Times
Times is an abstraction for wind band and electronics on the ways in which human memories change over time. Specifically, the work explores the difference between how “good” memories and “bad” memories linger in different ways within the changing circumstances of our lives. The perceptions of our memories are continually filtered through the context of our present situation; these shifting everyday realities constantly impact and transform our perceptions of the otherwise “fixed” events of the past. This changing perception of a static memory is both paradoxical and fascinating to me, and provides the aesthetic basis of the piece.
All of the electronic sounds and textures in Times are made exclusively from a pre-performance recording of the winds and percussion playing the piece itself, then reimagined by the composer. There is no real-time processing and none of the electronic sounds in the piece come from external sources.
Times was premiered on May 5, 2017 in San Jose, California. It was written with love and gratitude for Dr. Edward Harris and the San Jose State University Wind Ensemble. This piece is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s mother.
NOTE: The recording below is a live recording made at the premiere of Times. The electronic sounds heard on this recording were picked up by the microphones in the room from the playback speakers, as opposed to mixed in directly.