The Vulture

The Vulture is inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, “The Vulture and the Little Girl,” taken by South African photojournalist Kevin Carter. The photograph, in which a vulture stands in the dirt behind an emaciated child, apparently waiting for it to die, hauntingly captures the desperation and misery of the famine that hit the horn of Africa in 1993. All the sounds used in “The Vulture” were derived from a double bass performed by Rhys Gates. At certain points during the piece, the goal has been to distance the sound from the actual timbre of the double bass, and to engage the imagination of the listeners in considering different possible sources for the sounds. “The Vulture” premiered at EARS: Electro-Acoustic Recital Series in October 2016. The piece was also choreographed and performed at Ears, Eyes + Feet: collaborative works by composers, choreographers and media artists in May 2017.