Trade Clause (2007) Commissioned by The Fens Trio Instrumentation: flute, viola, harp and live electronics Length: 10:00 Premiere:      May 2, 2008      New England Conservatory, Boston, MA      The Fens Trio: Laura Heinrichs, flute; Jonina Mazzeo, viola; Naomi Hoffmeyer, harp Audio: Live Performance 6-6-08      Martina Roth, flute; Maria Boncaldo, viola; Sonja Inglefield, harp; James Avery, conductor Program Note: When I was asked to write for flute, viola and harp I felt myself very much in the shadow of impressionist pieces that had been written for this ensemble, particularly Debussy’s Sonata. It seemed to me that Debussy's piece was the ideal utilization of this ensemble and anything I tried to do would be either a pale imitation, or something better suited to a different instrumentation. My solution to this problem was to add live electronics. I use the electronics to create a noisy and distorted sound world which is often controlled and manipulated by the instruments themselves. In this way the instruments have the ability to play in an impressionistic manner but can also simultaneously control a contrasting electronic sound world.