Symmetry and Sharing (2015)

I made Symmetry and Sharing specifically for Mobius Percussion. They requested a “bot,” referring to a series of percussion pieces I’d created that traffic in grooves broken up and distributed among the players as well as constantly shifting underlying pulses. This is not that. The members of Mobius have a special interest in using their voices, and their vocal ranges just happen to map onto those in traditional SATB (Soprano/Alto/Tenor/Bass) part writing. Knowing this, I made what might be the world’s first SATB vocal percussion quartet. Through the text, they ask us to let go of our day-to-day preoccupations, our need to make our beds or make sure our watches run. The requests intensify, though, into more emotionally fraught territory, until we’re being told to disentangle ourselves from the traumas that drive us. I wanted to make that intervention feel like generosity and not intrusion. The ensemble plays tuned metal pipes and wood slats, deconstructs two drum kits and shares a vibraphone, singing in four independent parts all the while. I am in awe of their ability to do this, and honored by their willingness. Video by Four/Ten Media: