Encerrado (2012) is 9-minute work for Oboe and Piano, and one of the first that I created using my computer program Ramify.

The nature of Ramify is that it explores a network of interconnected notes, randomly walking from one to another. This can lead to a sense of confinement, of being unable to break free from a circumscribed fate. Encerrado explores this feeling, circling and circling, never finding its way out.

Ironically, having now gained a lot more experience writing and collaborating with computer programs, I feel that I was too confined by what the program generated. This piece needs revision and refinement, and perhaps at some point I will do that. Still, I leave it up as an early example of my experiements with computer-assisted composition.

Many thanks to oboist Melissa Peña and pianist Matthew Pavilanis for their efforts in learning this rather unpredictable score, as well as for their creative sonic suggestions.