Chamber

Extraordinary

Instruments (2018)

Violin Quartet: Four violinists and their voices

Written for Lina Bahn, Carolyn Stuart, Janet Sung, and Livia Sohn of Modern Violin Ensemble (MoVE)

“Something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms. When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument, that symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty.”

-Charlton Heston, NRA convention 2000

Extraordinary Instruments is a work that calls into question the morality and sustainability of American gun culture as it is today. The gun debate in America is amongst its most polarizing. Charlton Heston’s words “dignity,” “liberty,” and “extraordinary instrument” have profoundly different meanings from one American to the next, and Extraordinary Instruments is meant to be a space for Americans to question these meanings for themselves.

For more information about Modern Violin Ensemble, visit:

https://www.modernviolinensemble.com/

Extraordinary Instruments was premiered in Washington D.C. on April 12, 2018 at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. MoVE and Tommy invited members of the local DC Moms Demand Action chapter to come and speak before the performance. For more information on Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, visit:

https://momsdemandaction.org/