As soon as I started this series I knew two people would have to be used for the letter S. There was no way around it, I had to do both Ken Steen and Matt Sargent. It seems fitting to have these two together though. I met them both at Hartt and I met Matt through the Metasynth and Logic classes he was teaching at Hartt, classes that were previously taught by Ken.
Matt’s music is very beautiful. there’s a really accessible and delicate sound to it when listening on a surface level but, when digging deeper into the listening experience it becomes clear how deep the processes and complexities of the piece can be. Much like Ken, Matt also has an amazing ability to integrate electronics into his compositional process. One of the most interesting uses of technology matt uses is for the production of the score itself rather than the sonic output of the piece. An example of this is the piece Separation Songs which uses a Max patch to distribute different fragments of sheet music across two different groups of performers in to different rooms. The music is constantly changing from room to room in real time.
Matt is one of the most interesting composers I know of today and I am always excited to hear whatever new work he has in store. I am excited to be performing his piece More Snow to Fall on my recital next fall at CalArts.
Recommended Listening/Viewing
Ghost Music
More Snow to Fall
Small Stones
Seperation Songs
Oxbow
Saint
Tide
Pillars of Decay (Co-composer)
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