beneath, there is stirring for chamber ensemble was composed in the summer of 2015. The piece is a kind of sibling to my piece for violin and percussion called, at water's edge (2014). The duo is the backbone of this chamber ensemble as almost the entire work is contained within. The other instruments seek to comment, highlight, support, and expand on the precomposed material in at water's edge. Many of the same compositional procedures in at water's edge were employed in beneath, there is stirring. While the instrumentation for at water's edge keeps it sounding above the surface, with the addition of instruments surrounding the duo, we descend to discover the activity below creating ripples above.

The following is a description of the compositional procedures used in at water's edge and continued in beneath, there is stirring. The piece is the product of several elements observed in Suzhou, China. On a particularly windy day, I was sitting next to Dushu Lake in the summer of 2014 and working on the pitch organization for this piece. The pitch material was created using “invented scales,” a concept I learned from composer, Joel Hoffman. Three invented scales are used structurally throughout the piece. As I was working, the dynamic envelope of wind struck me as it moved through the trees I was sitting beneath. I recorded the sound of the wind moving through trees and using a program I wrote in Max/MSP, I analyzed the amplitude content of the recordings. This data provided the dynamic envelopes for many sections in the piece. As I listened to the recordings, they contained birdcalls of the local Suzhou birds. I transcribed these calls for their generic melodic contour. These calls became the melodic gestures that I mapped onto the invented scales. The formal design ultimately relates to John Cage's idea of form as being a series of empty containers, which can either be filled with sound or left empty with “silence.” Form and duration were a central concern in this piece as my thoughts on music have been changing recently. To determine the duration of the formal sections, I timed durations between motorbikes passing a light pole in front of our apartment building.

This piece is built from elements that occur in Suzhou. The durational rhythms of the city at rush hour. The dynamic envelope of wind through the trees next to Dushu lake. The melodic material of birds local to Suzhou. After moving to China, many colleagues suggested making some musical connection with Chinese music or culture. I believe this piece makes that connection in a deeper manner than co-opting melodies or structures from a culture to which I am foreign. The sounds, rhythms, and scales of time that I hear in Suzhou form the backbone of this piece.