TECTONIC RIFTS
for large wind ensemble
(2021)
FULL SCORE (TRANSPOSED) PERUSALSCORE
Program Note
I started writing this piece in September of 2020 In the 7th month of the global pandemic and what felt like a zillionth month of the 2020 election, I felt this urge to write political music Earlier in the pandemic, extremists were r ushing the capitol building of Michigan in Lansing, only a 10-minute drive from where I lived It gave me the idea: " as the world rifts, the mountains shif t " is was the working title I spent the next six months with at same summer I learned more about the song "Wind of Change" by the German band e Scorpions (via the podcast of the same name) Essentially, there are questions that this song might have been connected to the Central Intelligence Agency as a way to bring an end to the Cold War While they could not ultimately prove this idea, I was st r uck by the metaphor of wind as an agent of change e concept of erosion and nature as a metaphor for change in a political work is something I have written about quite frequently One example is my solo cello work Off Trail Erosion, about my changing or eroding friendship due to different hiking styles Another example is my brass quintet Wind, Waves, and Web, which explores changing de nitions of co ncepts of freedom I am always str uck that human relationships and/or politics can be boiled down to straightfor ward metaphors of natural phenomena. ese natural events existed before we were here and will exist long after we are gone.
Tectonic Rifts naturally evolved over the six months of composition. In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere (the crust and upper most part of the ma ntle) is being pulled apart, an example of extensional tectonics. It is known that continental rifting tends to follow weak zones in the lithosphere. To me, that ver y neatly describes the headspace that I was experiencing during this time. Our world is constantly evolving, like the Earth New cultural shifts emerge 10 years ago, gay people could not be married 50 years ago, women could not open a b ank account without their husbands' or fathers' permission ings change, and while these shifts tend to be ver y small, the main event often becomes bombastic, which might even feel apocalyptic to those resistant to this change We move at what might only be or feel like an inch or two at a time, but we ultimately evolve roughout this piece, the progression between sections feels almost seamless b ecause we don't notice these changes You might see rhythmic interplays that resemble a shockwave Look for how cer tain events unfold, but I ask you this question: When is the main event? Ever y time I look at this piece, I str uggle to decide when the transformation is most noticeable Is it when it is loudest? Is it when it is most jagged? Or is it when the eventual harmonic resolution occurs in the nal bars of the piece? Regardless, it reminds me of the card game Magic the Gathering and a card called Tectonic Rift It reads, "Destroy target land Creatures without ying can ' t block this turn " Cer tain people are resistant to harm when change occurs When positive social changes occur, such as the opening of more rights and freedoms to those excluded, those traditionally included are not being harmed at group is essentially ying You already had the leg up ese shifts are more likely to harm groups already excluded due to violence inevitable at the hands of people resistant to change.
We cannot stop change from happening It will happen, even if you don't want it to is piece started political and became more about the natural phenomenon of the rifting of tectonic plates. However, th e original goal of the music is still present. It was still an essential part of my artistic process. Just because something changes does not mean that the old culture is not still a relevant part of our society. When women got the right to open a bank account, the people who wanted to stop them were still there. When gay people got the right to marr y, the people who tried to stop them were still the re When tectonic plates rift, the plate, while transformed, is still there, with most of the same creatures, land, and politics Transformation is a part of the experience in this world, and the more we are open to it, the less earth shattering it will be, and as long as these shifts are to remove harm from the people who are most negatively affected by injustice, we should embrace these changes
Sources:
PERUSALSCORE
- Sp encer Arias 2021
http://ethiopianrift igg cnr it/rift%20valley%20signi cance html
http://www mantleplumes org/VM DecompressMelt html
https://www le ac uk/geology/art/gl209/lecture4/lecture4 html
PERUSALSCORE
Duration: c 10:30 minutes
Instrumentation
Piccolo
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
English Horn
4 Clarinets in B♭
Bass Clarinet in B♭
Contrabass Clarinet in B♭
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
2 Bassoons Contrabassoon
4 Horns in F
3 Tr umpets in B♭
2 Trombones
Bass Trombone
2 Euphoniums
2 Tubas
Double Bass
Harp
Piano
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Vibraphone (doubles Crotales)
Tubular Bells
Marimba
Percussion 1
Cabasa, Suspended Cymbal, Snare Dr um, Crash Cymbal, Hi-hat
Percussion 2
Crash Cymbal, Tam-tam, Tom-tom, Wood Block
Percussion 3
Bass Dr um, Tom-tom, Brake Dr um, Triangle
PERUSALSCORE
Duration: c 10:30 minutes
First Printing: September 2021
TECTONIC RIFTS
Timpani