Constraint Obstacle Studies (2020)
12 musicians in three movements (for fixed-video or live performance)

• Full score & parts (includes instructions on how to put together the video)

• Click tracks for each movement (3 separate audio files)

Format: PDF only (score) & mp3 audio files
Dimensions: Full Score 11 x 17 in. / Parts 14 x 8.50 in.
Audio format: stereo mp3.
Performing Rights Society: ASCAP
Duration: Ca. 10:00
Pages (Full Score): 20

In response to the Covid-19 lockdown in May, I was invited by the New Music Concerts to write a piece for a 'distanced' ensemble of 10-15 musicians that can be rehearsed and played in their homes with whatever equipment they happened to have with them. This video work for 12 musicians directly responds to the struggle and constraints I faced in my own creative process as well the challenging social restrictions many of us feel during this time of lockdown. The composition is a collection of three short movements, highlighting the experiences many of us share: being stuck at home, spending a lot of time in the kitchen and virtual conference calls, and with this the emotional urgency and longing to be connected to a shared community physically.

The kitchen is often thought of as a space of security, comfort and warmth. As the world shutdown during this pandemic, home cooking is one thing that kept me with a sense of happiness and normalcy. In this work, musicians perform using solely objects found in their own kitchen. Here, the individual recordings prepared by the twelve musicians become united as a collective, not only in sound but also as a visual composition. While each performer is allotted in a small confined two-dimensional space, their bodies and movement connect to develop relationships that are only possible collectively.