C Flute/alto flute, clarinet (or oboe), bassoon, bari sax

The two main ideas expressed in this piece are fear and beauty. Outer space has historically been portrayed as infinitely beautiful on one hand, and dangerous, unknown, frightening, and destined for humans to conquer on the other. “Beyond Machines” shifts ambiguously between these two worlds, evoking dissonant, throbbing science-fiction machinery and dated militaristic space- movie music in one moment, and the wonder and beauty of that which is bigger than us in the next.

On the recording:

Alto/C flute: Kaleb Chesnic
Clarinet: Madeleine Cort
Bassoon: Cameron Burnes
Bari Sax: Stephanie Doctor

The incredible digital paintings used in the above video are all by Joakim Oloffson, who has graciously offered his artwork for free use. Outer space photography is from the Hubble Telescope (public domain).