Assembly

for soprano, soprano, bass, percussion trio
duration: 15'

Justine Aaronson, soprano
Sarah Brailey, soprano
Andrew Munn, bass
Amy Garapic, percussion
Matt Evans, percussion
Carson Moody, percussion

Commissioned by The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College

Premiered on May 4, 2017 at the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College

About the work

Assembly was inspired by the people and programs at the Thayer School of Engineering, where I spent time during 2016 and 2017 becoming acquainted with the community and their work. During my time at Thayer, it struck me that engineering is a deeply inclusive field that brings together people from all backgrounds. I met mathematicians, physicists, and inventors; people working in medicine, and with robotics. I was so impressed by the creativity and diversity of the work getting done under the Thayer umbrella. When I asked, “Why are you here in the engineering department and not in the math/ physics/medical/etc. department,” the answer was inevitably, “Because I like to make things.” Much of my understanding of what makes engineering (and Thayer in particular) unique came to be about this idea of application: making things that step out into the world and affect peoples’ lives. This is reflective of music. Musicians often go off into a room to think and theorize by ourselves, but at the end of the day, we build something and share it with people.

see full program notes and text here

click here to hear a story about this project that was broadcast on NPR's Here and Now