three three two is a play on the phrase itself; for example, the first and second movements are in ternary form, while the third and final movement is in binary form. throughout the piece, and especially in the first movement, san/san/er, the three-three-two ostinato is a significant motif. 3'32", the pointillistic second movement, aims to last that exact duration. lastly, TWO!!! ...and one is a celebratory final movement that uses the ideas of movements one and two, using the first half of the three-three-two rhythm and having the duration stated in the title.

This summer, at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute summer camp, our composing program was given a week to write for orchestra. During this week I found inspiration from multiple aspects — I knew that I was writing for a talented high school orchestra, so I chose to limit any extended techniques. I also took motivic ideas from electronic and film music. The concept of this piece was that I wanted to depict a scene in which a drone camera swoops down to reveal a bustling, underground cyberpunk city. Hence the piece title “Into The Depths”. The first section is free and cinematic, with emphasis on the woodwinds. The strings provide support to blend orchestrally. As the piece progresses, one can imagine the feeling of being unfettered and at liberty, quite literally above the city below them — almost, as if, the listener is a bird, or, with context in mind, maybe a flying car or even a low-altitude spaceship. Then, the viewpoint drops; a cinematographic swoop… and the listener is in a whole different soundworld. The low strings, winds, and some of the brass players contribute to an electronic pulsation that drives the second section, and the horns and trumpets play a dark, even gritty leitmotif. Slowly, this pulsating section grows. It loses then regains its percussive drive while the sound becomes increasingly cinematic, with the orchestra becoming more united in playing the key leitmotifs — the listener imagines the rising in the levels of the cyberpunk city, from the fragmented and desperate scavengers to the professional but cruel corporate elite, until… The listener is back at the top, escaping from the dystopia that is a cyberpunk world, free again.

The word “meltdown” has multiple unique meanings in different contexts. This piece explores one such meaning — that of an environmental meltdown. Whether one takes this definition literally or figuratively, this is a situation where an environment “melts down” due to its destroyed ecosystems caused by none other than us. Images of an arctic scene slowly, then explosively progress into crashing icebergs and the cutting of trees as the piece progresses. Mixed feelings ranging from ambient neutrality and gentle content to mild discomfort and spiraling confusion are all evoked, but never truly pinpointed, symbolizing humanity’s dangerously comforting dilemma – “if it’s so harmful, why doesn’t it feel like so?” – a common mechanism employed by people who oftentimes will eventually “melt down”.

Mvt. I: Conflict symbolizes the violence of warfare. Material repeats at certain intervals like attacks in war. Such materials use “inverse chords”: chords with the same complexity, but opposite feelings. Mvt. II: Desolation starts with slow chords interrupted by unrelated fragments: the relief of war’s end mingled with haunting flashbacks. Yet, a later section includes a faster, even jovial section featuring a use of an axis of symmetry, reflecting the hope post-war. Mvt. III: Death is announced by the tritone of the piano ringing forth like the bell of death. Every now and then the strings play a shrill chord that increases in layers throughout the piece, reflecting the compounding number of the dead.