You’re desperately trying to fall asleep when you hear a clock, or maybe even two clocks, ticking somewhere in the room. Who hasn’t had this experience? The constant ticking hammers its way into your consciousness until sleep is no longer an option. Time suddenly becomes tactile, and the clock begins to speak. And if clocks can talk, why not turn voices into clocks?

These ideas form the basis of Marc L. Vogler’s composition Clockwork. Speaking in rhythms, the singers transform themselves into...