I-10
Abstract
I-10 is a multi-movement song-cycle inspired by the I-10 corridor as it passes through southern Louisiana and its impact on my life. I grew up in Lake Charles, spent nine years in Lafayette, and made countless trips to New Orleans in my youth, and I-10 looms as a character in my life as well as the lives of those around me. Once into Louisiana on an eastward trajectory, the Interstate changes dramatically. No longer in the dry, hot desert, the freeway enters the humidity of southern Louisiana, passing over swamps and lakes en route to New Orleans. I was always struck by the exits. They begged to be characters, and I use these as points of departure for this work. I've also drawn freely from the culture of southern Louisiana, its shape determined by I-10 as much as mine. A cycle of 6 songs orchestrated for four voices, guitar, electric bass, drums, percussion, and chamber orchestra, I present this work as an "album" of sorts with each song leading to the next and working together as a cohesive whole.