Stroking Sound

Composers draw inspiration for their work from all corners of their world, and even works with a universal appeal can have highly personal experiences at their core. This weekend, a new music ensemble in Pittsburgh will debut a new work by Brett William Dietz, entitled Headcase, that takes the idea of personal inspiration to the extreme. The piece is a musical journey through a major stroke that Dietz suffered when he was 29. “The composition incorporates recordings of electronic sound and Dietz talking… There are projected images of Dietz’s MRI scans, showing the areas of the brain that were damaged, and pieces of paper given to him in the hospital to write on in an attempt to communicate.”