NINA SHEKHAR (b. 1995) explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works. Her music has been commissioned and performed by leading artists including Eighth Blackbird, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the LA Philharmonic, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Albany Symphony, JACK Quartet, and Alarm Will Sound. Current projects include performances by the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic (with soloists Nathalie Joachim and Pamela Z), and New World Symphony. Shekhar is pursuing her PhD in Music Composition at Princeton University.
Honk if you Love Me (2018) for clarinet and electronics was inspired by the traffic sounds of India, particularly the sound of car horns. In most places, car horns indicate aggression or frustration. However, in India, the melodic nature of car horns is almost joyful and serves as a reminder that honking is a communicative gesture. Rather than simply traffic noise, the sounds assume a form of self-expression and a reclamation of technology. The electronic part is assembled from various types of car sounds alongside Indian percussion. The clarinet part is performed with and without live processing. Shekhar indicates in the score specific sections where live processing should be used. The processing aims to make the clarinet completely blend with itself and increase the density of clarinet sound when combined with the electronics.
Composed in sections, the conversation between electronics and clarinet alternates between energic and meditative. In the exciting sections, the upper range of the clarinet is featured in technical and improvisatory ways. The timbre is varied using vibrato, glissando, multiphonics and growl. These variations allow the clarinet sound to ring out against an increasingly dense electronic environment. The expressive sections focus on sustained tones in the middle and lower registers of the clarinet. Live processing in the form of reverb and delay help provide depth to the sound and enable the clarinet to resonate more audibly. The work was commissioned by the Third Angle New Music and can be performed live with a Bharatanatyam dancer, a style of classical dance from southern India.