of stone and spring- for viola and electronics. Workshopped by Corley Friesen-Johnson at Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau in July 2023 and premiered by Sophie McMillan-Myers in April 2024 in Chicago, Il.
of stone and spring draws on materials from my collaborations on installations with the architecture students at Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau during my time there in Summer 2023. We collaborated on projects inspired by multiple architectural elements of the Fonteainbleau Chateau, including the flows of water from differing roofs, the materiality and process of compression of stone, and the transformation of the use and function of water at the Chateau, beginning with its initial source as a spring. To represent aspects of this musically, I have the violist play only on its lowest string and have them play its entire length to attempt to mimic the extreme process of sand compression. Similarly, the violist uses circular bows (which also has a both a very “sandy” or “water glistening” sonic effect), and a circular nature of form to create parallels between the cyclical nature of erosion and stone formation. All of the electronic sounds also come from naturally occurring sounds—including pre-recorded viola, streams flowing, and saxophone multiphonics—which were granularized and processed in a number of ways to have the natural-to-manmade evolution that is seen in many elements of the Chateau and its own constant evolution. What emerges is an immersive soundscape that exists in a single world and follows a cyclical and round design.