DESCRIPTION:
Externalities for amplified cello, digital audio, and digital video was completed in 2011. The piece reflects on economic externalities—costs of economic and consumer actions that are not reflected in the pricing of consumer goods. The piece focuses primarily on negative environmental externalities. The cellist represents a consumer who is trying to figure out how she wants to relate to this system. In the first section she experiments with different actions and experiences the results, which are represented in the digital audio and video. In the second section the cellist takes a broader look at the global economy and the climate. In the final section the cellist imagines alternatives to the present system. www.christohperbiggsmusic.com