saturation temp! (2020)

Commission: Eunmi Ko

Instrumentation: piano and melodion (one performer)

Duration: 6 minutes

Program Information: saturation temp, short for saturation temperature, is the technical term for ‘boiling point’. In this piece, water is at the brink of boiling constantly, but instead of reaching its saturation temperature, that benchmark is moved again and again, and water is always at the brink of boiling, but never really boils. This is a commentary of current social standards, in which something ridiculous that should have caused major uproars and protests are swept under the rug in yet another news cycle of more crazy and unbelievable things. The benchmark for sanity has shifted and moved, and what used to be the breaking point in a previous timeline, is now just the absurd normal.

Premiere: September 25 2020 | Eunmi Ko | Tampa, FL