Abrade (2015)

for string quartet

[Score | Recording]

selected for performance for the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program, 2015

Premiered by the JACK Quartet at the University of Iowa

JACK Quartet, University of Iowa

Program Notes:

Abrade juxtaposes, collides, and convolves the transients and resonance of tap dance. I gathered source material by tap dancing on a resonant, wooden platform and performed a spectral analysis on the recordings. Through contrast and interpolation, the material weaves a non-linear narrative from the nexus to the decay of sound. By re-contextualizing the order (i.e. the decay beginning the gesture), the actual sound is brought into question – does it still resemble the source material?  Through abstraction, the source material becomes less rendered.