Drifting Convolutions began last summer, for string trio only, as a sort of elaboration on one note – I began composing as I forced myself to write something that maintained a steady rhythm. The question driving the piece is then, what is the natural direction for one note that is constantly articulated?

The first answer is to change the order in which the three instruments articulate the note; the next is to convolute the sound by moving away from that one note. In the second part of the piece, the pulse is distorted, pulled, and stretched; the process becomes one of convoluting a pulse, not elaborating on it. In the original string trio, the pulse was stretched but little else changed – with a larger ensemble, as the pulse is stretched, the wind instruments spin outwards, building contrapuntal lines against the drifting pulse.

In the third section of the piece, the winds and strings trade places, with percussion a witness to this transition. Now, the strings spin out counterpoint as the winds continue the pulsation, constantly slowing it. The music drifts away from its intended purpose, towards a byproduct of the previous processes.

Drifting Convolutions was premiered on May 17, 2015 at Fulton Recital Hall in Chicago, IL by Rachel Blumenthal, Dan Won, Brett Baxter, and members of the Spektral Quartet, conducted by Matthew Sheppard.

Score Sample (2:40 to 4:30 of recording)