Whittier Program Notes 06/18/05
music from summerland-2002-
was the first piece written specifically for my group (pbe) and is heavily influenced by movie scores, pop/rock music, and the composers michael nyman/steve reich/philip glass. i wanted to create music that combined simple rock/pop harmonies with one and two-part forms. all of the movements in music for summerland are monogestural (they all express one thing, and in a way each piece is its own self-contained universe).
the title "summerland" comes from a set of writings by peter lamborn wilson, an anarchist/situationist writer who writes under the pseudonym hakim bey. after reading some of his writings, the term summerland came to have a new meaning, especially regarding the creation of this ensemble. wilson describes the TAZ (temporary autonomous zone) as a place where people come together outside of society to create and share without engaging in commerce. he feels that this is the first step to living outside consumer culture.
creating summerland was like starting a temporary anarchist training camp. the idea of getting nine musicians together and rehearsing and recording outside of the commercial music world (with limited or no pay) is very uncommon, and this was my first step at both writing a large composition and bringing together a collective of musicians to make music without commercial constraints.
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