it's alive: sounds from the gray goo 3.0

Here is my first foray into live electronic music, something I've only faked-dabbled in since 2009 as part of my Sounds from the Gray Goo series, and I'm already crossing my fingers, throwing salt over my shoulder, and making sacrifices for the Electronic Music Gods¹ so that it will not die in public in front of excited teenagers when it premieres this Saturday. (Or later on when I produce a joint electro-acoustic recital with Spencer Lambright in April.)

Long story short, Nancy Gamso, a woodwind specialist, asked me to write a piece for alto flute and soprano saxophone to be performed at Ohio Wesleyan University's Woodwind Day so high school students can see and hear these two instruments being performed…by the same person. I thought using a laptop to combine these two mismatched instruments would help meld them together. I have the alto flute creating a minimalist accompaniment using delay, and then halfway through the piece, the accompaniment plays backwards while the soprano saxo…