Sleep paralysis

Sleep Paralysis was written to be performed by a chamber orchestra of 17 performers total. The piece runs between 11 and 12 minutes and has a distinct programmatic approach. This piece attempts to convey the emotions and feelings one might experience when he or she is stricken with sleep paralysis—a condition where one wakes up during sleep but cannot move. Thus, this piece is set up as a dream gone badly. Harmonic and rhythmic tension increase throughout the piece until it reaches a moment of “paralysis” where the harmonies are static and melodies and themes appear in a dream-like fashion. Eventually, the ever-mounting tension resolves to free the listener of the paralysis; however, one should not assume that the paralysis is gone forever.