Hmmmmmm. . . ch ch ch ch ch ch ch. . .

Such an agonizing decision one must make when standing before the lungs subscription vending machine.

Hint: it’s all the same sh*&@ lol. Besides, I think it’s low-key broken ?

Lungs Subscription, Vending Machine is a theatrical work for wind quintet which articulates the predicament of the modern human as a series of essentialized transactions with a single vending machine. The concept of the breath, here, is centered in two ways: physically, it is the means of sound production for all instruments in the ensemble; and conceptually, the breath represents our necessary means of living which has been commodified and packaged to a degree of torturous absurdity—at least, such is the case in the world which this piece imagines. Thus, the breath is employed as a symbolic motif to express themes of exhaustion, suffocation, satisfaction, and unification. Crucial, too, is the physical manifestation of money as coins, which are utilized as props/instruments not only for their symbolism but also their sonic qualities.

Premiered by Laura Cocks, Kemp Jernigan, Paul Cho, Brad Balliett & Wil Dannenburg at the Italian Academy, New York, NY, United States on April 26th, 2024.