...but they are like us, too - alto saxophone and tape

This piece was commissioned by Alvin Phan, a doctoral saxophone student who wanted to perform a new piece based on an issue he is passionate about: the mistreatment of animals in the meat industry. I worked with Alvin to create a solo alto saxophone work that incorporates a number of extended techniques for the instrument, implemented in a score that utilizes semi-improvisatory musical gestures via cell-based notation. The work also features fixed media that depicts the progress of humankind from its simple, naturalistic origins toward a most inhumane present (though none of the samples in the electronics are actual sounds of animal cruelty, the way I've manipulated them can be disturbing in context).