Chris Thompson was one of four composers I collaborated with on my project, "Vulnerability and A Word". I gave each composer a word bank filled with emotions. Their task was to choose the soundscape and the instrumentation, to which we would then collaborate on their ideas. Chris selected the word “Critical” because he values the sense of urgency and
importance that comes with it. His compositional goal is a genuine pursuit of unique intersections between various genres such as classical music, hip-hop, soul, funk, and jazz music to attempt to desegregate the musical styles. This is important because it translates to removing boundaries between diverse audiences, musicians, and communities. His compositions merge lyrics with tonal and atonal harmonies, various time signatures, complex polyrhythms and syncopations, unique sound textures, and extended techniques, with rhythm is always at the center of his work.

Critical, uses snare drum and an option of spoken word or backing track. There is ample opportunity for storytelling through various timbres, from using the rim, to playing on different playing zones of the head. For Chris, the word “Critical” is exciting but also dangerous, so he imagined fast tempos, mixed meters, and heightened levels of technicality. The snares vibrating on the bottom head create a sense of tension and unease. With the use of backing track and distinct composition strategies, I feel confident as a player with the
knowledge that I do not need to focus on gestures or staging to emotionally convey a message. Chris’s use of tempo, articulation, and meter changes provides the performer with
less work to do in terms of perceiving what the message behind the word is.

This music is important because Chris was able to produce a new level of self-discovery because identifying a word and its various associated meanings forced him to question why he gravitated toward the word. We would love the opportunity to perform this Rap and Snare Drum Duo!