Time Dilation (2019)

First predicted by Einstein through his special theory of relativity, “gravitational time dilation” is an astronomical phenomenon whereby it was theorized (and recently proven) that time is not an absolute unit of measure in our universe. Simply put, time dilation indicates that the faster an object in our universe travels, the more the “experience”

of time is affected (slower) compared to another object in a different environment. This effect was dramatized in Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar, where an hour-long trek onto a planet near a supermassive black hole (source of a large amount of gravity) lasted seven years on Earth.

Inspired by this phenomenon, Time Dilation is the result of my light exploration of this effect. Initiating with a 5-count riff, the work’s main motif permeates through a variety of harmonic and polyrhythmic structures to create an energetic atmosphere, dilating back and forth between metric feels.

Time Dilation was commissioned and premiered by James Campbell for the PASIC 2019 Collegiate All-Star Percussion Ensemble.