Premiered by members of ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) at the Penn Sound Collective concert of graduate composers.
University of Pennsylvania. April 26, 2018
Duration: ca. 12'

Program Notes

Five in One in nine short movements uses texture as the primary force in establishing the piece’s structure, and comprises of four tutti and five interjecting solo movements. In this context, the term texture means a combination of density, volume, articulation, and range. Because this particular ensemble combines instruments of such contrasting timbres, I was interested in treating all instruments equally in relation to one another, and have them sound together as one entity, or one instrument. The piece explores this idea in the tutti movements, sometimes shifting the texture from quasi-micropolyphonic to quasi-homophonic. The prolonged masses of sounds then contrast with solo instrumental interludes in between that play the introductory, transitional, and terminative roles. Although the piece is divided into many short movements, its movements are mostly played attacca to create an uninterrupted trajectory.