www.samwumusic.com/masstransit

i. network architecture [0:04]
ii. garden city [2:39]
iii. airport express [5:02]
iv. night skyline [7:26]
v. interchange station [10:25]

"Mass Transit" is inspired by Shanghai’s metro system— an elaborate network of lines, trains, tunnels / overpasses, and interchange stations. Each movement explores a facet of the subway network: the elegance of optimizing a system map, the variety of connections available in the city (gardens, airports, skyscrapers), and the complexities of multilayered interchanges, where up to four lines converge. The piece as a whole is also envisioned as a musical “voyage;” the train stops briefly to take in the sights, before resuming its journey onward.

Tianyu Liu, Russell Iceberg, violins
Aditi Prakash, viola
Claire Kim, cello
Stephen JovenLee, piano

Presented on the Gamper Festival for Contemporary Music, as part of the Bowdoin International Music Festival in July of 2022.

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