Launch Party
For Piano Trio, Percussion, Tape
Duration: 9:00
Commissioned by: Rocket City New Music
Composed: Spring 2022
Premiere: October 4, 2022 - Huntsville, Alabama
Instrumentation:
Violin
Cello
Marimba + Vibraphone
Piano + Keyboard
Pre-Recorded Tape
More about this piece and Rocket City New Music:
WLRH Interview with Chris P. Thompson and Sean Ritenauer.
Program Note:
LAUNCH PARTY is a work for piano trio, percussion, and pre-recorded tape.
From the composer: “I had been waiting for an excuse to dive deep into the wonderful NASA audio archive when I was asked to write something for Rocket City New Music’s opening concert of 2022. Set in the aerospace hub of Huntsville, Alabama, I had a chance to write music for a curious and scientifically-minded audience who would likely be familiar with the sources of that material.
Browsing through the database, I asked myself: what rhythm and pitch material are contained in these sounds? Could any of them be, for example: time-stretched, pitch-shifted, looped, chopped into bits, processed, etc, in order to make them serve musical functions?
While I enjoy studying pure mathematics and thinking about how it might apply to sound and music, I have very little experience with astronomy, physics, or the applied sciences. Thus, I was very hesitant to just start grabbing things that sound cool and using them without understanding their sources. There is an inviting and playful openness to everything NASA does, and I wanted to learn as much as I could about the materials. I was thrilled to discover not only how vast their online offerings are, but also how approachable everything is. Learning about the sources of these sounds and the missions they came from was a pure joy, and I have tried to infuse that joy throughout the piece."
Full Score (28 pages) + 4 instrumental parts (PDF files)