Persistence of Memory (2012) Flute Solo - Digital Sheet Music

Persistence of Memory (2012) for flute and live electronics

The inspiration for Persistence of Memory (2012) came from my reading of an article about neuroscientist Karim Nader’s recent research in memory whereby it has been demonstrated that memories are recalled or rather recreated by protein synthesis. In short, every time we remember, we reconstruct the memory chemically re-activating a cell network; and since each memory is recreated, they gradually change over time. It struck me that the notion of memories being recreated and constantly changing was ironically similar to how much music concert music is/seems composed, and that it would be interesting to explore the idea of how a piece of music might attempt "remembering" itself.

Thanks to Lindsey Goodman, principal flautist West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, for collaborating on the work, recording sound for the fixed media, and offering suggestions for some of the techniques used in the piece-her suggestions were invaluable in making the work more playable and expressive.

Performance materials available for purchase from the publisher: mjicmusicpublishing@gmail.com