REDOX

wind ensemble

Redox is one of the primary chemical processes at work in fire in which one molecule is reduced (thereby gaining electrons) and another oxidized (thereby losing electrons). In conversation with this concept, this piece explores the tenuous balance between perceiving a minor second as a major 7 or perceiving it as a flat 9 depending on which note has been “reduced” or “oxidized.” As the climate crisis ramps up and the western United States, where I call home, is continually ravaged by wildfires, I hope this piece, with its harmonic re-contextualizations and bombastic allusions to combustion, not only evokes the natural cycle of fire and regrowth, but also some of the climate anxiety that many of us feel every day.

Redox was written during the winter of 2016/2017 for the University of Idaho Wind Ensemble directed by Alan Gemberling and premiered on April 20, 2017 in Haddock Hall at the Lionel Hampton School of Music. It was subsequently revised in September of 2022. This is a recording of the University of Idaho Wind Ensemble performing it in December 2023 under the direction of Mark Thiele.