Empty

Electric Violin + Live Electronics (2026)

Info:

Commissioned and Premiered by Violet Hill at the Nief-Norf Summer Festival (Knoxville, TN)

Program Note:
Emptiness is the teaching that all phenomena are interdependent: connected, arising dependently on other phenomena, and non-dualistic. As such, all things are “empty” of a permanent, singular identity, and instead are ever-changing.

This work explores the concept by searching for “the middle way”, moving through the extreme states of hedonism and asceticism before arriving at a meditation that is both focused and peaceful, and ending with the results of that practice. The end of the second movement references the Soṇa Sutta, which illustrates this with the example of a lute: if the strings are too tight, they become muted and may even break. Too slack, they can not resonate. Tuned perfectly, they make beautiful music.

I. Hedonist (Annihilation)
II. Ascetic (Eternal) & Soṇa’s Lute
III. Walking Meditation
IV. Middle Way

In memory of Năm Nguyen.

Technical Info:
The live electronics in this score are simply descriptions of desired FX. Performers may use whatever tools they prefer, and have creative control over the resulting sound. Please be in touch if you are interested in having the composer design a patch for your performance.

Duration: c. 20’