Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Time Zones is a work in three movements that represents my fascination with musical time, or meter, and makes extensive use of additive rhythms such as 7/16, 5/16, 11/ 8 and 13/8, amongst others. I have always found these types of meters, where groups of two and three notes and added together to form a variety of larger patterns (a 'time zone'), to be not only rhythmically exciting but they also always make me want to dance! As such, much of the music in this work is meant to, at the very least, get the listener's feet tapping along to the large-scale rhythmic patterns that drive the music forward. Similarly, I often find that, for me, the creative part of the compositional process is all about discovering challenges and finding a solution to a problem, much like playing a game. Therefore, the title of this work also puns on the name associated with the TimeZone arcade game centres, which are found not only in Australia but many in many countries around the world. My music might be heard as a type of
music that accompanies and reflects the gaming experience, one where dramatic contrasts go hand-in-hand with problems to be solved and challenges to be met. The outer movements, in particular, reflect the over-riding sense of drama, energy and rhythmic momentum inherent in game music, while the central movement offers a point of reflection and repose as an escape from an otherwise chaotic world.

Work Details

Year: 2018

Instrumentation: Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon.

Duration: 18 min.