Sonata for Percussion and Piano (2019)
(Parallel Universe)

I. celebrate being unique
II. daughter universe
III. space time is flat
IV. eternal inflation
V. universes can start repeating themselves
VI. the multiverse

“Is our universe unique? From science fiction to science fact, there is a concept that suggests that there could be other universes besides our own, where all the choices you made in this life played out in alternate realities. The concept is known as a ‘parallel universe’, and is a facet of the astronomical theory of the multiverse.”
[www.space.com]

This sonata in 6 movements is written in contemplation of the theories and ideas of a parallel universe. The science is mind-bending and developmental; but regardless, it highlights existential questions that are at the heart of much of my music. Who are we? Are we unique? Does what we do matter? Where is this all going? The 15th in a series of sonatas written in the new millennium, it was written intensely over the last 7 days of August 2019, while in residence at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village in Japan. The sonata is written for my long–time University of Melbourne colleague, Peter Neville. The premiere performance was given by Peter Neville and Coady Green in Hanson Dyer Hall (Ian Potter Southbank Centre) on 27 April, 2021.