Biomimicry by Kyle Krause

Piece: Biomimicry (Winner of the 2024 Black Bayou Composition Award)
Composer: Kyle Krause
Performers: Rebeca Lemos Gonzalez, Manuela Muller, Richard Seiler, Diana Thacher
Event: 8th New Music on the Bayou Festival
Date: June 8, 2024
Location: Emy-Lou Biedenharn Recital Hall, University of Louisiana at Monroe
Video: Joseph Ham
Audio: Westly Heflin
Notes: Written in the Fall of 2020, Biomimicry is a response to the technological ecology
of the Covid-19 era. It is scored for violin, cello, piano (four hands), and digital
media. As the title implies, the work explores the correlations and interactions
between the natural world, the human element, and technology. The work was
also designed to facilitate recording and rehearsing remotely, allowing for each
performer to have their own metric freedom from the ensemble as a whole.
Humpback whale song (recorded by and provided courtesy of Glacier Bay
National Park and Preserve), a mechanical drone, and the quotation of a
traditional English whaling song give the work a sonorous and maritime vibe.