Programme note​​

 

 

We’ve all been asked questions that have made us uncomfortable.

 

Some questions come with an inherent sense of danger.

 

Don't You Trust Me? is a playful exploration of power dynamics, unanswerable questions, and the insidious nature of patriarchal control.

 

I’m interested in the psychological tension of being confronted with questions that demand submission rather than answers, and the weaponisation of trust. In Don't You Trust Me?, the audience is invited to experience a creeping auditory dread tempered with moments of release and joy. It’s a piece that considers the power of trust—when it is given, when it is withheld, and when it is demanded.

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I. Don't you trust me?

II. I didn't make you uncomfortable did I?

III. Do you live by yourself?

IV. You won't tell anyone, will you?

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He mihi nui ki te Auckland Philharmonia mō te tono o tēnei kaupapa me tō rātou whakawhirinaki ki ahau.

 

With heartfelt thanks to the Auckland Philharmonia for commissioning Don’t You Trust Me? and for their continued trust in me.

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INSTRUMENTATION

 

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in B♭

2 Tenor Trombones

Bass trombone

Tuba

Timpani

3 Percussion

 

3 Flexatones 

Drum Set (Crash, ride, hi-hat, triangle, snare, three toms, kick)

Vibraphone

Crotales

6 Singing Bowls (or other resonant tuned metal) A♭4, F4, G4, D♭5, E♭5, F5

2 Concert Tom-Toms (Low, medium)

Glockenspiel

4 Clay Flower Pots

E♭4, F4, G4, C5 (octave can be altered if necessary)

Bass drum

Temple Blocks (Set of 5)