“A listen that’s not short on imagery, both postmodern and postclassical influences are in attendance, and Kojs and his esteemed company pay much attention to pitch, time signature and timbral manipulation in the imaginative vision.” Take Effect Reviews
“…A program of experimental music that breaks down all barriers…it’s got the feeling of something a kin to where audio and visual meet in a cinematic embrace…” Midwest Record
Neuma Records CD album, 2021
I wrote this music out of pure love for life, nature, people and music itself. From the Hawaiian soundscape instrumentale to original poetry scores and the Peter-and-the-Wolf-like story telling, the music demanded visiting some outmost posts of expression. Each piece speaks of its own, unfolding multiple temporalities, expanding spheres of pitch and nurturing timbral ecosystems. Some music was scored with utmost precision and some demanded extensive decision-making from the performers. Thus, my collaborators were essential in creating this labyrinth of connected threads and pulses; a true living sonic organism: unique, sacred and real.
Imagine album is dedicated to Adam Marks, a long-time friend, collaborator and musician per excellence who passed over suddenly in May 2021. Love and Light, Adam!
1. Face Forward. Hawaii (2018, 22’37”)
Eric Umble, clarinet, Adam Marks piano and Juraj Kojš, electronics.
In May 2017, I traveled to the Big Island in Hawaii. During the trip, I kept my audio recorder running. The pitch and rhythmic contents of the recorded nature and human sounds were later analyzed, becoming the core materials for the piano and clarinet parts. The result is 8 pieces for clarinet, piano with electronics. In addition to the typical performance modes, the players also get to explore each other’s instruments.
2. under the blanket of your lullabies (2020, 34’35”) in 9 movements [Switch~ Ensemble]: Zach Sheets, flute, Clara Kim, violin, Megan Arns, percussion and Wei-Han Wu, piano.
Nine original poems on the theme of earth and its natural elements are the basis for under the blanket of your lullabies. Serving both as poetic inspiration and actual performance instruction, the score moves from structured improvisations to notated patterns. Grounded on collaborative composition practices, the ensemble makes creative decisions in a construction of a uniquely own performance.
3. Where You Are (2019, 14’54”) Splinter Reeds: Kyle Bruckmann, oboe, Bill Kalinkos, clarinet in Bb, Jeff Anderle, bass clarinet, David Wegehaupt, alto saxophone and Dana Jessen, bassoon. Juraj Kojš, narrator.
Inspired by Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale Peter and the Wolf, Where You Are tells a story of an animal group that sets out to save the hurting reeds of South Florida’s Everglades. Both playful and poignant, the instrumentalists become the story tellers themselves, forwarding both the music and original text trajectories.
