“XiBanYa” (Chinese for ‘Spain)’. This was created for a Composers Concordance concert in Oct 2016 called “All About Spain”. My goal here was to synthesize something that captured elements of all the Spanish-flavored music I’ve played and studied, without referencing any one style or approach too closely. Interestingly, the result strikes me as more Hungarian than Spanish. |
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| “The Painter” (see full video in video samples section). This piece was written and realized (electronically) as an opener for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 1998. It features live action painter Denny Dent, and is a rumination on overcoming challenges to the creative process. |
The Painter (electronic orchestration) |
| “Galaxians” (~1996). A lot of the content we did pre-2000 served the purpose of introducing firm initiatives in a humerous way. In this example, the ‘dark side’ represents obscure business-speak being defeated by a newer, more transparent approach to client communications. We used Star Wars as a model, obviously. My goal was to do a very ‘John Williamsy’ space opera-type score that would serve as a background. It opens with the sinister dark-side music, and gradually gives way to a more heroic theme. | Galaxians (electronic orchestration) |
| “Phil’s Bounce”. A bouncy little tune created for previous EY Chairman Phil Laskawy. | Phil’s Bounce (electronic orchestration) |
| This was commissioned by the Greenwich Symphony. 5th and 6th graders were assigned to go out and record audio samples. I then took selected samples, and used them to create a piece for String Orchestra and tape. | Seance, performed by the Greenwich Symphony, Pat Handy, cond. |
| “Southern Impingement” for mixed instrument nonette. This was one of my final projects as an undergrad at MSM. I wanted to bring a bit of my Tennessee heritage into the contemporary music immersion of NYC, and decided to play with bluegrass, juxtaposed into an Eastern European style. | Southern Impingement, performed at Tanglewood 1985, Carl St. Clair, cond. |
| “On Our Way”. This was one of two pieces created for the EY New Partners Meetings in the early 2000’s. Lyrics by Hank Kohout (this is the instrumental version). Recorded live at Dangerous Music Studios, NYC. | On Our Way (studio recording) |
| “The Founding of Narnia”. This was commissioned by the Westchester Philharmonic, in a program similar to the piece Séance above. It combines full orchestra with an electronic score created by combining and minipulating sounds submitted by school students. The piece refers to the last chapter of the first Narnia book, and conveys the awe of Aslan creating Narnia, and following the events in that chapter. | The Founding of Narnia, performed by the Westchester Philharmonic,Paul Dunkel, cond. |
| ” “Rhapsody on ‘A Jasmine Flower’ “. This is my Piano Concerto, written during my Masters years at Columbia. | Jasmine Concerto for Piano (electronic orchestration) |
| “Jovian Crepuscule”. This is an Orchestral piece from MSM. I wanted to work with contrasts between very big, scary sounds, and focused aleatoric moments. The idea of twilight on Jupiter served as the inspiration. | Jovian Crepuscule, performed by the Manhattan Philharmonia, George Manahan, cond. |
