RINGER was first conceived during my first year of teaching at New England Conservatory, and was developed and workshopped in close collaboration with flutist and composer Joshua Hahn. It is a basking of sorts in ring modulation, which has always been one of my favorite effects ever since first hearing Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mantra in graduate school. In RINGER, the bass is privileged with the ring modulation throughout (as a kind of acoustic ringer), while the flute is tasked with imitating the effect through various techniques and manners of playing. It also at times isolates specific frequencies from the spectra of the modulated bass. Towards the end of the work, the flute gets its time to bask in the glow of the effect as well.
A long period of gestation for RINGER was the result of another commission coming up in 2021, at which point I broke off from working on this piece. I had meant to return to it at several points, but the opportunity never presented itself until now. I am grateful to my colleague in the Composition Department, John Mallia, for encouraging me to finish this work and bring it out into the world. The premiere performance in Jordan Hall at NEC on October 8, 2026, was given by flutist Shion Suzuki with the composer on bass.