MCI-FRONT PORCH COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT: EDDIE JONATHAN GARCIA BORBON

Our final Composer Spotlight for our upcoming collaborative concert with Front Porch features a new work by MCI composer Eddie Jonathan Garcia Borbon. Each of the five composers who will be featured in this event were asked to create a piece of music reflecting environmental issues within their respective local areas. Borbon's piece addresses the presence of air pollution in Colombia:

Describe your inspiration for composing the piece.
The inspiration for this work was the air pollution present in Bogotá - Colombia. According to the analyzes carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, air pollution in Colombia is one of the environmental problems of greatest concern for Colombians. This is due to the impacts it generates in both health and the environment, and it is also the third factor social cost generator after water pollution and natural disasters.

In accordance with the provisions of Title 5 of Decree 1076 of 2015 and adjusting the definition, Atmospheric Pollution is "the phenomenon of accumulation or concentration of pollutants, understood as physical phenomena or substances or elements in solid, liquid or gaseous state, causing adverse effects on the environment, renewable natural resources and human health that alone, or in combination, or as reaction products, are emitted into the air as a result of human activities, natural causes, or a combination of these."

The MinAmbiente establishes with Resolution 610 of 2010 the maximum permissible levels of the following criteria pollutants: Particulate Material (PM10 and PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), tropospheric ozone (O3) and monoxide of carbon (CO), as well as the maximum permissible levels for six (6) unconventional pollutants with carcinogenic effects.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Colombia is the second country in Latin America with more air pollution, with an average of 19,000 deaths annually throughout the territory. Bogotá, the capital, records a value of 15 PM2.5 of exposure (amount of tuxedo it produces). The pollution of the air that is in the environment is produced by different factors that affect the atmospheric layer, increasing the great variety of polluting sources that modify the natural layer and all the components that are in it.

What is the overall conception for the piece (for example, is it programmatic or abstract? Is there a specific formal structure, color, or musical device you employed?)
This is an abstract work which deals with the harmful effects of air pollution in Colombia.

What are some of the goals you strove to accomplish in writing the work?
I wanted to use in every instrument of this unique ensemble some of their extended techniques, and from there, explore the relationships created with these techniques in a manner that ties into the overall theme of this work.

Is there anything specific about your piece you'd like your audience to look out for?
The importance of fighting for the environment, and specifically against air pollution