Rift

I was attending a concert this past summer (2017) performed by members of the International Contemporary Ensemble that featured Beethoven's Septet, when I noticed the man sitting beside me had a portable oxygen machine. As I listened to the musicians perform, I was also hearing the sounds produced by this man's machine as it was regulating his air. To me, it was as if I was hearing Beethoven through the filter of this machine. This combination of sounds really intrigued me and ultimately sparked my initial ideas for this piece.

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In creating Rift, I wanted to explore the idea of exposing the fragility that exists under the surface of everyday interactions and create a tear in the façade that people hide behind in social interactions. Through extensive collaboration with clarinetist Joshua Rubin, I was able to discover unique sounds that exemplified this idea of a person, while being revealed in two different ways simultaneously, exposing their true nature and the physical reactions that occur when someone is placed in a setting that may make them socially anxious. On one side you have the more superficial nature of the being, the side that is most readily available to others. On the other side, you have the 'true' nature of the being, the side that is most vulnerable and invisible to the naked eye.

Rift was premiered by clarinetists Joshua Rubin and Vasko Dukovski at Miller Theatre on October 24, 2017.