"On the Thin Ice of Modern Life" (2021)

Performed by the Talea Ensemble, conducted by Jim Baker.
Recorded live at its premier in Griswold Hall at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, Saturday, October 30, 2021.

This piece explores the fragile nature of continuous consciousness in today’s noisy, distracting world. As in our lives, intricate underlying structures are obfuscated by cacophonous interruptions that challenge us even to finish a thought.

From the moment I knew I would be writing for members of Talea, I began to imagine and sketch what the sound world might be, reaching out to the performers with questions, then examples, but it wasn’t until I attended their premier of Oscar Bettison’s Arqueología del Neón that I understood just what the group was capable of. From that moment until I turned the piece in, I steeped myself in sounds and literature, and stretched to try to give the group something they would enjoy, something of value.

Talea blew me away with their professional and personal warmth. Barry, Rane, Chris, Matt, Caitlin, and Jim each and all treated the student works with the same care and dedication they brought to pieces by Oscar and Felipe, a testament to their character. Even more wonderful, I feel as though we have begun to become friends.

(Video, courtesy of Peabody Recording Arts, is still being processed. I will upload it here the moment it becomes available.)

Barry Crawford - flute, bass flute, and alto flute
Rane Moore - clarinet, bass clarinet
Chris Gross - cello

Conducted by Jim Baker

This concert was part of the celebration of 150 years of composition at Peabody and received support from a 2020 Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award, awarded to Felipe Lara.