Infinite Ethics by Joe Choice

Music for Bb Trumpet, French Horn in F, and Trombone. This music was written with consideration to Simon Fraser University Contemporary Arts 2015. This music has been read, however it lacks a full performance and premier. This is the Sibelius midi realization. Infinite Ethics: (0:00 – 2:28) I. Substantive Components (2:28 – 5:35) II. Formal Components (5:35 – 8:42) III. Criteria (8:42 – 11:10) IV. Desiderada “Aggregative ethics implies that such a world contains an infinite amount of positive value and an infinite amount of negative value. You can affect only a finite amount of good or bad. In standard cardinal arithmetic, an infinite quantity is unchanged by the addition or subtraction of any finite quantity. So it appears you cannot change the value of the world.” (Bostrom) I am lucky to have had the opportunity to write music for a horn trio in my final year of my undergraduate degree for music composition at SFU. This paper inspired me to use Infinite Ethics as a theme for the composition that I was to do for the fall semester of 2015. The above quote along with the paper gave me a lot to think about when writing music. If it is true, and that we cannot change the value of the world, then why write music? I decided to borrow Bostrom's named components where he investigates aggregative ethics, and adequacy criteria in his paper. I felt that this would help align myself with some of his ideas, name the movements, and also create a framework that I could manipulate on my own. There was no concrete vision for realizing the whole piece because I wanted the music to be intuitive. I wanted the music to reflect an evolution of thought, and be proof of my attempt to work out ideas to the end. Source: IN F I N I T E ET H I C S Nick Bostrom Faculty of Philosophy Oxford University [Published in Analysis and Metaphysics, Vol. 10 (2011): pp. 9-59] [This is the final version. Earlier versions: 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009] www.nickbostrom.com

Genre

chamber