Works

for any solo instrument

Domestic Loops (2023)

for bass clarinet, looping pedal, and fixed media

Domestic Loops, for bass clarinet, looping pedal, and fixed media, explores the repetition and cyclical nature of domestic work and caregiving through prerecorded sounds of appliances and voice with live bass clarinet looping—at times gritty and noisy, at times beautiful. The piece is in three continuous sections: Feeding – Cleaning – Caring. The first two sections explore the grinding exhaustion that can be experienced when taking care of other human beings, while the last section embraces the joy and love that can be given and exchanged through caregiving. The immeasurable value of this work was represented by handmade comfort items such as blankets and pillows at the show. Audience members were encouraged to snuggle, hold, or just contemplate an object and the hours of repetitive sewing, knitting, knotting, or crocheting of the hands that created it.

Self-Seed (2021)

for clarinet duo

Self-Seed is a clarinet duo in which the two parts represent two different “selves.” It can be performed as:

(1) a duo for one clarinetist with multitrack video,

(2) a duo for one clarinetist playing live with a prerecorded audio track, or

(3) as a live duo played by two clarinetists.

Self-Seed has text instructions and written-out sections as well as some improvisational freedom. During the challenges of the pandemic I found comfort both through gardening and in the writings of the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He describes positive and negative emotions/thoughts as seeds that we can cultivate or not at our own choosing. This idea brought to my mind plants that can self-seed, constantly dying and regrowing. Self-Seed is an interaction between the “worst self” — detuned, angry, and anxious — and “best self,” a source of love and light. The “best self” attempts to calm and comfort the “worst self,” allowing the fruits of negativity to wither and die back, so love can flourish.

Aspects/Respects (2020)

for clarinet and fixed media

Aspects / Respects is a structured improvisation for clarinet and fixed media. The fixed media consists of five brief excerpts from a 2016 interview with William O. Smith. The pitch material derives from one of his favorite twelve-tone rows, essentially a collection of three ascending intervals – major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 2nd, as in the first four notes of “I Got Rhythm” – transposed at three different starting points. The row is filtered through various styles and techniques, as the performer responds to Bill’s voice, meditating on aspects of his life and work, paying respects.