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Riven was commissioned by and dedicated to Seven-19–Nicholas Ciraldo & Ben McIlwain–with support from Mississippi Arts Commission. When Ben and Nick approached me about writing a piece for their duo of trombone and electric guitar I was excited and intrigued. I love heavy metal—and particularly the Swedish metal band Meshuggah—but I am not often able to incorporate the influence of this sound-world into my music in overt ways. Riven means to split or tear apart violently, and, perhaps more important, it seems like a great title for a metal song. The piece is in two distinct sections—with the second section kind of “torn” from the first. At times the trombone and guitar are merged into one hyper-instrument and at others they are pulled apart in various ways.