Geli Li - Vertical Scaling (2025)

Описание: Vertical Scaling was commissioned by Copland House for its CULTIVATE 2025 Emerging Composers Institute and premiered on June 10, 2025, at Elebash Hall, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. The piece was performed by members of the Copland House Ensemble: Moran Katz (clarinet), Pala Garcia (violin), Alexis Pia Gerlach (cello), and Margaret Kampmeier (piano).

In Vertical Scaling, sound unfolds not horizontally—as in a linear narrative—but vertically, where the layers of timbre, density, and register expand and contract like a breathing structure. The title draws from architectural and sonic metaphors, evoking an image of structures growing upward, compressed and stretched by invisible tension.

This piece explores the way sound occupies space—how sonic materials build upon one another, sometimes in stark contrast, sometimes in delicate balance. Instead of traditional melodic or rhythmic development, Vertical Scaling invites the listener to experience transformation through shifting textures, densities, and gestural interactions. Each sonic layer may enter independently but resonates together as part of a larger sonic ecosystem.

CULTIVATE 2025 fellowships and commissions were made possible by support from the ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Friends of Copland House, Jandon Foundation, and NewMusicUSA. Additional program funding was provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, ArtsWestchester, Elzbieta and David Grove Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts.