Tactical Empathy (2026) for soprano, flute, percussion, and live electronics
A chamber work for voice, flute, percussion, and live electronics exploring the circulation of authority through structured indeterminacy.
PROGRAM NOTE:
Tactical Empathy explores how authority shifts within a shared sonic space. The work unfolds as a series of negotiations: who leads, who responds, who interrupts, and who observes. Across four sections, these roles circulate among the soprano, flute, percussion, and live electronics, continually reshaping the ensemble’s hierarchy. Through this circulation of function, the piece frames listening as a strategic act rather than a fixed moral position.
The title reflects a paradox. Empathy is often understood as a gesture of connection, yet it can also operate strategically — as a means of reading, anticipating, or redirecting another’s intention. In this work, musical gestures are mirrored, refracted, destabilized, and at times overridden. What begins as clarity gradually fractures into interference and density before collapsing into rupture.
Although portions of the piece are precisely notated, much of its surface emerges through structured indeterminacy. Each performer listens and reacts according to shifting roles, creating a living system in which control is continuously negotiated.
Authority never fully stabilizes; it continues to shift and fracture toward the final rupture.
COMPOSER’S NOTE:
Tactical Empathy was composed during my participation in the precept.concept.percept XIV International Residency in Slovenia. The work grew from my ongoing interest in relational structures — how individuals influence, interrupt, or reshape one another within shared systems.
Rather than assigning fixed hierarchies, I wanted authority to circulate. The soprano, flute, percussion, and electronics each assume moments of structural control, resistance, distortion, or quiet observation. These roles are not moral positions; they are energetic states. Control can be maintained, overridden, or gradually dissolved.
The piece reflects my fascination with instability — not as chaos, but as a dynamic process. Listening becomes a tactical act. Responding becomes a negotiation. Even silence can carry structural weight. Like human relationships, we are constantly negotiating, adjusting, and recalibrating. Sometimes communication succeeds; sometimes it fractures. Through musical conversation and indeterminacy, I explore how sound can express these shifting emotional states — perhaps in ways words cannot.
I am deeply grateful to the performers of precept.concept.percept XIV for their openness, precision, and courage in inhabiting these evolving roles.
— Nahyun Kim 2026
DURATION: ca. 7′30″
RESIDENCY: precept.concept.percept XIV International Residency
Inštitut .abeceda, Ljubljana, Slovenia
PERFORMANCE
World Premiere: June 2026 — Bled Congress Centre, Bled, Slovenia
Occasion: Bled Contemporary Music Week in Bled, Slovenia [EU]
(Festival dates: June 22 – 26, 2026)
Performers:
Voice: Helena Mamić
Flute: Lize Briel
Percussion: Bridget Bourne
Live Electronics: Gero von Randow
Conductor: Oussama Mhanna
Video: Coming soon
PROGRAM NOTE:
Tactical Empathy explores how authority shifts within a shared sonic space. The work unfolds as a series of negotiations: who leads, who responds, who interrupts, and who observes. Across four sections, these roles circulate among the soprano, flute, percussion, and live electronics, continually reshaping the ensemble’s hierarchy. Through this circulation of function, the piece frames listening as a strategic act rather than a fixed moral position.
The title reflects a paradox. Empathy is often understood as a gesture of connection, yet it can also operate strategically — as a means of reading, anticipating, or redirecting another’s intention. In this work, musical gestures are mirrored, refracted, destabilized, and at times overridden. What begins as clarity gradually fractures into interference and density before collapsing into rupture.
Although portions of the piece are precisely notated, much of its surface emerges through structured indeterminacy. Each performer listens and reacts according to shifting roles, creating a living system in which control is continuously negotiated.
Authority never fully stabilizes; it continues to shift and fracture toward the final rupture.
COMPOSER’S NOTE:
Tactical Empathy was composed during my participation in the precept.concept.percept XIV International Residency in Slovenia. The work grew from my ongoing interest in relational structures — how individuals influence, interrupt, or reshape one another within shared systems.
Rather than assigning fixed hierarchies, I wanted authority to circulate. The soprano, flute, percussion, and electronics each assume moments of structural control, resistance, distortion, or quiet observation. These roles are not moral positions; they are energetic states. Control can be maintained, overridden, or gradually dissolved.
The piece reflects my fascination with instability — not as chaos, but as a dynamic process. Listening becomes a tactical act. Responding becomes a negotiation. Even silence can carry structural weight. Like human relationships, we are constantly negotiating, adjusting, and recalibrating. Sometimes communication succeeds; sometimes it fractures. Through musical conversation and indeterminacy, I explore how sound can express these shifting emotional states — perhaps in ways words cannot.
I am deeply grateful to the performers of precept.concept.percept XIV for their openness, precision, and courage in inhabiting these evolving roles.
— Nahyun Kim 2026
DURATION: ca. 7′30″
RESIDENCY: precept.concept.percept XIV International Residency
Inštitut .abeceda, Ljubljana, Slovenia
PERFORMANCE
World Premiere: June 2026 — Bled Congress Centre, Bled, Slovenia
Occasion: Bled Contemporary Music Week in Bled, Slovenia [EU]
(Festival dates: June 22 – 26, 2026)
Performers:
Voice: Helena Mamić
Flute: Lize Briel
Percussion: Bridget Bourne
Live Electronics: Gero von Randow
Conductor: Oussama Mhanna
Video: Coming soon
PERFORMER NOTE:
Tactical Empathy explores shifting power, negotiation, interference, and destabilization within a shared sonic system. Each performer occupies a rotating structural role:
Initiator (I) – introduces primary material and establishes structural authority.
Responder (R) – mirrors or derives material from the Initiator and reinforces or extends its gestures.
Distorter (D) – interferes, destabilizes, or reframes the mirroring relationship.
