Suite No. 1 for Four Prepared Soprano Saxophones

The following is a new work that I've been working on with my ensemble Chaos Theory Unit (CTU). The current working title is "Suite No. 1 for Four Prepared Soprano Saxophones."

The ensemble features:

• Caroline Davis, soprano saxophone
• Catherine Sikora, soprano saxophone
• Don Chapman, soprano saxophone
• Sam Newsome, soprano saxophone

My simplistic way of understanding the work is that it is a four-dimensional perspective of the soprano saxophone. Each dimension being channeled through a different player. The piece is composed of the following parts:

Introduction:
Part I: Doppler
Part II: Birds
Part III: Balloons
Part IV: Drone
Part V: Drum
Part VII: Doppler Revisited

The titles of each of the sections reflect the horn preparations as well as the deliberate sonic realms that players are instructed to improvise within. There are no pre-composed parts. The compositional arc and incidental harmonies that ensue stem from the improvisational interplay.


Below is the video of our performance, along with a listening guide further detailing the musical activities throughout.

Section	Time	Musical activity
Introduction	00:00 – 03:03	Solo improvisation by Newsome. The improvisation is multiphonic-centered.
Part 1: Doppler	03:03 – 05:58	The ensemble joins in playing sustained tones centered around concert C Phrygian. The ensemble sways instruments from side to side to create the Doppler effect.
	5:50  - 05:59	Ensemble sustains an impromptu chord.
	6:00 – 08:54	Davis begins an unaccompanied solo.
Part II - Birds	08:55 -11:04	The ensemble begins improvising bird sounds underneath Davis until she fades out. The ensemble morphs into collective improvisations of bird sounds
	11:05 – 14:23	Newsome and Davis begin improvising against the bird- sound backdrop without their instruments being prepared.
	14:23 – 14:34	Newsome and Davis conclude their improvisations playing sustained tones.
	14:35 – 15:40	Sikora and Chapman continue the bird-sound backdrop, while Newsome and Davis setup with balloon preparations
Part III - Balloons	15:41 – 19:22	Sikora and Chapman end playing bird sounds while Newsome and Davis begin to assert the balloon rattlings, which morphs into a sparse collective improvisation, featuring Chapman playing against a backdrop of balloon sounds and sparse ensemble improvisations.
	19:23 – 20:24	Chapman solo concludes, and the ensemble continues to play the balloon-rattling backdrops, while Newsome prepares his instrument with the tube extension to begin the drone.
	20:25 – 21:56	Newsome begins drone against the balloon-rattling backdrop
Part IV: Drone	21:57 – 23:40	The ensemble joins Newsome playing drone-like sound while instruments are prepared with tube extensions.
	23:41 – 26:44	Sikora begins improvising against the droning backdrop
	26:45 – 27:43	The ensemble fades out and Sikora continues her solo unaccompanied. While Sikora is improvising, the ensemble begins to make preparations for the next piece entitled "Drum.”
	27:44 – 28:24	The ensemble begins playing drum sounds as Sikora fades out her solo.
Part V: Drum	28:25 – 29:30	The ensemble plays drum sounds, while Chapman continues the drone.
	29”31 – 30:18	The ensemble begins to play sparsely over the drone while continuing to play drum sounds.
	30:19 – 33:18	The ensemble begins to collectively improvise over the drone.
	33:19 – 36:45	The drone ends and the ensemble plays as a collective. The ensemble builds gradually.
Part VI: Doppler Revisited	36:46 – 40:18	The nsemble morphs into "Doppler Revisited." The ensemble plays sustainethed tones over the C Phrygian scale until the end.