Burger Smash

Instrumentation: 2 piccolos, bass clarinet in Bb, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, horn in F, trumpet in C with straight mute, 2 tenor trombones, tuba (optionally in Eb), drum set, piano, electric guitar with distortion and reverb, electric bass.

Burger Smash was written for the Orkest de Ereprijs, visiting Toronto during 2025 University of Toronto New Music Festival. At first, the thought of writing music for such a unique ensemble felt like a big challenge, but after much thinking and getting my ideas down, it was this very instrumentation that drove my inspiration to write this piece that I couldn’t have written otherwise. This piece, infused with my fondness for electronic dance music, is silly and quirky, yet it has a dark tone presenting a short musical commentary about desensitization in general on a personal and societal level. How many times can you smash a burger before it turns into soup?