origin of energy (2014, 2017)

This work was commissioned by Apollo Duo (i.e. Jeremy Johnston, percussion and Stephanie Abderhalden, flute) in 2014 and performed the same year at the University of Minnesota and other colleges all over the US on Apollo Duo’s tour. It was later performed at the University of California, Berkeley by a subset of the Eco Ensemble (Loren Mach, percussion and Stacey Pelinka, flute) to great effect. Electronics were added later to provide complementary spectral richness and fullness. The concept behind the work was to allow the performers to choose their own path while maintaining a sense of synchronicity and precision.

Beginning with fragments of material, each notation cell can be selected and performed by each respective performer at any chosen time but can only be repeated 1x in succession. The texture evolves from a sparse diffuse soundscape to dense explosive and dissipates in the same way it started. A high degree of variability is afforded in the way the music develops and coordinates; this includes what kind of gongs and flute are chosen by the performers.

Drawing the graphic score by hand and making edits was a large task, but worth the effort in producing an appropriate score layout given the unconventional synchronization instructions. Each page was drawn many times before the final version and adapted to the preferences of the performers as well.