there are dead bugs in my instrument (2025) ​​​

​for bassoon, Eb alto saxophone, and electric guitar

composed for The Walden School's 2025 Creative Musicians Retreat

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performed by Rebekah Heller (bassoon), Dan Lippel (guitar) and Sarah Parker (alto sax)

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There are dead bugs in each of our instruments. Well, kind of. Shellac, a resinous material produced by the laccifer lacca insect, is used to glue pads into woodwind instruments and is often used to coat guitar exteriors. there are dead bugs in my instrument is a simultaneous exploration of the life cycle of the female laccifer lacca, who are eyeless, legless, wingless, and incapable of making sound, compared to the production cycle of processing its resin into shellac.

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