These four pieces for clarinet and electronics each explore one of four senses, and use the fifth sense, hearing, as the medium of exploration.

Sense IV: Visuality (2017), 8’; clarinet and electronics.

Visuality is the fourth, and last, piece of a series of four pieces for clarinet and electronics that are based on the senses of the human body as perceived through a fifth sense (hearing). Visuality reflects on the nature of sight, specifically, seeing in distinctly contrasting environments. The first is nature – ripples in the lake, leaves and blades of grass moving with the wind. While our eyes see a solid canvas upon first glance, our eyes start to focus on each the individual movement…each singular leaf making up the whole tree. The second is man-made construction, for example, the concreteness of a subway station when no one else is around. Our eyes wander from object to object, but these objects are unaffected by forces of nature. They are static, unmoving, still.

Premiere: November 17, 2018 by Kevin Kay at Spectrum, Brooklyn, NY.

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Sense III: Warmth (2016), 6’; clarinet and electronics.

Warmth is the third piece of a series of four pieces for clarinet and electronics that are based on the senses of the human body as perceived through a fifth sense (hearing). This piece utilizes two harmonic series a minor third apart from each other, which blend at times into a diatonic scale. The live processing was realized using MaxMSP. WARMTH reflects on the notion of touch, and with it, the feeling of warmth. We spend our lives seeking warmth – warmth on our skin, warmth in our hearts. And with the feeling of warmth, we contrast it with the feeling of coldness…shivers…goosebumps…let us all acquire the warmth we seek.

Premiere: March 11, 2017 by Kevin Kay at the National Student Electronic Music Event 2017, Louisiana State University.

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Sense II: Sapidity (2016), 6’; clarinet and electronics.

Sapidity is the second piece of a series of four pieces for clarinet and electronics that are based on the senses of the human body as perceived through a fifth sense (hearing). This piece is about taste. I imagine this piece as being compared to the imaginary tastebuds bouncing around one’s mouth, whether these flavors are delightful or repulsive.

Premiere: June 4, 2016 by Kevin Kay at the Arts Factory, Charlotte, NC during the Charlotte New Music Festival 2016.

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Sense I: Aroma (2015), 6’; clarinet and electronics.

Aroma is my first serious work in electroacoustic music, and also is the first piece of a series of four pieces for clarinet and electronics that are based on the senses of the human body as perceived through a fifth sense (hearing). This piece explores the idea of scent and how we can connect certain smells to places we love to spend our time in. I do most of my composing in coffee houses, and so incorporated into this piece are manipulated samples from a favorite local coffee house. Additionally, this piece uses sampled pitches and multiphonics of the clarinet.

Premiere: March 25, 2016 at the National Student Electronic Music Event 2016, University of Oklahoma.