UC San Diego

This dissertation will examine four works for multiple cellos prepared over the course of my doctoral studies. The works are: Tashi Wada Duets: September 2006, March 2007, April 2007, February 2008 (2006-08), La Monte Young The Melodic Version of the The Second Dream of the High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer from The Four Dreams of China (1984), Alvin Lucier One Arm Bandits (2016), and Anthea Caddy and Judith Hamann Untitled (2015-18).

An explication and discussion of four key characteristics - the dialectic of material and action, the works’ unfolding in time, multiplication of bodies, and unison - will guide and illustrate how these works become cast as pieces which are realization specific, that is, works that only reveal their form in performance, informed by dialectical material, present moment responsiveness, and secondary material generated through the relationships between each characteristic. This paper will suggest that these key properties are crucial in repositioning the pieces in a particular space within the composition and performance paradigm.