Unstatic State: New Music in an Old-Time World

This talk will focus on my approach to engaging with Appalachian topics in compositions of new music, highlighting experimental and chamber works as well as my recent oratorio, State. A 40-minute work for soloists, women’s choir, percussion, piano, and electronics, State is a direct adaptation of oral histories I collected from Urban Appalachians in Cincinnati, and was premiered in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill neighborhood in April 2016. After giving an account of my journey as a composer and my interest in Appalachia, I will address questions of musical style and audience expectation, with special attention to the broader artistic project of making multivalent work about Appalachia that seeks to avoid the readymade set of associations that is often uncritically attached to the mountain folk music traditions. I introduce this effort as part of a dialectic between the important work being done to preserve and celebrate mountain folkways and the efforts underway to portray Appalachia as diverse, complex, and relevant to contemporary cultural discourse on a national level. I will situate this work within the context of the current climate in Appalachian music, literature, and photography. Note: this presentation can best be described as an artist talk, but I wasn't sure how that fit into the available formats. I'm happy either to present it in the window of a paper or to adapt it into a longer format if deemed appropriate.