Observer (O) – remains textural, latent, peripheral, or spectrally present without asserting control.
These roles rotate across sections A-D, reshaping relationships between instruments and altering the ensemble’s hierarchy. The question “who initiates now?” unfolds in real time as authority shifts, fractures, and ultimately destabilizes.
Tactical Empathy explores shifting power, negotiation, interference, and destabilization within a shared sonic system. Each performer occupies a rotating structural role:
Initiator (I) – introduces primary material and establishes structural authority.
Responder (R) – mirrors or derives material from the Initiator and reinforces or extends its gestures.
Distorter (D) – interferes, destabilizes, or reframes the mirroring relationship.
Observer (O) – remains textural, latent, peripheral, or spectrally present without asserting control.
These roles rotate across sections A-D, reshaping relationships between instruments and altering the ensemble’s hierarchy. The question “who initiates now?” unfolds in real time as authority shifts, fractures, and ultimately destabilizes.
Section Overview
Section A – Wild, energetic, aggressive (♩ = 80)
Authority emerges and is contested. Material is clearly projected, then gradually destabilized. The Distorter increasingly overlaps and erodes the Initiator’s sustain.
Section B – Hypnotic and melancholy; eerie, hollow (Freely, with slow pulse)
The ensemble breathes within an electronic field. The pulse is internal and fragile. Texture dissolves toward silence, ending in a shared sigh gesture.
Section C – Bright and persuasive; conversational (♩ = 100)
Dialogue emerges. The flute leads rhetorically; others respond, interrupt, and subtly destabilize. Structural authority remains intact but begins to fracture by C5.
Section D – Agitated and unstable; fragmented, increasingly chaotic (♩ = 120)
Rhythmic clarity collapses. The djembe initiates instability, and electronics become the primary destabilizing force. Density escalates toward saturation before thinning into a final rupture.
Indeterminacy Framework
The work combines composed material and controlled indeterminacy.
Performance Approach
This piece requires:
Even in chaotic passages, gestures should feel intentional rather than random. Instability is structured; chaos is directional.
Extended techniques and micro-variations are encouraged where indicated, but all material must remain derived from existing gestures within the section unless explicitly directed otherwise.
The final moments should feel like collapse rather than cadence.
Throughout the work, performers must actively listen and adjust in real time according to their assigned role. The clarity of role interaction is more important than density of activity.
Section A – Wild, energetic, aggressive (♩ = 80)
Authority emerges and is contested. Material is clearly projected, then gradually destabilized. The Distorter increasingly overlaps and erodes the Initiator’s sustain.
Section B – Hypnotic and melancholy; eerie, hollow (Freely, with slow pulse)
The ensemble breathes within an electronic field. The pulse is internal and fragile. Texture dissolves toward silence, ending in a shared sigh gesture.
Section C – Bright and persuasive; conversational (♩ = 100)
Dialogue emerges. The flute leads rhetorically; others respond, interrupt, and subtly destabilize. Structural authority remains intact but begins to fracture by C5.
Section D – Agitated and unstable; fragmented, increasingly chaotic (♩ = 120)
Rhythmic clarity collapses. The djembe initiates instability, and electronics become the primary destabilizing force. Density escalates toward saturation before thinning into a final rupture.
Indeterminacy Framework
The work combines composed material and controlled indeterminacy.
- The Initiator in Sections A, C, and D presents composed primary material.
- In Section B, the Initiator material emerges from sustained electronic texture.
- Other roles operate within rule-based improvisation.
- Each section lasts approximately 100 seconds, except Section D (approximately 130 seconds).
- The conductor controls timing, phase transitions, and section endings.
Performance Approach
This piece requires:
- Acute listening and responsiveness
- Sensitivity to shifting structural authority
- Willingness to destabilize and be destabilized
- Controlled escalation of intensity
Even in chaotic passages, gestures should feel intentional rather than random. Instability is structured; chaos is directional.
Extended techniques and micro-variations are encouraged where indicated, but all material must remain derived from existing gestures within the section unless explicitly directed otherwise.
The final moments should feel like collapse rather than cadence.
Throughout the work, performers must actively listen and adjust in real time according to their assigned role. The clarity of role interaction is more important than density of activity.
Role Definitions
Initiator (I)
The Initiator maintains structural identity.
Responder (R)
The Responder reinforces structure.
Distorter (D)
The Distorter destabilizes structural clarity.
Observer (O)
The Observer preserves atmosphere without leading.
Initiator (I)
- Introduces 2–5 distinct gestures or phrase-types.
- Each gesture may last approximately 15–45 seconds.
- Continue developing material until conductor cue.
- Repeat and vary fragments of earlier gestures.
- Small microtonal deviation permitted.
- Remain primarily within the established pitch field.
- Do not introduce new melodic contours.
- Fragments may shift register within established range.
The Initiator maintains structural identity.
Responder (R)
- Derives all material from the Initiator.
- Mirrors contour, rhythm, or dynamic shape.
- Reacts in real time.
- Never begins independently.
- Does not introduce unrelated material.
The Responder reinforces structure.
Distorter (D)
- Derives material from the Initiator and/or Responder.
- Gradually destabilizes their relationship through:
- Timing shift (anticipation or delay)
- Microtonal inflection (± quarter-tone or smaller)
- Timbral filtering
- Rhythmic displacement
- Does not introduce unrelated material.
- May increase interference over the course of a section.
The Distorter destabilizes structural clarity.
Observer (O)
- Minimal, sparse, or latent presence.
- May sustain texture or remain silent.
- Low dynamic.
- Avoid rhythmic assertion.
- Remain textural rather than structurally directive.
- May increase presence only if cued by conductor.
The Observer preserves atmosphere without leading.
