Expansions for Orchestra

Composer's Note:

Expansions is a piece of computer music that I wrote in 2016. The basic concept is that a simple musical structure in the background is “expanded” by another group of notes, which creates a texture of continuous simultaneous and overlapping melodies. After writing this work, I then wrote two pieces for orchestra that dealt with the same idea in different ways. In 2023, I decided to return to my original piece and score that for orchestra. There are so many differences that I doubt most listeners would identify the original work here. The piece was transposed and slowed down. The low range requires two contrabassoons and tuba, and the piano also plays in the lowest octave.

The background harmonic structure is originally played in the strings. The melodies are introduced in the woodwinds and, in the louder sections, brasses. These increase in complexity and rhythm until, at the climax of the piece, these roles are reversed, with the background harmonies played in the brasses and some woodwinds while the strings, and some other woodwinds, play the melodies. After the climax, the piece returns to its original texture and gradually fades out.