A leading avant-garde vocal ensemble performs work by Peter Shin, including a moving musical portrait of anxiety disorder.

Voices of Silicon Valley will perform excerpts from “Bits torn from words” by composer Peter Shin, as well as highlights from their repertoire.   

“Bits torn from words” examines the mental health condition of generalized anxiety disorder — how the dread of even the most inconsequential circumstances feels gargantuanly out of proportion to its relative impact. In expanded song form, wavering pitches, surrendered exclamations, and quivering breaths convey anxiety’s vivid manifestations in the body and psyche.  

The work’s title comes from the opening pages of “Dictee” (1982) by pioneering Korean American conceptual artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982). Through intricate diagrams and vivid prose, Cha illustrates the visceral impact of vocalization and the yearning to say and be heard.  

In the composition’s first movement, “Reach across oceans (intro),” a soloist desperately wails into the distance in an attempt to reach another. Evoking the Korean narrative song form p’ansori, this performance nearly requires damage to the vocal cords to produce a uniquely raw and soul-wrenching intensity.  

Program:

• “Genshin Impact (Main Theme – Night),” composed by Yu-Peng Chen

• “Bits Torn from Words,” composed by Peter Shin

• “Legend of Zelda,” composed by Koji Kondo

• Talk by Composer Peter Shin