About the Piece
Instrumentation: Flexible Instrumentation, for 1-1000+ players
Duration: Around 2-3 minutes
Program Note:
I envision an investigation: a life lived in post-production, a Scythian knot of individual narrative adding up through simultaneity to a somewhat coherent or mostly incoherent story. How the removal of
even one narrative would irreparably change its fabric!
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Cognitive dissonance always arrives late to the party.
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GOVERNMENTAL MALFEASANCE, BASIC DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE BEGS COMPLETE ASTONISHMENT, TOTAL LACK OF SURPRISE
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The inevitability of downfall does not necessarily negate its shock.
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Similarly, I’ve been thinking how either a majority or an extremely dangerous minority of average people have seemingly lost their ability for empathy, how the “it can’t happen here/to me” mentality somehow withstands all evidence to the contrary. American Exceptionalism remains strong for many, despite its clearest debunking in decades.
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Plague-erased stories martyred into useless myths.
Conductor’s Perspective
A wonderful piece to introduce non-traditional notation and aleatory music to students. The concept is not too hard to understand or implement, and it allows students to create music through free improvisation skills. The total music is rather short, just 2-3 minutes and would be a great miniature as an addition to the program.
This can be used for virtual ensemble presentations or in-person performances. The narration part might be harder to incorporate for in-person performances, but not impossible. Speaking + performing at the same time will be challenging for some students and take some practice, while pre-recorded narration can be used with proper technical supports.
About the Composer
Maya Miro Johnson is an interdisciplinary creator who considers her work philosophy not
constrained to logic and reason:
• Exorcising hereditary ghosts
• Corroding supremacy paradigms
• Affirming proletariat value of the quotidian/enigmatic
• Manipulating dualities
Recipient of Schuman and Surinach Prizes in the 2020 BMI Student Composer Awards, Maya made her professional debut in 2019 with a commission from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Next season
includes record label debuts with Inna Faliks and HOCKET; works for Zeitgeist, loadbang, Johnny Gandelsman, David Michalek, B.K. Zervigon and J.T. Hassell; and an artist residency at the Sarasota Music Festival.
Maya has studied at NYO-USA, Luna Composition Lab, BUTI, Fresh Inc Festival, soundSCAPE Performance/Composition Exchange, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and Aspen Conducting Academy. She currently holds the Tureck Bach Research Institute Fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music.
With oboist and composer Sarrah Bushara she forms the performance art duo ~.
*Covid-19 deferral
Performance Materials
Instrumentation: Flexible Instrumentation, for 1-1000+ players
Duration: Around 2-3 minutes
Score can be purchased by contacting the composer.
Recording
Recording on Youtube by the Musical Mentors Collaborative, a virtual premiere: