation, wisdom, awe, sadness, memories, friends, lovers and every other human emotion through music. I occasionally dream music. 
I have a wide  appreciation of many genres from the ages  ...and get an urge to create music occasionally, inspired by these varieties. 
Allegedly I may occasionally succeed to produce  and replicate emotions through this medium . 
Love the journey. love the challenge. Happy to share sonic sketches/journey. Happy
Fitter, healthier and more productive
A pig
In a cage
On antibiotics
Big Bro Toe K

Karl Kim is a man of many musical hats (perhaps too many for his own good, but that's a discussion for another time). 

​​His musical journey started off with piano lessons at age six, and from there he has picked up many other instruments over the years, including but not limited to: violin, guitar, trombone, and various percussion instruments. Karl was also just as quick to branch out to styles of music other than classical; most significant of these styles is rock and metal (especially of the progressive variety), but jazz, EDM, experimental music, and folk music from various parts of the world have also played a role in shaping him as a musician. 

As a concert music composer, these musical experiences, especially those as a metal guitarist, are what make up the voice that he projects into his compositions, especially in recent times. Pieces like "The Jury is Sleepless", "Without a Minute to Spare", and "So Cold, So Dark, So Chaotic" exist at a crossroads between music for the concert hall and music for the mosh pit. His music has been performed by ensembles such as the Rhythm Method, S.E.M., and Bearthoven, and he holds a B.M. in Music Theory and Composition from New York University. 

"Karl with a K" is an alter ego of Karl Kim. Karl with a K, while having the same musical background as Karl Kim, draws upon a fascination for rhythm game music that started with Dance Dance Revolution at the age of eight, and grew considerably to encompass games including, but not limited to, Sound Voltex, In the Groove, beatmania IIDX, Voez, and Arcaea. Karl with a K brings his background in metal and 20th century classical music into rhythm game original tracks such as "!CAUTION! small but deadly", "BELLUM", and "rudimentary methods of overkill", which can be characterized by plenty of guitars, unusual rhythms, and sometimes non-instruments being used as instruments. Much of his output as Karl with a K is written for the purposes of Stepmania simfile creation (though as of BMS of Fighters: EighTeen's "0verfl0w_err0r" this is no longer exclusively the case).

Karl Kim currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana where he is pursuing an M.M. in Music Scoring for Visual Media at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Karl with a K can be seen lurking around the internet (especially specific Discord servers), occasionally not being above a good meme from time to time. In addition, Karl with a K is working on his first project as a game developer, a typing meets rhythm gaming fusion titled "glyph;".

The Essence of Gravity - I. Echoes of War

Robert Paterson Composer