Program Notes

It’s about 8:00 PM, and you pull your car over to the side of the road. It’s a dimly-lit mountain road, the last beams of sunlight having just ducked under the horizon, and the air is clear. There’s a mild breeze and slight wind chill, but it feels wonderful for being this high up. You pulled over after pulling a three point turn in the middle of the road, just because you saw something that caught your eye over the embankment. That was dangerous, yes, but worth it in your eyes (you couldn’t see any headlights, anyways). As you walk across the road, not thinking to look both ways before crossing, your view becomes clearer. The entire city is laid out in front of you like a table spread of the starry night sky. Dots and splashes of light crowd the landscape for miles, and long streaks of red-and-white light stream down the horizon, glimmering with the movement of cars across freeways. After a second, a realization hits you like a truck. An intense, crippling, yet empowering realization.

Each light that shines below the horizon represents a life. Multiple lives, sometimes. Each one a soul, a life well-lived, a life not yet lived, a brain full of thoughts, a body full of blood, a living being with a consciousness, a family, friends, a social life, pets, children, people that rely on them, and people they rely on. Down there, a web of connections, an array of lives, a mass of souls, a shining explosion of life, each embodied by a single dot on an endless control board of living data, each one controlling and being controlled by another in the biggest and smallest ways.

It puts the scope of the world into perspective. There are an unfathomable number of dots, more than one person could ever count, but, in a way, it’s a comforting feeling. There are so many lights, each one a life, that assures you that your existence in the world both simultaneously matters, and also does not. One missing light won’t change the impression the spread gives off, but one light added makes the spread one bit denser, or stretch ever-so-slightly further into the horizon.

“Hey, whatcha lookin’ for?” your friend in the passenger seat calls out after getting out of the car, heading your direction.
“Maybe something, maybe nothing.”
“C’mon, don’t do me like that. Seriously, why’d ya turn around and pull over?”
“I saw something over here.”
“A dead body or something? You can’t see jack shit out here.”
“No, come look.”
They join you at your side. The epiphany you had appears to be lost on them.
“Down there. And across there. Look at it all.”
“What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“Everyone. Don’t just look for one thing. Take it all in. Each one of those dots is a whole life, you know. That could be you, or me, or the man on the moon. And they’re all connected. It’s like a spider web of light and people and life and—”
“Man, I always knew you were a nut, but you’ve really—” they cut themselves off.
… … …
“Okay, I see what you’re getting at.” They pull out their phone to try to capture the moment. “Y’know, you’re a bit cuckoo, but for some reason, I can read you like a book.”
“No use. A camera can’t capture it all. No video either. Not even music could really capture it. Just take it in for a little bit. Let yourself be a little overwhelmed for a minute.”
“Melodramatic much?”
“Maybe. But… you know… it’s a lot to think about. Each one of those people is having a different time. Maybe someone just got laid off their job. That’s one dot. Maybe someone just got a new puppy. Another. Maybe that one just met the love of his life. Maybe that one over there is just living a normal-ass day and isn’t feeling anything. They’re all in a different night. Hundreds of nights. Thousands of nights. Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine nights. Nobody will ever know.”
The air stood still for a minute.
… … …
“You’re right. But I think your number is wrong.”

9999ights as a piece is rooted in senses of energized curiosity, overwhelming reflection, and intense sonder, stemming from a realization regarding the immensity of life that comes from looking over a city at night from a high perch. Each dot of light is a life, or multiple lives. A soul with thoughts, feelings, family, friends, values, and everything vital to the human condition. The realization that each of those people is experiencing a completely different version of life; nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine different nights laid out before your eyes. The entire piece revolves around a central melody—a single realization—and its variations, which can take the form of an electrified dance, a simple piano song, or a hocketing machine. The idea evolves over time, going through numerous emotional states and timbral textures before settling into the silent noise of the mind yet again. It’s twisted, varied, brought forth, shoved back, shifted around, fired up, tempered down, and cast into the wind. This melody also bounces between parts frequently, symbolizing the web of connections that people make. But, much like the human spirit, it persists, and never disappears. It is everywhere and nowhere in particular. And, most importantly, connections are vital.

Jacob Alan Smith
February 25, 2025

---

“It was probably around 1:00 AM. My phone had long since died, and I realized that I was now stuck in these endless woods until either help arrived or I, by some miracle, wandered back to civilization. I was already on edge, but every little rustle or movement caused more and more adrenaline to flow through my body. I was really and truly lost. I stepped on a stick at one point and it snapped, scaring the living hell out of me.Then, I saw something in the distance. A light? Maybe it was a streetlight, or someone here to help me. I rushed towards it, but it disappeared before I was able to reach it. I stood in silence for a moment, and then I heard leaves rustling. Behind me. That was all it took for me to start sprinting toward where the light had been, or somewhere in that general direction. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it was definitely alive, and it was definitely after me. A bear, maybe? I kept running, and so much adrenaline was going through my head that I wasn’t physically capable of feeling tired in the moment. All my brain was telling me was to get the hell out of there. I looked behind me. There were two glowing dots, and they were getting closer. Whatever this thing was (I’ll just call it the Noctivagant* since it’s one of those fancy words I saw in a book once), it had glowing eyes, and it was faster than me. It reached out what appeared to be a hand and grabbed me by the arm. I swung back to try to deliver a blow, but it grabbed my other arm and pushed me to the ground, pinning me underneath its body. I remember that its skin was very dry and wrinkly, and it freaked me out. After some tussling, I managed to kick this Noctivagant thing off me, and I sprinted away. After realizing that I was getting nowhere and there was no end to the forest in sight, I hid inside a hollowed-out log. I think it lost me. Whew. After crawling out, my nerves were still shot, but I found my way over to what I thought was a small shack. Just before I got there, though, I was tackled again. I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my abdomen. After kicking the Noctivagant off of me once again, I booked it toward the shack, and managed to barricade myself inside. Or so I thought. After some struggle, the creature managed to break through. It pushed me backwards into a workbench, and I hit my head, so I don’t remember much past that. And now I’m here. What else do you want from me?”

