My Battery is Low and it is Getting Dark - Brian Ellis

Jordan Walsh performs "My Battery is Low and it is Getting Dark" by Brian Ellis for keyboard instrument and live electronics. This work was commissioned as part of the Electronic Integration Project, an effort to solidify electronic music pedagogy for performers.

"The Mars Exploration Rover - B “Opportunity” was operational on the Martian surface from January 2004 until June of 2018. During this fourteen-year mission, an explosion of geological analysis, stunning images, and atmospheric data made its way back to our home planet from this outpost in the night sky. During its time on the surface, the rover took 228,771 photos, got stuck in a sand dune for two months, outlived its twin “Spirit” by nine years, and traveled the distance of more than a marathon before succumbing to power loss from dust on its solar panels. Missions like Opportunity’s generally begin with dramatic landings on celestial bodies, followed by a great outpouring of data that slowly becomes repetitive, uninteresting, and eventually mundane before petering out. Its final transmission to Earth, basic logging information indicating charge remaining in the batteries and light levels from the solar panels, was poetically translated for the public as “my battery is low and it is getting dark”. A fitting, if quiet, ending to a vibrant and storied piece of human ingenuity. This music takes a look backwards at this story." -Brian Ellis

Performed by Jordan Walsh: https://www.jordanwalshmusic.com/
Composed by Brian Ellis: https://www.brianellissound.com/
A/V by BlankHouse Media: https://www.blankhousemedia.com/