Eleven (2020)

Instrumentation
Two Digital Keyboards (two players)

Duration
13'

Commission
Commissioned by the Ray-Kallay Duo

Notes

When I began writing this piece, a commission from the Ray-Kallay Duo, I did not set out to write a tribute to the victims of the Tree of Life shooting (the massacre that occurred four blocks from my home on October 27, 2018). In the end, however, in an oblique way, I believe that is what I have done. Certainly the TOL event was weighing heavily on my mind when I was writing this piece. After the work was completed, I was surprised to see that the contemplative middle section included eleven short phrases, perhaps a subconscious tribute to each of the victims that perished. It seemed appropriate to title the piece “Eleven,” in honor of those who were killed, wounded, or otherwise impacted by the events. “Eleven” uses several tunings in combination including twelve-tone equal temperament, nineteen-tone equal divisions of the octave (slightly tweaked for additional resonance), and a twenty-one-tone system of my own design.

Availability
Plurabelle Music Publishing

World Premiere
February 29, 2020, Ray-Kallay Duo, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh