The composer notes that the four pieces on this recording were all inspired by our relation to the world, both natural and invented. The Machine Awakes is about technology and where it s leading our spirit. Seven Memorials is inspired by Maya Lin's elegy to our planet; Quark Shadows and Nebulae are about the world untouched by us. Stephen Andrew Taylor, born in 1965, studied at Northwestern, Cornell and the California Institute of the Arts and is the recipient of many awards and commissions. He teaches at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.