Nor Hope is originally a piece for soprano and electronics that I wrote in the summer of 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I arranged this piece for soprano saxophone for my friend Jiajun Hou two years later, and he premiered the saxophone version at the NASA Conference and International Saxophone Symposium. The music draws inspiration from William Butler Yeats's poem Death. The saxophonist plays a lyrical melody in different registers, showcasing the radiant timbre of the instrument. Most of the electronic sounds in the piece are generated and processed using programming software. The electronics create a tranquil soundscape that complements the poem's mood. Fun fact: I titled it Nor Hope instead of using the poem's original title, Death, because I believed a piece named Death might not be programmed frequently.

(Wenbin Lyu, May, 2021)

March 14, 2024; North American Saxophone Alliance Conference, Oklahoma State University; Stillwater, OK; jiajun Hou

February 8, 2024; ISU Faculty Artist Series; Indiana State University; Terre Haute, IN; Paul Bro

January 12, 2024 (sax ver. premiere); U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium; George Mason University Fairfax, VA; Jiajun Hou

November 6, 2023; International Society for Music Information Retrieval Politecnico di Milano, Leonardo Campus; Milan, Italy; Stephanie Susberich

October 28, 2023; MANTIS Festival of Electroacoustic Music; The University of Manchester; Manchester, England; Stephanie Susberich

September 14, 2023; Atemporánea Festival; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Stephanie Susberich

August 5, 2023; MOSAICfest; Stephanie Susberich

May 11, 2023; NoiseFloor; Staffordshire University; Stafford, UK; Stephany Svorinić

April 21, 2023; Earth Day Art Model Festival; IUPUI; Indianapolis, IN; Stephany Svorinić

March 22, 2023; CCM Sonic Explorations; Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Cincinnati, OH; Jiajun Hou

February 4, 2023; Ussachevsky Memorial Festival of Electroacoustic Music; Pomona College; Claremont, CA; Melissa Givens

October 29, 2022; Research on Contemporary Composition Conference; University of North Georgia; Dahlonega, GA; Stephany Svorinić

October 1, 2022; Ircam Forum; New York University; New York City, NY; Stephany Svorinić

August 31, 2022; Australasian Computer Music Conference; Massey University; Wellington, New Zealand; Stephany Svorinić

July 4, 2022; International Computer Music Conference; University of Limerick; Limerick, Ireland; Stephany Svorinić

April 23, 2022; Electronic Music Midwest Festival; Lewis University; Romeoville, IL; Stephany Svorinić

October 19, 2021; CCM Sonic Explorations; Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Cincinnati, OH; Stephany Svorinić

May 30, 2021 (premiere); 1:2:1 Online Music Intensive; Stephany Svorinić