Cliffs That Draw Breath (mockup) - [Two Woodwind Trios and String Quartet, 2021]

Opposing Currents - Mvt 1 "Undertow" & Mvt 2 "Interlude" - [Marimba Duet, 2020]

Opposing Currents - Mvt 3 "Stream" - [Marimba Duet, 2020]

IU Concert Orchestra - December 2018
Conducted by David Dzubay

These Lines, Unseen (mm. 79 - 152) - [Orchestra, 2018]

Performed in September 2018 by "The Empyrean Quartet" for the SCI Student National Conference at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Derek Granger, Soprano Saxophone
Catelyn Hawkins, Alto Saxophone
Wesley Tayler, Tenor Saxophone
Paul Cotton, Baritone Saxophone

Excavator (excerpt) - [Saxophone Quartet, 2017]

Live recording from the Midwest Composers Symposium November, 9, 2019

Performed by the Indiana university Chamber Orchestra

Conducted by Tyler Jaymes Readinger

mm. 104 - 190

Imperiled Sea (mm. 104 - 190) - [Chamber Orchestra with Fixed Media, 2019]

*This is only a stereo mix. The full concert version of this work is for 8.1 channel surround sound*

"Fractured Fields" explores the kinetic energy of sounds in three dimensional spaces. The sounds in "Fractured Fields" inherently imply several different types of kinetic energies, each of which moves through a diverse collection of spatial fields. As the piece unfolds, these sounds are fractured in a myriad of ways, as are the spatial fields through which they move. Many of the sound sources are samples of metal, wood, or glass objects being struck, cracked, or shattered. These samples are then fractured further through a variety of techniques involving granulation, filtration, and analysis and re-synthesis. Throughout "Fractured Fields," processed samples are layered with algorithmically synthesized sounds to create an abstract impression of three contrasting spatial environments. At times, individual sound sources can be heard moving through these spatial fields, or resonating from different locations within the implied environments. At other times several sound sources act together, combining their kinetic energies to create larger, more complex spatial gestures. I invite the listener to follow their ears rather than their eyes, and to allow their imagination to carry them through "Fractured Fields." 
- William Trachsel, April 2018

Fractured Fields [8.1 Channel Fixed Media - Stereo MixDown, 2018]

Premiere Performance at Butler University, March 30, 2023

Trio 1:
Catherine Hoelscher, Flute / Alto Flute
Megan Strait, Oboe
AJ Bowman, Clarinet

Trio 2:
Michelle Robinson, Flute / Piccolo
Clockwork Janz, Oboe
Kaleb Durfee, Clarinet

Quartet:
Mélanie Clapiès, Violin 1
Davis Brooks, Violin 2
Lisa Brooks, Viola
Sophie Benn, Cello

Trae Blanco, Conductor

Cliffs that Draw Breath (mm. 114 - 193) - [Two Woodwind Trios and String Quartet, 2021]

William Trachsel, Composer / Electronics
Jake Gunnar Walsh, Oboe


Program Note:

There is a special kind of loneliness that populates empty places that were once filled with people. Quiet Spaces, Crowded Places is an exploration of this loneliness. You may experience this loneliness if you ever find yourself the only passenger stuck in an airport overnight. You may find it in an empty theatre, or in a quiet stadium long after the cheering crowds have gone home. This is the loneliness that haunts empty warehouses, motels, storefronts, and amusement parks that have long since been abandoned. These barren structures left to decay, scattered throughout our cities and along our highways, are not simply empty, rather they are brimming with emptiness. It is not only the lack of other people, but the glaring reality that these empty spaces were once teeming with humanity, which allows this loneliness to take hold. The quiet is deafening. These places are crowded with the memories of the people who once filled them.

Quiet Spaces, Crowded Places

Quiet Spaces, Crowded Places - [Oboe and Live Electronics, 2018]

williamtrachsel.com

William Trachsel (b. 1988) is an Indianapolis based composer, electronic musician, percussionist, and educator. His recent works have explored themes of climate change, social interaction, the intersection of nature and technology, and the use of physical space as an aspect of musical structure and expressive energy. His marimba duet, "Opposing Currents," recently won the Percussion Duo Moitié Call for Scores, leading to the premiere of the work by Percussion Duo Moitié at the Seoul Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea in July 2023. Trachsel's orchestral work “These Lines, Unseen” won both the Jacobs School of Music Dean’s Prize and the New Voices orchestral composition competition in 2018. His music has been featured at the SEAMUS National Conference, CEMIcircles, Electronic Music Midwest, Ball State New Music Festival, Midwest Composers Symposium, SCI Student National Conference, Elektronik Musik Fest, and NOW Music Festival. Trachsel’s music has been programed by ensembles such as Percussion Duo Moitié, the Indiana University Orchestras, JCA Composers Orchestra, Empyrean Quartet, Soma Quartet, Capital University Percussion Ensemble, and Ascending Duo.

William Trachsel is a member of the faculty at Butler University Jordan College of the Arts. He previously held a teaching position at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and he has worked extensively with the Butler Community Arts School. Trachsel holds degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (Doctor of Music in Composition, with minors in Music Theory and Electronic Music), Butler University (Master of Music, Dual Major in Composition and Percussion Performance), and Capital University Conservatory of Music (Bachelor of Music in Composition).

William Trachsel

Popular tracks