stereo reduction:

Commissioned by Codes d’accès (Montréal, QC), with financial assistance from PRIM artist centre.
Premiered at Usine C, Montreal, QC. April 5, 2012.

Despite the numerous political, socio-economical and technological changes that have taken place since the 19th century, classical liberal ideology still provides a foundation for our conception of modern life and our place within it.
I wanted to interrogate and complicate three interrelated aspects of this ideology – the relationship between the individual and the collective, the relation of work to monetary gain, and the search for individual self-fulfillment – through both a sonic and metaphoric lens. Each of the three aforementioned topics is explored sequentially throughout three intertwined movements.

While interrogating liberal ideology, the piece does not propose a simple diametrically opposite philosophy; rather, it aims to reveal the complex ambiguities of modern life and the inadequacies of singular ideological dogmas. In this sense, the piece suggests a multiplicity of interweaving narratives, which are revealed and re-structured through the listener’s imaginative engagement.

• Winner of the John Weinzweig grand prize for best composition, SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, July 2012, Ottawa, Canada.
• 1st prize, Hugh le Caine category, SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, July 2012, Ottawa, Canada.
• 2nd prize, JTTP 2012, Canadian Electroacoustic Community. Montreal, QC, Canada.