Keep the lid on (2024) / and the pot boils over (2023) by Sidney O'Gorman

Performance:
Boston Conservatory Master's Composition Recital 2024
Performers:
Percussion - Harold Rivas
Piano - Sidney O'Gorman
Program Notes:
Keep the lid on
A depiction of restrained anger, Keep the lid on requires the percussionist to perform under very stressful conditions. An alternative notational system derived from Xenakis’s Psappha, an unrelenting system of ever-changing rhythmic patterns, evolving dynamic markings, increasing tempi, and multiple stick changes demand accuracy and a sense of calm.
and the pot boils over
That which is suppressed in Keep the lid on is relinquished in and the pot boils over through aggressive rhythmic materials in the electronics and piano, and a direction for the pianist to play the keys with their fists and/or palms. The performer then marinates in the aftermath of their explosion, as the electronics continue to swell and then die off.
***Though these two pieces were performed together and demonstrate a programmatic through-line, they are two separate pieces and may be performed separately. That said, if they were to be programmed on the same concert they should be performed consecutively in the order demonstrated in the above video.