r_upTure (2021)
Instrumentation: fl., cl., marimba, drum set, synth., pno., 3 mezzo-sopranos, 2 vln., vla., cello, Ableton Live, narrator or tape, optional — video
Duration: 11’
r_upTure draws musical material and text from a Python program I built by the same name. Both the program and the piece work to build and subsequently limit and censor harmonic structures, but as they continue, the resultant structures begin to rupture harmonically, rhythmically, and texturally. The construction and rupture of these structures is an exploration of concepts outlined in bell hooks’ Black Looks: Race and Representation. r_upTure was commissioned by Mind on Fire.
Notable Performances
InfraSound (NYC)
Kamratōn Ensemble; Antoine T. Clark, conductor (NYC)
Carnegie Mellon University Contemporary Music Ensemble; Dr. Daniel Nesta Curtis, conductor (Pennsylvania, USA)