inang pak-pak (2025) | 5’ | SATB, bass guitar, percussion

World-building has held its ground in many art mediums for centuries. Modern artists such as Jennifer Walshe, Joanna Newsom, Björk, and the Cocteau Twins have created incredibly convincing and immersive worlds through their lyricism, crafting of musical personalities, and creation of fake histories. It is even arguable that this concept goes back as far as the Voynich manuscript and other literary spectacles. 

But what can world-building do for us as “real” humans? What worth does it hold when we have all of these visceral and tangible experiences today? Well, today, I think that it can be a way to escape the sheer lack of humanity we witness in our lives. It can be a moment where we can look at a world and see ourselves in it, and begin to re-approach what it means to be a human. I think that is beautiful and lovely,,,

My piece inang pak-pak garnered a long process of world-building. It included building a basics of a fake language (heavily based on Indic and Indonesian ones), thinking about who the people were who use it, what their culture is like, and the role of this music in their lives. I think of it as a celebration. This text has no real meaning, but I hope it can carry an emotional presence for you, and help you reconnect even a little bit to your humanity. Thank you for listening!

premiered by Averi Corba, Kyla Sherry, Marlena Wagschal, Mara Summers, Ruby Miller, Angelina Lawton, Malcolm Doaks, Clare Hopp, Courage Barda, Thejas Mirle, Elijah Buerk, Evan Tiapula, Xander Toth, Chris Chiarotti, Catherine Browne, and Eli Hocking on March 8th, 2026 in Auer Hall at Indiana University

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