Program Notes

Procrastination is a common problem, especially among college students. This piece takes the audience through a journey of a student succumbing to, and finally beating procrastination. Programmatic text heads each section of the score to assist the performers in illustrating this idea.

The main rhythmic motif incorporates the theme of procrastination by repeatedly stretching and condensing itself, symbolizing an uneven workflow for the students task, full of tiny distractions. This motif is abandoned when the workflow stops. The next section illustrates an internal argument over whether to take a break from the task or not. When the players move to their chairs, this is symbolic of a student moving away from their task, but the players continue playing as the student continues to think about their unfinished work. In measure the strange rhythm in player 1’s part is based off of the word “lazy” in Morse code (. - . .   . -   - - . .   - . - -). This symbolizes the nagging in the students head that they need to get back to work.