Don’t Look Down

Don’t Look Down (2012) is about taking a leap of faith – abandoning comfort zones and status quos in order to take flight – embracing a new and higher way. The piece is based on a dream the composer had several years ago: when faced with a familiar tonnenting situation, she escaped by daring to embark on a daunting yet exhilarating journey that would transform.her from victim to victor. Written in a concert-like fom1at, the piece features a soloist representing the dream’s protagonist. Dream-like textures are created through antiphonal singing, structured improvisation, delay/echo effects, and fabricated language. The basis for the piece was the composer’s layered vocal improvisation recorded into her computer, which was subsequently tweaked, reassembled and given to the perfom1ers to be learned predominantly by ear.