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Critical
Immobility
forwoodwindquintet
SpencerArias 2024
ThecreationofthisworkwouldnotbepossiblewithouttheimportantcontributionsofAndreiSmertenko.Itiscrucial thatthescienceishighlighted,byvocalizingthescientistnotealoudtotheaudiencesothattheycanlearnaboutthe researchthemusicwasinspiredby.
ScientistNote
Humans,alongwithanimals,plants,andeveryliving being,aremadeupof microscopicstructurescalledcells. Sometreeshavesomanycells thatif westacked themend toend, thelinewouldstretchall thewaytotheMoon.
Withintheplantbody,eachcell interactswitharemarkablysmallcircleof neighborsthroughoutitsentirelife– just26onaverage.Thisis becauseplantcellsarefixed inplace, likebricksinawall. Incontrast, thecellsinhumanbodiesarefarmoredynamic.Asyou listentothispiece of music, trillionsof cellsinyourbodyhavetraveledseveral meters,encountering millionsof othercellsalong theway. Meanwhile, notasingle cell inall theplantsoutsidethisbuilding hasmovedevenamillimeter, beingsurrounded bythesameneighbors.
Imaginealifeconfined tointeractionwithonly26 individuals,yetwanting tocommunicatewithcountlessothersyou’veneverseenandwill nevermeet.Thisisthechallengefaced byplantcells.Thesolutionisthelong-rangecommunicationsystems. Plantcellshaveevolved ingenious waystosendsignalsacrossgreatdistanceswithintheplantbody, muchlikehowweuseradiowavestocommunicateacrossvastdistances.These signalsreachbillionsof cells,orchestratingasymphonyof responsesthatdrivegrowth,preventdiseases,and helpsurvivechallenging environmentalconditions.
The“Critical Immobility” highlightstheremarkableadaptabilityof plantcellstotheir“still life.” It’sastoryaboutintricatemechanismsthey evolved tothriveinaworldwheremovementisnotanoption.
-AndreiSmertenko,Professor,InstituteofBiologicalChemistry,WashingtonStateUniversity,
ProgramNote
CriticalImmobility isonepieceoutof acollectionof works, newworksinresponsetoandcollaborationwithagroupof plantscientists, inthis case,Andrei Smertenko, inhistalk "Critical Immobility."Thisscientist, inparticular,wasquitevivid inhisexplanationsof howplantcells interactwithoneanotherand howtheydifferfromanimalcells. Forinstance,whenananimalcell isinfectedwithadisease, theothercellswill worktogethertoeliminatetheinfectedcellsand keepthatdiseasefromspreading.Thisdefenseisalsopartlyduetocells'abilitytomoveand adaptinwaysplantcellscannot.Thisdefenseisourimmunesystem. Plantcells,ontheotherhand,areimmobileandcannotmovewithinthe plant.Thislifestylehasconsequences,suchasatinydiseasespreading throughouttheplantthatbeginstospread. Onewaytofixthisistoprune aplanttoremovediseasedstalks.
PlantCellsmakedecisionscollectivelytorespond toenvironmentalsignals. Sowhenthereisafrigidday,and theplantleavesarefeeling the harshfrostbrushupagainsttheplant, thecellswithintheleaveswillsendasignal tootherpartsof theplant,suchastheroots, toletthemknow thattheywill need toadjustoradaptsonottoexperiencethisfrostsonegatively.Thisadaptabilityiscritical tounderstanding howcellsadaptso itcanbetterhelpuskeepplantsfromnegativelyreacting totheeffectof climatechange. Musically, Iwanted tocreateaworkthatreflected many of thesereactionaryresponses.Theinitialpulsating motivebuildstothischoral momentthatorganicallyarosefromthechosenharmony,which isvaguelyacanon.Aseachsectionevolves,differentinstrumentstakeonvariousrolesandactcommunicatively,soitshould feel likearesponse, evenif themusical materialrepeats.Thethreeprimarysectionsof theworkexploredifferentresponsestoexternalenvironmentalstimuliwhile alsoexploring thecolorof thequintettorepresentvariouspartsof aplant,all leadingusbacktothepulsatingcalmnessof areturntonormalcy.
Instrumentation
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet(B♭)
Horn(F)
Bassoon
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CommissionedbytheFallingTreeCollaborativeassupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundation, andwrittenfortheSolsticeWindQuintet
Duration: 5 minutes, 30seconds
Firstprintingof thisedition, March2025
Copyright© 2025 SpencerArias(ASCAP).All RightsReserved. Published byJustaTheoryPress|www.justatheorypress.com
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