Game theory (2026)
for SAXOPHONE quartet
Premiere: Friday, June 12, 2026, ~Nois, Chicago, Illinois
Duration: 8.5 minutes
Commissioned by the ~NOIS Quartet, GAME THEORY imagines music as a lively, experimental exercise in strategy and dialogue. The piece opens with fragmenting fugal ideas before launching into a modern fugue, eventually winding through a spacious, reflective middle section to gather fresh tactical energy. Drawing on the core principles of game theory, the quartet functions as a microcosm of community where voices collide, spar, and overlap, proving that outcomes emerge from collective interaction rather than a single player. Through playful and pointed interplay, the work creates a dynamic soundscape where competition and cooperation, tension and harmony, intimately converge.