In photography, the term “aperture” refers to the opening in a lens through which the light passes. By adjusting the aperture, a photographer controls the focus of an image by choosing to focus on an individual subject or an entire landscape.

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This work plays with the idea of focus in a musical sense. Overlapping rhythmic patterns create a landscape of details that the listener can choose to sift through to pick out individual details, or they can simply enjoy “the big picture.” As the piece progresses, individual parts begin to come in and out of focus, emerging from the texture. The focus throughout the piece is constantly shifting, sometimes expectedly, and sometimes unexpectedly.

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This work was commissioned by Arcata Bay Quartet, the faculty quartet at Cal Poly Humboldt, as a work that could be played by their students and other advancing student ensembles.

First performed 04/03/2022 by Arcata Bay String Quartet at Cal Poly Humboldt

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Sheet Music is available for purchase on Bandcamp.