20% TIME 2025
vocal ensemble SSAATTBB  [6’]

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If you type into Google ‘what is it called when’ followed by any single letter of the alphabet, the search bar’s autocomplete feature uses machine learning to predict the rest of your query. From ‘horses dance’ to ‘prices go up’, ‘nature takes over’ to ‘you quit a job’, Google’s suggestions offer an insight into what people are searching for in your geolocation. This feature was created by Kevin Gibbs in 2004 during Google’s ‘20% time’, where employees were encouraged to spend up to a fifth of their paid work time pursuing personal projects. 

My text for this piece strings together some of these autocompletes into a stream of searching consciousness for two choirs. One choir sings music inspired by the raw, open harmony of sacred harp music. The other sings Appalachian folk, bluegrass and gospel-inspired close harmonies. As the piece developed, I sought out convergence and divergence between the choirs, learning how the two can coexist or push and pull against one another.

Commissioned by the Marian Consort for Emerging Voices 2025.