Concert Pieces

Tesserae - listen (MIDI Rendering)

for Orchestra

duration: 10 minutes

Instrumentation: 3 Fl (3rd dbl. Picc.), 3 Ob, 2 Cl, Bs Cl, 3 Bsn (3rd dbl. Cbsn), 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Trbn, Bs Trbn, Tba, 4 Perc (Timp, Vibr, Mba, Crotales, Chimes, Sus Cym, Tamtam, Bongo, Conga, GC), Hp, Clsta, Strings

Program note (abridged):

In 2001 I made an unforgettable visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy, where I was awestruck by the mosaics excavated from Pompeii. In an up-close examination of works like the two-story-high Battle of Issus, I was amazed at how an image of such complexity, such dimension, such realism, could be constructed out of tiny, uniform cubes of stone called "tesserae." That very musical Greek word suggested a piece of orchestral music in which large-scale phrases, or images, are formed from the interaction of small homogeneous cells. I sketched out a series of sections in which individual musical pitches, like tesserae in a mosaic, are systematically added to, and removed from, the overall texture. With Tesserae I intended, as I had done with the Naples mosaics, to explore where the individual tesserae end and the epic image begins.

Gentrify - listen

for amplified string quartet with delay

composed for The Section Quartet Eric Gorfain and Daphne Chen, violins; Leah Katz, viola; Richard Dodd, cello

duration: 7 minutes

Gentrify was composed in 2004 for the Los Angeles-based Section String Quartet, a unique crossover group who perform arrangements of songs by cutting-edge rock acts such as Radiohead and Tool. In style and conception Gentrify was composed to fit into, and expand, this format. The work takes advantage of the quartet's penchant for amplification by processing the sound via a digital delay, requiring the group to, literally, play along with itself in a strict canon. The form, texture, and timbres of Gentrify are the result of a meditation on urban construction and destruction, specifically the kind involved in gentrification.

Delphina - listen

for violin and pre-recorded CD

1. Prelude and Processional
2. Recessional

duration: 4 minutes

Delphina is the music written for the composer's wedding to Donna Eshelman and is lovingly dedicated to her. The pre-recorded CD consists of chimes and voices floating free-time for the Prelude and Processional. The solo violin plays its material at its own pace, while in the Recessional it presents a light, unaccompanied dance.

Prayer of the Heliotrope - listen

for two percussion

Commissioned by percussionists Aaron Smith and Ken McGrath Premiered February 2, 2003 at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA

duration: 13 minutes

Instrumentation: Almglocke (C,F#), Bass (Kick) Drums (2), Castanets (mounted), Crotales (C, F#), Gongs (2 small), Maracas (4), Marimbas (2), Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbals (2), Temple Blocks (6), Toms (6), Triangle, Vibraphones (2).

"...the heliotrope follows in its movement the movement of the sun...and in its rotation, if we could hear the sound of the air buffeted by its movement, we should be aware that it is a hymn to its king, such as it is within the power of a plant to sing." -Proclus, Greek philosopher

Katabasis - listen

for chamber orchestra

1. Adagietto
2. Passacaglia: Andante
3. Allegro assai

Instrumentation: 2,2,2,2, 2Hn, 2Tpt, Timp., Strings

duration: 16 minutes

Composed in fulfillment of the Master of Arts Degree in Composition, University of California, Los Angeles. Ian Krouse, commitee chair Premiered by the Westwood Chamber Orchestra, Elizabeth Wright conducting, on May 11, 1995 at UCLA.

"The mark of Descent, whether undertaken consciously or unconsciously, is a newly arrived-at lowliness, associated with water and soul, as height is associated with spirit...The lowliness happens particularly to men who are initially high, lucky, elevated...What is proper next for the man is the whirlpool, the sinking through the floor, the Drop, what the ancient Greeks called "katabasis." -Robert Bly

Badderputtle - listen

ballet score for 10 players In five scenes

Instrumentation: Fl, Ob, Cl, Hn, Tpt, Perc, Vln, Vla, Vc, Cb

duration: 28 minutes

Commissioned by the Yorke Dance Project, London Premiered January 31, 1998 at Occidental College in Los Angeles with the composer conducting

Barter - listen

for women's chorus (a capella) text by Sara Teasdale

duration: 5 minutes

Commissioned by Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA Premiered November 21, 1992 at W&L Univ., Courtney Birch conducting

Slumber - listen

for cello and marimba

1. Between Two Thoughts
3. Atman

duration: 8 minutes

Premiered March 18, 1994 by Elizabeth Wright, cello, and Brian Olamit, marimba at Schoenberg Hall, UCLA

Three Piano Pieces - listen

for solo piano

1. Three Ways of Detroying a Skyscraper
2. Queen Anne's Lace
3. Puppet's Dance

duration: 6 minutes

Premiered July 22, 1991 by Inge Handojo at the Aspen Music Festival, CO.