Concrete Indefinite

 2017: Boston Mass.

ca. 9-10 minutes

Solo Trombone and Optional Electronics

Premiered by Justin Coyne and Matthew A. Bardin (version with electronics) at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, November 2nd, 2017.

This piece was originally written for a solo trombonist utilizing a plunger mute to alter the timbre over the course of the composition. However, due to schedule constraints there was not enough time for the performer to learn the extremely difficult changes in time for the premiere. In order to still pull off the effect I created a session using Ableton Live 9 Suite that could take the sound from the trombone and alter it similarly to a mute. This endeavor ultimately proved fruitless, and I decided to develop a series of effects that I could alter in real time alongside the performer. This led to the creation of the version heard below. Due to the microtonal inflections this is also the first score I have created completely by hand from start to finish. 

The version with electronics was my first serious attempt at an electroacoustic composition.

The score (version without electronics) is available here.

The full score for the version with electronics can be found here.

The Ableton Live session used for the premiere can be downloaded here. Purchasing Ableton Live is not necessary for the performance of this piece. You can find a trial version of the software here. The only caveat is that you will be unable to save any changes made to the session file.