Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

I am a composer and saxophonist living in Brooklyn, New York, and southern Vermont. I am dedicated to remembering music’s original purpose and to bringing it back into modern consciousness. I believe that music is magic that is one of the oldest and most natural catalysts for spiritual transformation. I am particularly interested in dissolving the separation between musical performers and listeners and transforming the physical space of the performance setting.

I work with natural acoustics to create larger-than-life effects and experiences that go beyond the function of the human ear. I believe that music should be played and heard with every cell of the body, activating all of the orifices. I explore the mysteries of resonance, timbre, natural harmonics, and overtones; combining sonic textures that blossom into atmospheres that are seemingly greater than the sum of the individual components.

While at Headlands

While at Headlands I will develop my concert-length composition for the Jack Quartet and myself (string quartet and tenor saxophone). This project is definitely the most demanding thus far in my career, especially because it will be my first time writing for a string quartet. It will draw heavily upon extended techniques for both strings and saxophone, such as multi-phonics and nontraditional intonation. The piece will dive deeply into textural writing while also integrating melodic lyricism and thematic narratives.  

Artist headshot by Greg Brown