A tide pool is a small body of water that forms during low tide, when seawater is trapped in a depression on the intertidal shore. These pools are home to complex and transient ecosystems, and are themselves only temporarily differentiated from the greater ecosystem of the surrounding sea; at high tide, the tide pool does not exist, because it is reconnected to the ocean. The sounding objects used in The Netted Resonance of Tide Pools are connected in a web of signal flow, resonance, and feedback, in a way that I see as analogous to the intricate ecosystems present in tide pools. Just as the depth of these pools changes over time, the performers can change the depth of the resonant frequencies of the drums by means of foot pedals. And in a way similar to how a tide pool is, at times, an isolated entity, and at other times submerged into the larger ocean, the individual elements of the ecosystem-instrument can be either isolated or fed back into the larger system, depending on how the signals are routed. 

This piece took shape over the course of many hours of sonic exploration with June Cummings. Her curiosity and enthusiasm for exploring the possibilities of these sounds has been astonishing, and her willingness to share her expertise of percussion instruments, invaluable. I am incredibly grateful both to June and to Brian Brown for the time and creativity that went into shaping this piece. Working this closely with others in the process of composition is its own kind of ecosystem, its own kind of feedback, and I couldn’t have asked for better collaborators.