UC San Diego

As a composer, my primary objective is to write music over words. I prefer to express myself in sounds rather than prose, which is why the piece Aeriality, written for a large orchestra in 2010/2011, constitutes the primary content of this dissertation. As the focus is on the music itself, via the music score, the amount of written text is minimal. The introduction to the dissertation is an introduction to Aeriality, describing the inspiration for the piece and the conceptual approach to the music. The main section of the dissertation presents the music score. (Since the work is written for a large orchestra, the music notation had to be reduced considerably in size to fit the format of the dissertation.) The music is written for a large orchestra of 41 individual parts that are at times divided even further within instrumental sections. The music features layers of sound structures and moments of lyrical emphasis. Quartertones are used as a device to construct walls of sounds beyond the chromatic scale in order to achieve a massive sound structure. The final section of the dissertation presents the program notes that are written to accompany the work for performance. Aeriality is the seventh piece I write [i.e. have written] for orchestra, and it distinctly reveals my passion to search for sound-worlds that are produced by a large instrumental force. It presents layers of internally related materials, often within a chromatic and quartertone setting that is constructed around a harmonic progression that the music flows through from beginning to end. This progression is presented both in the form of collective orchestral efforts going through the same materials as well as in layered entities of smaller instrumental alliances to create a conjuration of a musical atmosphere that does not dwell within a single melodic sphere but rather travels between the various sonic fields that are inspired by the visual indication that the title suggests