Spring 2026 Instruments and Electronics, Concert 1 - Program Notes
This concert was held in Ford-Crawford Hall on March 25, 2026 at 5 pm.
Rowan Lemaster: Grenadilla
The bass clarinet is made of grenadilla wood, also known as African blackwood. When writing this piece, I wanted to focus on the deep sound produced by this instrument and the sounds that can be created by manipulating its wide pitch and dynamic range.
Malcolm T. Doaks: All You’ve Done, All You’re Doing, All You’ll Do
This song serves as my personal testimony thanking God for his involvement in my life and in the lives of those who are my family in Christ. In this song, I acknowledge him for the past, current, and future blessings he bestows upon his people. On top of the live processing of my voice, I pre-recorded my own vocals and processed those same recordings through a granulator to serve as my fixed media.
Qiyun Zhao: Humanity
Human kindness is one of the world’s greatest beauty; human malice, its darkest, most frightening ugliness. The most beautiful things and ugliest things happen together throughout human history. Dedicated to all good people who bring the most beautiful things to this world, to humanity.
The Human Species
Poem by Qiyun Zhao
They beat!
They step!
They stab!
They shot!
They destroy!
They’re jealous!
They hate!
They break!
They judge!
They punish!
They torture!
They burn!
They fear!
They eliminate!
They kill!
They eat!
They eat one another.
They obey.
They follow.
They mute.
They hide.
They pretend.
They avoid.
They escape.
They survive.
They fight.
They care.
They protect.
They save.
They fear.
They create.
They share.
They love.
They help.
They sacrifice.
They sacrifice for others.
They choose, what they are.