Work Through is inspired by a video introduction to multiverse theory and higher dimensions that I’ve rewatched dozens of times. It describes our lives in the fourth dimension (time) as a single unit—a writhing snake expressing the moment of our birth to the moment of our death. As three-dimensional creatures, we perceive the fourth dimension as consecutive individual cross-sections of that four-dimensional snake.

Work Through contains its own long, writhing snake of musical material. The players and the audience interact with that snake in cross-sections, gradually introducing new additive figures and “forgetting” earlier ones. The process of adding and forgetting (of “working through”) accelerates into new territory, yet feels uncannily in stasis, maintaining a burned-in image of the forgotten ideas. It’s a metaphor for memory, the slow procession of life, and the joy of the present moment.

Work Through was written for and recorded by Unheard-of//Ensemble as part of their 2021 Collaborative Composition Initiative.