(version for clarinet, tabla, & electronics also available)
In any large city, the sound of car horns riddles every street. But whenever I visit a city in India, the level of this traffic-filled soundscape is taken to an extreme, with a constant barrage of wild, animated, and exuberant car horns and songs like “Happy Birthday” which play every time a car is put into reverse. These unique horns almost sound too melodic and friendly to be recognized as traffic noises elsewhere, and hence they are used differently when driving – rather than honking out of anger, they are used to communicate to other drivers and make each car’s presence known, almost as a form of self-expression. In many ways, these drivers are reclaiming technology and using it to communicate – the most human and individual act possible. In essence, this piece Honk If You Love Me is a meta-version of this phenomenon, using electronics to disintegrate these traffic sounds and recontextualize them into something deeply personal and human.
My sincere thanks to Subashini Ganesan for her work in choreographing this piece, to Lou DeMartino for his musical artistry, and to Lisa Volle, Sarah Tiedemann, and everyone at Third Angle New Music for commissioning this work.
Performed by Third Angle New Music (Lou DeMartino, clarinet; Subashini Ganesan, dancer)
January 10th-11th, 2019 (two performances on Jan. 11th)
Third Angle New Music Studio Series: “Indian Music Now”
Performed by Third Angle New Music: Lou DeMartino (clarinet), Subashini Ganesan (choreography)
Studio 2 at New Expressive Works (810 SE Belmont St.)
Portland, OR
Tickets: $25 General, $10 Student, $20 Senior (purchase tickets here)
January 19th, 2019
Third Angle New Music Studio Series: “Indian Music Now”
Performed by Third Angle New Music: Lou DeMartino (clarinet), Subashini Ganesan (choreography)
The Vault Theater (350 E Main St)
Hillsboro, OR
Tickets: $25 General, $10 Student, $20 Senior (purchase tickets here)
October 19th, 2019
University of Colorado Boulder Diverse Music Alliance Presents:
2019 Diverse Music Concert: Spectrum
Performed by Maggie Greenwood (clarinet) and Anoushka Divekar (dancer)
Grusin Music Hall, University of Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
January 18th, 2020
Performed by Box Not Found:
Kevin Price (clarinet)
MIT, Boston, MA
January 25th, 2020
Performed by Box Not Found:
Kevin Price (clarinet)
East Boston Public Library, Boston, MA
March 8th, 2021
AURA Video Release (One on One series)
Performed by Jhoser Salazar
Video created and presented by University of Houston’s AURA Contemporary Ensemble
February 19th, 2022
New World Symphony & Michael Tilson Thomas present “Clarinet Visions: Testimonies”
Performed by Andrea Levine (clarinet), Rajesh Bhandari (tabla), and Jigna Shah (dancer)
New World Center, Miami, FL
March 5th, 2022
Verdant Vibes presents: Amy Advocat, clarinet
Performed by Amy Advocat
The Music Mansion, Providence, RI
October 25th, 2022
Graduate Recital: Nicholas Lorenzo, clarinet
Performed by Nicholas Lorenzo
University of North Carolina-Greensboro (Tew Recital Hall), Greensboro, NC
