Rude Gestures began as a series of inside-the-piano improvisations which I compiled in my first quarter at UC Davis. The different improvisations helped me to build a vocabulary of different sounds that could be achieved inside the piano. This piece, in particular, makes use of several different kinds of mallet and centers around a central gestural motif. The motif is the first thing that we hear, with a very hard attack, and it travels through a handful of different soundscapes, losing its harsh attack throughout. The initial attack represents a rude gesture made by someone else and directed at the individual, or vice versa. These moments tend to stick in my mind and distort over time, softening sometimes into a kind of understanding, or hardening into blame. Frequently, rude gestures beget other rude gestures, they cause one another.
Composer – Teacher – Musician
