Program Notes: 

     Many problems face our world today, but one very serious epidemic that tends to get overlooked is the increased waste of so-called “disposable” plastic products.  With the increasing consumerism over the past fifty years or so, more and more corporations distribute food or other products in plastic containers.  These products are moldable, light, durable, and cheap, so companies continue to use them.  What’s the catch?   After being disposed of, these plastic products will sit in the ground for millions of years and threaten both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Wasteful Devastation attempts to stress the horrible effects of wasteful habits regarding plastic.

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     Wasteful Devastation expresses a deterrent to those who might say, “It’s not a big deal” or “There’s nothing I can do about it.”  The piece is built around two themes, the first of which represents the arrogance of those deniers.  The second characterizes what might happen if we don’t do anything.  The piece begins in the present, and then projects into the future, climaxing with a four octave statement of the theme representing the few remaining deniers who claim that nothing is wrong with no evidence to back their claim.  This is followed by a 12-tone section, using the second theme as the main tone row, to represent how there will be nothing left of our planet if we don’t take precautionary measures now.  The piece ends with a snap back to the present, stressing the notion that what we do about this issue today truly does affect what happens in the future.