Next Time Will Be Different was conceived as a companion piece in response to a work for violin by Kenji Bunch, Until Next Time. Both pieces feature a unique scordatura tuning, in which the bottom two strings of the violin are tuned down a semitone and the upper two strings are tuned down a minor third. This results in two stacked fifths an octave apart, a tuning that limits the possibilities for natural harmonics and darkens the timbre of the instrument.
Next Time Will Be Different takes the form of five miniatures in which thematic gestures from the opening movement are reimagined in the subsequent pieces. I loosely envisioned the set as a theme-and-variations form, with the inherent promise that each piece would truly be different from those that came before it. As I composed, however, I realized there was a through-line that emerged throughout the piece in the form of open-string drones and double stops. As a result, the key areas of F# and C# predominate among several harmonic excursions. The use of microtones in the odd movements offers some variety to ensure that, in response to the Bunch, this set will live up to its title and be truly different from that work.
