60 Degree Mirrors

Recorded on Ghost Ensemble’s 2018 album We Who Walk Again

Alice Jones, flute, Sky Macklay, oboe, Chris Nappi, percussion, Ben Richter, accordion, Lucia Stavros, harp, Hannah Levinson, viola, James Ilgenfritz, bass, Carl Bettendorf, conductor

A kaleidoscope contains five mirrors angled sixty degrees from one another. The reflections create subtly shifting repetitive-yet-distinct geometric-mosaic patterns, multiplying and beautifying whatever objects (beads, jewels, pebbles, glass shards) live within the kaleidoscope. My piece 60 Degree Mirrors uses a series of oboe and flute multiphonics as the sonic “objects” within the kaleidoscope. I manipulate them into geometric patterns and dense textures. Oboe and flute objects are multiplied, expanded, and fractured by the other instruments to create a saturating web of sound.