SEEP
for wind ensemble
Work Details
3(3=picc).2.3.bcl.(opt.cbcl).2(opt.cbsn)–2asax.1tsax.1bsax–3.4.3.1–pno–timp.perc(4)
2017
ca. 8 minutes
Watch
Program Note
SEEP grew out of my response to the Porter Ranch gas leak and my fascination with the abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter.
In October 2015, a massive gas leak began at the Aliso Canyon storage facility near Porter Ranch in Southern California. It continued for nearly four months, releasing vast amounts of methane into the atmosphere and displacing thousands of families. The disaster brought questions of environmental damage and corporate accountability into sharp focus for me.
Around the same time, I encountered Richter’s abstract paintings. I was captivated by his thick, viscous paint and the unpredictable ways colors spread and layered across the canvas. These images helped shape the musical language of SEEP: harmonic smears that gradually shift and transform, suggesting both the movement of paint and the dispersal of gas through the atmosphere.
The piece reflects my response to the disaster and honors the residents and advocates who fought for their community in its aftermath.
—SC