Theses and Dissertations Collection

Natural disasters are for the most part difficult to predict, and there is not much that we can do to control them. But scientists can make educated predictions about what will happen and help provide resources the public needs to take the initiative of preparing themselves for these catastrophic events. This piece parallels that idea of not being able to influence external factors and force us to consider what is and is not within our control. But the main idea of the piece is that we can be ready and prepared for whatever comes our way to the best of our ability.

I am the kind of person that expects concistency and predictability when it comes to having my music performed live. And I usually prefer that the musicians play exactly what I write in the score. For this thesis, my goal was to begin the process of stepping out of my comfort zone and relinquish some of my compositional control to the musicians. Mallet percussion and winds quietly introduce the musical “droplets” that will pervade the entire duration. Some slightly dissonant chords imply that all is not well and serve as a foreshadowing of what is to come. As the piece goes on, more instruments are gradually introduced, building a chordal texture that ebbs and flows, mirroring the calm before the storm. As the music builds in intensity, aleatoric gestures create uncertainty and an unstable quality, causing the gradual build up to collapse, followed by a moment of stillness.

The last section of the piece pieces back together the previous “droplets” in the form of a hopeful and triumphant theme that is symbolic of humanity’s ability to overcome obstacles and come together in unity to help one another.

Writing this piece was a unique journey to say the least. The composing of the narrative timeline was non-linear, which is something I had never done before. In the past, whenever I got stuck composing from “left-to-right", I would tend to wait until the very last moment for inspiration to spark. That led to stressful late nights, which were not beneficial for my mental health. By working in a non-linear fashion, I was able to jump from section to section whenever I was having trouble coming up with ideas, thus being resilient. In some ways, this parallels the experiences of Native American coastal tribes who were able to leave areas they called home, wait for the earthquake or tsunami to pass, and come back where they came from to rebuild and start over. And by living through these devastating events, they were able to pass down stories, such as “Thunderbird and Whale” to the next generations, teaching lessons from the past to prevent the same mistakes.

My hope with this piece is that everyone who plays and listens to the piece will recognize that there will be situations that are unavoidable, but be inspired to help one another and use resources such as “ready.gov” to be prepared for the unknowns of the future.