forever – is composed of nows – 

Forever — is composed of Nows —  is a solo project for harp and electronics exploring how we inhabit time, and how attention shapes experience.

Borrowing its title from Emily Dickinson, the project approaches “forever” not as transcendence, but as accumulation — a structure built from present moments. Duration becomes relational: something formed through shared listening, memory, and perceptual trace.

The concept took shape during Stef’s residency with Bang on a Can at MASS MoCA, including extended time spent inside James Turrell’s Skyspace C.A.V.U.. In Turrell’s environments, time loosens from productivity and narrative; subtle shifts in light demand sustained attention. This experience of suspended presence—of “almost nothing”—profoundly shaped the musical language of the project.

Across the program, new works by Christopher Cerrone, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Ken Thomson, Heleen Van Haegenborgh, and John Supko form a coherent sonic environment in which acoustic and electronic sound operate as interdependent systems. Gestures recur altered. Resonances outlive their cause. Sound leaves afterimages.

Forever — is composed of Nows — creates a space in which time is stretched, folded, and felt through accumulation. The harp functions not as ornament, but as resonant body and interface—an instrument through which physical action, electronic mediation, and perception continuously interact.

In an age of fragmented attention and constant acceleration, the project asks a simple question: what happens when we stay? When we listen long enough for sound to gather, rather than demand immediate resolution?
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Here, “forever” is not elsewhere.
It is experienced as a succession of nows.