Zero-Sum Game (2025)

• for snare drum, metal, and electronics

• ~7’00”

When Aaron first came to me with the request to write a snare drum piece with track, he wanted it to be cinematic, citing movies like Arrival and Interstellar, which I loved the idea of because those movies are awesome and have fantastic scores. In our talks we came up with the idea to have something about the snare change things within the track, which somewhat became the basis of the writing process for this piece.

From the first time the player strikes the shell of the drum, three distinct sections form, and begin to interweave and interrupt each other. Within these sections, the drum crafts and refines the soundscape by introducing and removing different layers. These three sections continually build on their own ideas while slowly combining, until finally they coalesce to form something new and complete. The track undergoes many changes throughout the piece, but these changes are always heralded by the snare drum.