the piece formerly known as Boring Formless Nonsense (2015)

baritone saxophone + electronic resonator, 12'

score preview

Program Notes:

the piece formerly known as Boring Formless Nonsense pits the physicality of the saxophone against the player, exploiting the point of contact between that physicality and traditional technique. It is a meditation on breathing, the breath as pacing. It asks the player to inhabit a static space which continually tries to push the player out by contortion and strain. It is an exercise in focus, in creating a placid world on the outside while much strain and tension inhabits the inside. It is a dramatization of daily life in which the struggle to maintain appearance can be diametrically opposed to inner experience.

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Performance History:

10.03.2017 Louisiana State University, School of Music Recital Hall (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) (sax: Kevin Baldwin)

23.05.2015 The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center (Seattle, Washington) (sax: Kevin Baldwin)

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