Abstracts Category : Other

Hypoxia

by Adam David O'Dell

Hypoxia is a seven-minute work for piccolo, twoflutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, fourhorns in F, three trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone,tuba, timpani, three percussionists, and strings. It explores thecombination of subconscious panic and conscious tranquility feltduring near-death experiences, using neoromantic and sound massstyles to illustrate this duality. Inspired by various books,documentaries, and first-person accounts, Hypoxia juxtaposesagitated rhythms and harsh extended techniques with simple,ethereal melodies and chorales. These juxtapositions emulate therapidly changing and highly unstable mental state of thesufferer.Hypoxia is organized in five large sections, indicatedthrough loud, tutti staccato chords. These structural pointsrepresent synapses that drastically affect the way the brain andbody reacts to trauma. The piece begins with initial shock,followed by deliriousness, panic, euphoria, and calm. While each ofthese sections is assigned a major motive, each motive is repeatedin multiple sections of the piece, highlighting the complex yetdisorderly behavior of the mind throughout a more concretenarrative of the experiencer suffering trauma, living through theexperience, and regaining consciousness.Advisors/Committee Members: Shrude, Marilyn (Advisor).