Nebula Canon

Nebula Canon is an aleatoric work for two pianists. The piece is structured as an interconnected web of rhythmic cells which the two players wonder through while generating extemporaneous harmonic material. Its form is binary - the first sequence features the two performers in a unified tempo, creating a sense of constancy and meditation. Then, at the decision of one of the two, they will move to a cell that sets their tempo at quicker rate and start the second sequence of the piece. This sequence calls on the players to use more dynamic and variable harmonic material as the player whose tempo is offset gradually slows to match the other. Upon unifying, the performers return to the same cell and the piece ends. Nebula Canon was originally written for composer Ben Shively and myself during our final year of studies together at the Blair School of Music, in which we rehearsed and performed aleatoric works that we admired and wrote ourselves. This piece is more commonly performed with two pianos, but can also be adapted for one piano, four hands.

Performance Time: highly variable