Commissioned by Tyler Carpenter, Matthew Dudack, and Jared Allen. Amplified solo steel pans (double second) — 7’30”

Premiered by Tyler Carpenter at the Engelbach-Hart Music Festival, Illinois College, November 12, 2022

The steelpan tradition offers a rich and fascinating history.  Here we have a musical culture informed from ancestors who were taken from their home, and whose descendants created a new music built on the materials at hand.  From African drumming to bamboo to the use of steel drums, the music out of Trinidad and Tobago is a testament to the power of this music to transcend time.  When I first listened closely to the instrument (the double second) I noticed the ringing of whole tones.  This sounded haunting to me, and somewhat delicate, but the sounds of steelpan orchestras are infused with lively rhythms, the intervals of thirds (and sixths), and driving melodies.  These two ideas act in balance in this piece.

Ghosts tries to honor the legacy of these musical ancestors through interpolations of music, some floating and distant, some rhythmic and percussive.  The sounds of the steelpans are new, but familiar patterns of its music echo in our memories.  The only difference between the past and the present is simply a matter of time.