Live Performance History
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March 28th 2022 - Tetonic Rifts - Composer Reading Sessions - Michigan State University - Cond. Kevin Sedatole - MSU Wind Symphony
Tectonic Rifts (2021)
Year: 2021 | Duration: ~10’ | Medium: Wind Ensemble | Difficulty: Hard
Perusal Score
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute 1,2
Oboe 1,2
English Horn
Clarinet in Bb 1,2,3,4
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Contrabass Clarinet in Bb
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Bassoon 1,2
Contrabassoon
Horn in F 1,2,3,4
Trumpet in Bb 1,2,3
Trombone 1,2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium 1,2
Tuba 1,2
Double Bass
Harp
Piano
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Vibraphone (Crotales)
Tubular Bells
Marimba
Percussion 1 (Cabasa, Suspended Cymbal, Snare Drum, Crash Cymbal, Hi-Hat_
Percussion 2 (Crash Cymbal, Tam-Tam, Tom-tom, Wood Block)
Percussion 3 (Bass Drum, Tom-Tom, Brake Drum, Triangle)
Description
I started writing this piece in September of 2020. In the 7th month of the global pandemic and what felt like a zillionth month of the 2020 election, I felt this urge to write political music. Earlier in the pandemic, extremists were rushing the capitol building of Michigan in Lansing, only a 10-minute drive from where I was living. It gave me the idea: "as the world rifts, the mountains shift." This was the working title I spent the next six months with. That same summer I learned more about the song "Wind of Change" by the German band The Scorpions (via the podcast of the same name). Essentially, there are questions that this song might have been connected to the Central Intelligence Agency as a way to bring an end to the Cold War. While they could not ultimately prove this idea, I was struck by the metaphor of wind as an agent of change. The concept of erosion and nature as a metaphor for change or political work is something I have written about quite frequently. One example is my solo cello work Off Trail Erosion, about my changing or eroding friendship due to different hiking styles. Another example is my brass quintet Wind, Waves, and Web, which explores changing definitions of concepts of freedom. I am always struck that human relationships and/or politics can be boiled down to straightforward metaphors of natural phenomena. These natural events existed before we were here and will exist long after we are gone.
Tectonic Rifts naturally evolved over the six months of composition. In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere (the crust and upper most part of the mantle) is being pulled apart, an example of extensional tectonics. It is known that continental rifting tends to follow weak zones in the lithosphere. To me, that very neatly describes the headspace that I was experiencing during this time. Our world is constantly evolving, like the Earth. New cultural shifts emerge.10 years ago, gay people could not be married. 50 years ago, women could not open a bank account without their husbands' or fathers' permission. Things change, and while these shifts tend to be very small ,the main event often becomes bombastic, which might even feel apocalyptic to those resistant to this change. We move at what might only be or feel like an inch or two at a time, but we ultimately evolve. Throughout this piece, the progression between sections feels almost seamless because we don't notice these changes. You might see rhythmic interplays that resemble a shockwave. Look for how certain events unfold, but I ask you this question: When is the main event? Every time I look at this piece,I struggle to decide when the transformation is most noticeable. Is it when it is loudest? Is it when it is most jagged? Or is it when the eventual harmonic resolution occurs in the final bars of the piece? Regardless, it reminds me of the card game Magic the Gathering and a card called Tectonic Rift. It reads, "Destroy target land. Creatures without flying can't block this turn." Certain people are resistant to harm when change occurs. When positive social changes occur, such as the opening of more rights and freedoms to those excluded, those traditionally included are not being harmed. That group is essentially flying. You already had the leg up. These shifts are more likely to harm groups already excluded due to violence inevitable at the hands of people resistant to change.
We cannot stop change from happening. It will happen, even if you don't want it to. This piece started political and became more about the natural phenomenon of the rifting of tectonic plates. However, the original goal of the music is still present. It was still an essential part of my artistic process. Just because something changes does not mean that the old culture is not still a relevant part of our society. When women got the right to open a bank account, the people who wanted to stop them were still there. When gay people got the right to marry, the people who tried to stop them were still there. When tectonic plates rift, the plate, while transformed, is still there, with most of the same creatures, land, and politics. Transformation is a part of the experience in this world, and the more we are open to it, the less earth shattering it will be, and as long as these shifts are to remove harm from the people who are most negatively affected by injustice, we should embrace these changes.