Nocturne for Dice

Program Notes

This improvisational work is heavily inspired by the experimental composers and minimalists of the 20th century American school. Each player, on an instrument/voice of their choosing, simply rolls the 12-sided dice in front of them to determine which pitch to play in the chromatic scale. Upon the dice revealing their pitch to them, they are free to improvise on that pitch, choosing for themselves the octave, timbre, technique, rhythms, and any other variables they wish to employ. As each player takes “their turn” and rolls the dice, a unique landscape unfolds that is ever-changing and completely dependent upon the performers to create as interesting a “game” as possible.