Length: 10 minutes
Composed: 2013
Commission: The Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s International Electronic Music Week
Premiere: October 21, 2013. Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai, China.

Program Note: In Ever Expanding the musicians present two different types of material. The first is based on a slow repeating cycle of chords played on the vibraphone, which expands and contracts throughout the piece. The other is a vibrant play of rhythm and tone color, in which the instruments playfully, and sometimes violently, interact with each other using a variety of noisy, percussive sounds. The live electronics act as a means to enhance and expand the capabilities of the live instruments and as such, all of the electronic sounds are sampled live during the performance and are triggered by the instruments themselves. For example, the electronics are used to sustain the sound of the chords struck by the vibraphone and to create phasing patterns from these harmonies. The noisy, rhythmic material is also enhanced by short electronic patterns built from sampled sounds of the instruments. As these patterns increase in length, they create an additional rhythmic layer for the instrumentalists to interact with.