Wooden Dominoes & Other Homes is a piece about houses (with and without windows), deforestation, and self-destruction. A tree falls; fauna scurry. A window shatters; we, humans, scream—such is the relation that this work hopes to convey. The project of this piece is to sonically intertwine the scenes of habitat destruction with those of the (human) refugee crisis. It aims to exist in a state of hyper-visual sonic realism, calling forth soundscapes from the depictions of noises in a scene—such as a tree collapsing at the laborious whim of a hand-saw. Silence in this piece is the numb silence which follows death. Let the pauses be poignant, still, and patient. Sit with the image in your mind, and allow yourself a moment to gaze upon it.

View Technique Demonstrations for demos, sample recordings, and other general information regarding the performance directions and extended techniques utilized in this piece.

It is with the sincerest gratitude that I thank Maestro Claudio Cohen and the members of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro for providing me the rare privilege to write this music. I would also like to extend the warmest of thanks to Diogo Carvalho, whose trust in me as an artist has empowered me as a composer.

Written for the Brasília Orchestral Summit; Premiered by the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro at the Teatro Plínio Marcos, Brasília, Brazil on August 2nd, 2024.