Akshaya Avril Tucker, The Advantages of Being Small
12-minute work for Hub New Music (2027/28 Season)
This work for Hub New Music musically traces the conditions of resilience, using the example of very small plants: mosses and lichens. Borrowing what Robin Wall Kimmerer describes as “The Advantages of Being Small'“ (from her book Gathering Moss (2003)), this work weaves musical “smallness” into a mantle of collective strength. Tucker takes inspiration from Kimmerer’s descriptions of mosses to build resilience through creating ecosystems of care that allow us to be small, soft and vulnerable. Musical textures combine fragments of melodies inspired by North Indian music and luminescent textures inspired by the natural soundscapes of mosses and lichens.
Tucker’s piece is part of Hub New Music’s multiyear commission project “Converging Voices,” which advocates for early career-composers. Hub New Music is currently seeking co-commissioners for this work.
more information
Interested co-commissioners, please contact Hub New Music Director, Michael Avitabile at michael@hubnewmusic.org.