Advanced Composition Search: solo or ensemble + video or image projection

(Composer's program note excerpt)
The primary idea behind my composition is that of generating a musical process and seeing what happens to it: not necessarily “evolution” in the scientific sense, but a brand of musical “development” – organic growth and gradual change. Accordingly, Darwin’s Dream begins with a perky little electronic motive (created on an ARP synthesizer at Bowdoin College some 30 years ago). It is quite repetitive at first, almost minimalist, but gradually a few other layers of sound from my memory bank (literally, early works of mine taken from my tape collection) are added to the mix, altering the course of the soundscape.  Whenever a fairly dense texture is reached, I return to the original electronic tune and add a completely different set of sound-memories, leading to another altered fabric. The very last of these alterations produces the most complex texture of all, and segues into a snatch of the 1950s worm music – only to fade away to my original little tune.

Darwin's Dream II excerpt from ACA Festival performance

Program note:
The text seen in the video accompanying the performer and
electronic sound in this piece includes a few sentences from chapters 3
and 5 of Norman MacLean’s book Young Men and Fire. That work
describes the happenings on August 5, 1949 in Montana during the
Mann Gulch fire that killed 12 firefighters who had parachuted into
the wilderness. On that day, crew chief Wag Dodge was able to set an
escape fire so that the main forest fire could wash over him while he
lay in the ashes. Dodge was not able to convince any others in the
crew to go into the area of the escape fire.

Program note:
This piece uses processed footage and sound from various storms and lulls captured
during the 2004-05 winter season. These manipulated shots form the backbone of the
DVD-accompaniment part, though natural weather sounds are increasingly obscured by
music inspired by an old Nina Simone song. The contrast between these elements is
given a narrative shape in the piano part, which pits slow-moving sostenuto-pedal style
harmonies against sections of two-part rhythmically active polyphony. The sections of
long resonating piano chords are also set apart by the use of a short occasional poem by
Marianne Moore which appears on the screen during these parts of the piece.

The Wright Brothers first flight - based on diaries and accounts.

For details about the piece, visit http://www.lawrencedillon.com/wright-flight.php