SAFE (2016)

soprano, mezzo-soprano, countertenor, tenor, baritone, bass

written for EXAUDI vocal ensemble

commissioned by Voix Nouvelles-Royaumont, Asnières-sur-Oise, France

S A F E is a meditation about the anxieties of living in a world where threats unseen, symptoms of larger forces we cannot control, pervade our lives and our thoughts: the effects of neo-liberal capitalism and consumerism on our self-worth, feeding our insecurities, suggesting or forcing us to medicate in myriads ways; the effects of global warming on climates, both environmental and geo-political; the prisons built by institutionalized and cultural racism, be they literal, physical, or psychological; and the stress that accompanies contemporary life. S A F E is about the struggle to remain clear and focused despite everything that distracts us from truly living and being truly present — which is a “place” that I believe art allows us to locate and inhabit.