Left Gosh - Brass Quintet and Electronics

Duration: 8:30

Written: Spring 2020

Performance History:
-Digital Premiere: Nick Schleyer, Andrew Conover, Brandi Lane, Collin Tyrrell, Feb. 2021
-World Premiere: subtle cheetah brass, Oct. 24, 2021, Opera America, New York
-Baltimore Symphony Brass, Aug. 9, 2023, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore MD

*Click on each title to view a score preview

Program Note:

"Left Gosh," written February - April 2020, draws programmatic inspiration from the politicization and weaponization of religion, human freedom, and the preventable death of thousands due to the handling of Covid-19 in New York City and the United States. Another working title was "Gosh Left Gauche," a play on "God left the left,” an acknowledgement of the American Left vs. the Actual Left, and a nod to the second mainstream media erasure of a true-left candidate's presidential campaign. 

The source material for the electronics came from a February walk in Brooklyn Heights, a sound-bath service in Sunset Park, and a trip to see my grandfather that month who had suffered a terrible health spell. (That trip ended up being the last time I saw my grandfather, who passed away due to Covid-19 in December 2020).

As New York began to shut down that second week of March, all of us were eyeing an incoming recession, wailing in support of healthcare workers at 7pm, and communicating only by way of our screens. This piece had inherently changed form and purpose at a fundamental stage in writing; initially inspired by varied soundscapes that were objectively innocent in nature, these recordings became a log of now-life-threatening routines and travel patterns.

The consequences of for-profit industry, late-stage capitalism, and government-sanctioned violence were on full display in our handling of the pandemic and its intersections. This country's need for a pathway out of its own condition was profoundly clear to many in New York City in March and April, and this piece hopefully reflects the compounded feelings and experiences of that time.

Technical Requirements:
A technician is needed to trigger the sound files and monitor levels & balance throughout the performance. They should be set up somewhere that their computer and cables can reach both the stereo speakers and the quintet.

1. A computer, loaded with the provided sound files found below

2. Software (any DAW, ex. Ableton, QLab), loaded with the electronics track and click tracks. Left Gosh can be performed with either the full electronics track, or four separate triggers (marked "Trigger 1, 2" etc., in the score). Depending on the DAW being used, one option may be more convenient

3. An audio interface (2-Channel or 4-Channel, see below)
3a. For a 4-Channel interface, route the electronics to Channel 1/2, and route the click track to Channel 3/4
3b. If using a 2-Channel Audio Interface, go to your computer's Audio MIDI Setup page, and create an aggregate device. From the menu of options, select both your audio interface and your built in output. Then, in your DAW's audio settings select your new aggregate device from the list of available outputs. You should be able to route the electronics through your interface (Channel 1/2), and the click track through your built in output (Channel 3/4).

4. Stereo speakers on either side of the quintet

5. Three long cables and a 5-way headphone splitter
5a. Two cables connecting your interface to the stereo speakers
-Check which ports are available on the interface and stereo speakers, 1/4 inch and/or three prong
5b. One cable for the quintet members, either from your channel 3/4 or built in output to the 5-way headphone splitter

6. Five earpieces or pairs of headphones for one or more players to hear a click track, connected into the 5-way headphone splitter

*Click on each title to view a score preview