Dis//Connection

As a child, I was enthralled by stop-motion animation: the magic of how disconnected images, placed one after another, conjure motion, character, and narrative. Our minds insist on connection, even where gaps and seams are obvious. Dis//Connection explores that paradox. Much of its music emerges from discrete, tactile events: ratchet and guiro scratches, isolated chords, and irregularly repeated notes (sometimes hocketed). Early on, these gestures appear as if cut apart—like a dashed line or a reel missing frames—leaving ample sonic space for listeners to fill. This piece follows Fantasia Oscura—another work I wrote for the IU New Music Ensemble—in that both are inspired by animation (there, sand animation, with images dissolving and reforming from countless grains). It also shares the metaphysical curiosity of Bounce!!, which I wrote while at IU: how an idea becomes sound. And it reflects a Korean musical sensibility I absorbed growing up: that what happens between notes carries as much expression as the notes themselves. Below the conceptual surface resides a quieter emotional current: as a composer, I often wonder how my work relates to the broader community. Do these stitched-together sounds genuinely resonate with others? Do they reach someone, somewhere? The piece does not seek answers. Instead, it offers a sonic zen garden—musical gestures placed with room for listeners to wander and assemble their own story. Later in the piece, lines stretch, threads overlap, and the ensemble finds moments of coherence. Between distance and intimacy, signal and silence, this eight-minute piece draws attention to how meaning—and maybe even community—can arise from the smallest of pieces.