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The first version of this piece was written in the Spring of 1999, for an eight-piece rock ensemble. Though Emancipation began as a side project, composed outside of my classes, it quickly consumed my creative energy and I was lost in it. Ideas began to flow out of my mind faster than I could write them. Finally, the simple, yet exotic, melody line that would evolve into the central theme for Emancipation came to me and the piece took shape. The lead guitar part was written with Matt Heinecke in mind. (In fact, I thought to write the piece after Matt commented on the brevity of my guitar solos!) Matt and I have collaborated on countless projects during our careers at USC. However, none have compared to the experience of recording Emancipation. Of the sessions, Matt wrote, "I really didn't think about what I was playing, it just poured out of me. Recording Emancipation was like an out of body experience. I felt as if I were standing on the other side of the room watching my body play those parts." The compositional process took a month, and producing the first recording required an additional two months. The recording sessions came to an abrupt halt two weeks before the end of the term when the Chernobyl computer virus completely erased my entire hard drive, including all the notation files and recorded audio tracks for the guitars, bass and drums. Drive Service Company recovered the audio tracks from my computer. However, all the notation files were lost and the score and parts had to be reconstructed from memory and sketches before the recording process could continue. Making my life even more miserable was the impending deadline. Soon, all of my intended performers would leave for the summer. In this tense atmosphere, I completed the recording of the final tracks shortly before packing up and heading home for the summer. Three months to the day after having started the piece, the final mix-down was complete.
However, I did not realize at the time what I had accomplished. Besides having written one of my most powerful pieces, I had come to a major turning point in my creative life. For years prior to this piece, I was burdened with writer's block and a creative depression. True to its name, Emancipation was a way for me to break free of this without even realizing it. Nearly two years later, I returned to Emancipation. I hesitated at first, since the piece required a daunting amount of emotional energy to create originally. However, the temptation of orchestrating it for a chamber orchestra and rock ensemble was irresistible. Under the direction of Rick Lesemann, I revised the piece in January and early February of 2001. Orchestrating Emancipation was an absolute thrill. Weaving into the work the gorgeous orchestral colors at my disposal was like painting vibrant, life-like color onto a charcoal sketch. The presence of so many voices allowed for me to compose new layers of contrapuntal activity. The orchestra and rock ensemble function together in many different ways. At times, the orchestra provides moments of shining color to the sound. Elsewhere, it simply gets behind the driving rock band and adds power that only an orchestra of talented players can. At other times, it takes over melodic material and comes to the foreground. However, in order to provide the orchestra a moment to speak without competition from the rock ensemble, I excluded the original middle section of the piece. I then composed a new developmental section that features the orchestral players. I have debated for two years whether or not to include this piece on my senior composition recital. However, I decided that excluding it would be denying a great turning point in my musical life. |
