zetsu (2018)

Dedication: Subaerial Collective

Instrumentation: bassoon, double bass, piano

Duration: 9 minutes

Program Information:
zetsu is named after the fictional character, Zetsu, from the Japanese manga series, Naruto. In Naruto, Zetsu has two halves—Black Zetsu, the serious and knowledgeable, and White Zetsu, the carefree and playful. While both Zetsu often have differing opinions, they function as one entity. In Japanese, the word zetsu (絶) also means to cut off, sever or discontinue. My piece zetsu is about the clash between the black and white keys, and their intermediaries—the quartertonal in-between pitches. The work is intense and serious at times, yet at the same time carefree and dreamy, personifying the character Zetsu, and the word zetsu.

Premiere: January 15 2019 | Subaerial Collective | Athens, GA
Performance: October 29 2021 | Subaerial Collective | Greenville, NC
November 12 2021 | Subaerial Collective | Athens, GA
January 10 2022 | TNUA New Music Workshop | Taipei, Taiwan