Glass Terminals (2024)

i. transience
ii. aria
iii. hub

Glass Terminals is a reflection upon airports as liminal spaces. Terminal interiors (especially more recent airports) are designed to help passengers navigate their way from check-in counters to boarding areas. Glass aesthetics predominate––a means of easing travellers’ claustrophobia, and a way to introduce natural lighting. The passengers, particularly those in-transit, are in a state of “limbo;” neither here nor there. As a result, airports exist in dynamic equilibrium, with people constantly commuting to and fro, flying in and out.

The music explores these aspects of air travel within three distinct movements: “transience” focuses on the dynamic equilibrium of transiting passengers; “aria” is a meditation on the process of waiting at a boarding gate (while also paying homage to Baroque adagios); “hub” is inspired by the complex networks of inbound and outbound flights, as well as bus, train, and highway connections between airports and their cities.