Grand Central for chamber orchestra, live audio processing, and video projections

Grand Central is a twenty-minute multi-media work for chamber orchestra, live audio processing, and video projections. The piece was commissioned by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's New Music Ensemble, and will be premiered in March 2013. Composing a multi-media work poses many challenges, including the methodology of how to work with diverse components, the interplay between these elements, and how to best utilize the performance space to its full potential. The work is inspired by my experiences at Grand Central Terminal during my childhood and the musical material is derived from the building’s infrastructure and rich cultural history. The first chapter of this treatise examines the genesis of the composition, Grand Central’s history, and technical considerations related to the integration of technology, orchestration, and staging. The second chapter is encompassed by a thorough movement- by-movement analysis, complete with explanations of pitch derivation, formal principals, and programmatic considerations.