9.17.2003

0:00

Instrumentation: Fixed Media
Duration: 5 minutes
Recording Available: Yes
Performed: Yes

9.17.2003 grew out of the idea that one of the primary characteristics of art is that it compresses a large-scale topic into a manageable space, whether that space is physical or time-based. That is, artists begin with a large subject and reduce it to a manageable form. In music, composers address a number of subjects rom memorials to rituals to the absolute. The one thing that unites music is that it almost inevitably at its roots comments on something larger than itself.

Whether it's music, painting, sculpture, or drama, artists use the tool of conservation of means to make a grand comment. For this composition, I invited the Lewis University community to contribute to my orchestra of sounds. I placed a microphone in a busy hallway at Lewis University and recorded sounds for 24 continuous hours. Using the electronic music labs at Lewis University, I created a composition using only the sounds recorded during that 24 hour period. For me, this reflects the attitudes, emotions, and interactions of this day--a summary, or a composition that documents September 17, 2003 at Lewis University.