Carolyn Zaldivar Snow | Terminus / Telos

In 2015, I traveled to Alaska to see my childhood friend, Angela. We grew up in Texas in the 1980s experiencing the end of the Cold War, major droughts, the Challenger explosion— televised live in our classroom at Sally K. Ride Elementary. I thought about “the end” as a kid, often, more than kids should.

On the visit to Byron, I expected the glacier would be snowy, and encased in deep blue hues despite it being summer. Instead I was greeted with a gray, rocky terminus. The sounds of rock slides in the distance and ice melting from the bottom up.

I thought about the end of things again, peering up at the glacial ridge line, folding my arms around my stomach pregnant with my son. I wondered what would be here in 20 years for my son, the shape of world affairs, the condition of our planet. Byron’s rock field felt lonely despite the company of a life-long friend. I was glad to be in community in this moment, and often feel community is the way forward when asked to consider a change.

Terminus / Telos is written for two— percussion and electronics. The piece is divided in multiple ways— you may follow the white score, the gray score— you may divide the score between the blue and gray. You may play together, you may play alone. Despite the divisions— the piece is written for two and connected in various overlaps. You will need each other.

With thanks to Barry Schmetter and my partner Peter Green.

Biography:

Carolyn Zaldivar Snow, (she/her) is a multi-instrumentalist performing as Tangent Universes with the label Mystery Circles. Using field recordings, modular synths, a DIY Lyra-8, and guitar drones, she creates immersive compositions from her Mid-Atlantic context, exploring collective memory in science and nature. Her documentary work with Mountain Film and 137 Films (The Believers) have covered cold fusion and the Himalayas. Carolyn has studied at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and is a graduate of Northwestern University.