Witness testimony (oral) regarding the incident on 10-04-2020 by John Doe Case #17625, Buncombe County, NC, USA 28711
The witness has signed that they believe this statement to be true to the best of their ability.This document contains neither the recommendations nor conclusions of the Investigative Task Force (ITF). It is purely witness testimony. This document is being loaned to your agency, and is not to be released outside of your agency.

*Administrative note: Noctivagant – one who wanders the night.

Inspired by an incident that occurred while a man was stranded deep in the mountain woods at night, Noctivagant embodies the impending sense of dread that comes with the realization that you are not alone in a dim, seemingly never-ending landscape. Through its dark tone and rapid shifting between periods of intense adrenaline and anxious, suspenseful repose, this piece uses its volatility and density to emulate the natural fight-or-flight response that is evoked by the body when it senses and responds to impending danger.

Jacob Alan Smith
May 18, 2024

---

Danza Requiem (Eng. Requiem Dance), for solo piano, is a programmatic work depicting a questionable soul’s confrontation with their maker upon their judgment. Intense, unstable, and darkly humorous, Requiem uses violently shifting rhythmic patterns based on short, repeating motifs to embody a tense encounter between man and maker, juxtaposed with moments of furious, dance-like clarity. As the ramifications of their past actions catch up with them, the piece tonally shifts into a maniacal dance with the devil, and concludes with a final plea, after which their fate is decided.

Jacob Alan Smith
January 25, 2023

---

Based on the seminal set of piano variations by Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021), “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” (1975), “United Populace,” for brass quintet, pays homage to the late composer’s work by continuing to vary its lively central motif, this time using the bold timbres of the brass family. The core melody, which is heard throughout both the original piece and this piece, is taken from a Chilean protest anthem by Sergio Ortega and Quilapayún, “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” This anthem was originally written during Salvador Allende’s socialist revolution as a rallying cry for the mass mobilization of people, but it was popularized and took on a new meaning during Augusto Pinochet’s U.S.-backed 1973 coup d’état, in which Allende was killed, a military junta was installed, and thousands of Chilean leftists were disappeared, tortured, and murdered. Since then, the anthem and its translated versions have been used in human-rights, anti-dictatorship, and anti-fascist protests all around the world, such as during the Arab Spring rebellions and the 2019-2020 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Throughout “United Populace,” the powerful original theme reappears time and time again, in both its original, unaltered form and variations on it, as well as “in spirit” through accompanying parts that in some way resemble it. Other themes appear alongside it as well, some of which are derived from the original theme, and others that are derived from different parts of Rzewski’s variations, other protest anthems from around the world, and completely new themes that were devised just for this version. Meant to represent the fighting spirit of a mobilized populace, the work goes through several different phases representative of the phases of enacting change through rebellion, including courageous rallying cries, frantic dances, steady marches, periods of tense watching-and-waiting, and calamitous outbursts of spirited revolution. These “variations” are strung together in one continuous flow, with some being slowly transitioned in, and others interrupting the flow and asserting themselves within the texture, embodying the flow of a populist revolution.

Jacob Alan Smith
May 17, 2023

---

Burlesque for Violinist is a three-movement work for a rare performer who is proficient in both violin and alto saxophone, written in the style of “parody classical”—taking inspiration from great works of classical music and juxtaposing new themes with not-so-coy references to works of old, while also simultaneously poking fun of the genre and its fans.

I. Fresh Air
Inspired by baroque- and classical-style violin repertoire by the likes of Bach, Vivaldi, and Telemann, Fresh Air is a brief introduction to the work as a whole—including introducing the core themes that are prevalent in all movements in some form. The title refers to the air (better known in opera as an aria), a classical-style vocal composition characterized by its lyrical and song-like nature. The “freshness” of this air is nowhere to be found.

II. Fool’s Tragedy
Inspired by blues and folk dance, Fool’s Tragedy takes the themes established in the first movement and expands upon them using chromaticism and rhythmic manipulation. Beginning as a mournful song (typical of a “second movement”), it soon breaks away from that entirely, into a more sardonic and darkly humorous dance; where tears and laughter come from the same source.

III. Friendly Fire
Inspired by rock and metal, Friendly Fire takes the same themes established in the previous two movements and explodes them into its own brief and incredibly bombastic finale, taking some very recognizable themes from the days of yore and morphing them into an infectious and blood-pumping modern rhythm. The title refers to the act of friendly fire—accidentally firing upon oneself and one’s own allies in an attempt to attack the opponent.

Jacob Alan Smith
July 3, 2023

---