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Biography

My artistic goal as a composer has always been to spread joy. Through my compositions, I strive to create sonic spaces that feel suspended in time, providing a place of both respite and exploration for the listener.

Erin Busch is a composer and cellist residing in Philadelphia. She has been commissioned by the Composers Conference, the Albany (NY) Symphony, Pennsbury Middle Schools, the Amorsima Trio, American Composers Forum, Orchestra 2001, the Philadelphia Charter – A String Theory School, and the Germantown Friends School, and has been performed by So Percussion, Yarn/Wire, Matthew Levy of the PRISM Quartet, and Network for New Music, among others. Upcoming projects include several commissions, including a bassoon concerto for Zachary Feingold and the University of Delaware Symphony Orchestra, a piece for flute and string quartet for the American Composers Forum & GLFCAM, and a choral work for the Yale Glee Club as part of their NextWorks project.

Erin was selected as the winner of several calls for scores in 2024, including Echofluxx 24, ISU Contemporary Music Festival “Music Now”, and She Scores, and was a Cycle 16 Bahlast-Eeble fellow at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM) for the 2022–2023 season. As a cellist, she performs regularly with the Arcana New Music Ensemble and Symphony in C.

Named one of Yamaha’s 40 under 40 music educators, Temple University’s 30 under 30, and Philadelphia Magazine’s 2022 “Luminary Leader,” Erin is the Founder and Executive Director of Wildflower Composers, a 501c3 nonprofit in Philadelphia that amplifies and supports female, transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer composers. She oversees and designs a number of programs for Wildflower, including a summer festival, online courses, workshops, and numerous collaborations with organizations in Philadelphia and beyond. Erin is also the Co-Founding Director of the Gabriela Ortiz Composing Studio, a six-month virtual Artist Diploma offered by OAcademy that includes an on-site residency in Easton, MD with Gabriela Ortiz.

Erin received her PhD in composition from the University of Pennsylvania with advisor Tyshawn Sorey, and previously studied with composer Maurice Wright and cellist Jeffrey Solow at Temple University. In addition to her work with Wildflower and OAcademy, Erin serves as the Director of Music Ministry for the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing and teaches composition at Temple University.

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Works

Works

Solo

2024

hover

Clarinet Electronics

06:00

hover was originally composed as a one-minute miniature for clarinetist David Dziardziel as part of the Community Commissions Initiative in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Composers Conference. The original title of this miniature was honest feedback. I liked this title as a way to illustrate the short soliloquy: a brief moment where questions were asked and given time to linger, rather than rush to find answers or move forward.

The opportunity to work with Sean Bailey that fall prompted me to revisit the piece and see what might happen in an expanded version with live electronics. Sean is an amazing clarinetist and electronicist, and together we worked to craft a dialogue between the live clarinet and processed sound that felt organic and immersive.

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2020

refract

Cello

04:00

Whenever I am practicing cello – and especially if I am supposed to be practicing something challenging – I often procrastinate by improvising melodies, which usually involves a lot of play with natural harmonics. This particular piece was borne entirely out of this kind of improvisation. To me, the fleeting opening gesture reminded me of light moving and refracting through different materials, perpetually ephemeral.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Violin

Email to Request Perusal Score

2019

can't find the words

Tenor Saxophone Electronics

14:00

can’t find the words is about a struggle to verbally express difficult or complex experiences, the complications of memory, and the necessity of reframing our experiences so others might understand.


Technical Notes:

This piece uses Max/MSP, which acts mainly a system for audio playback with live reverb the runs throughout the entire piece. The entire piece should be played relatively freely and without a click. The live saxophone should be lightly amplified throughout the performance to contribute to a better mix of live and processed sound.


Equipment:
  • Laptop running Max/MSP

  • Audio interface with two channels out

  • Mic & mic stand with XLR 

  • One bluetooth or wired pedal for Max/MSP cues

  • Stereo house speakers

Email to Request Perusal Score

2018

dreamwaking

Piano

09:00

The word dreamwaking is one that I created to define the state of being that exists early in the morning, when you are somewhere in-between sleep and wakefulness. I often wake up well before my alarm, and find myself drifting in and out of dreams, sometimes aware of my surroundings and sometimes not. The piece illustrates this transitory state by residing in a harmonic world that is somewhere between improvised and composed.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2017

Rain

Cello Fixed Media

05:30

Works

Voice

2024

Centering Songs

Voice Piano

14:00

This collection of 10 songs was composed over the 2023–2024 season in collaboration with lyricist Rev. Kim Wildszewski. Each month, we would compose a new song together that centered around a monthly theme and an earth teacher, such as a nest, an acorn, or a pumpkin seed.

As Kim says in the forward to the collection:

"Being human is a sacred thing, and too often only considered cerebrally. These songs were created in an effort to reignite our relationship with the natural world, and to re-member ourselves as a part of that web."

The songs are intended to be performed through congregational singing and are therefore not written for any particular voice part.

I am happy to distribute a PDF copy of this collection in exchange for a donation in any amount to the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2023

songs

Soprano Alto Flute Bass Clarinet Violin Vibraphone

06:00

This short collection of songs is divided into five sections:

i. center
ii. first lullaby
iii. grasshopper
iv. tides
v. second lullaby

Soprano range: G3 to A5

I am very grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this work.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2019

I know a god

Soprano Flute Clarinet Violin Percussion

06:00

Text:

I know a god I cannot believe in
Untamed, untethered
In my refusal

Still I feel it
Like a shadow having caught my body
At high noon

I have heard the name
It sings in silent places
Enough! I practice
Still I hear the name

Program Note:

The text for this piece is a poem written by Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski, a Unitarian Universalist minister who was raised in the faith. She is currently serving the congregation at the UU church in Titusville, NJ, where I worked as the church accompanist for several years. Each Sunday, I would spend part of the service improvising at the piano while Kim led meditations from the pulpit. We worked together effortlessly in this way: her words brought to life with my music, my music deepened through her words. After leaving the accompanist position in fall 2018, I asked Kim to send me a few poems to see if I might set one to music, and I know a god stood out to me immediately as the text I felt called to set. About this poem, Kim says: “I know a god is a reflection on reluctant theism and the way god has persistently shown up, released of the definitions, titles, personification, or dogma of traditional religion.”

I am grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this piece.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Soprano Flute Piano

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2018

O child

SATB

06:00

Text:

From anonymous source

O Child of Mary's tender care!




O little Child so pure and fair!




Cradled within the manger hay




On that divine first Christmas day!




The hopes of every age and race




Are centered in Thy radiant face!

O Child whose glory fills the earth!




O little Child of lowly birth!





The shepherds, guided from afar,




Stood worshiping beneath the star,




And wise-men fell on bended knee




And homage offered unto Thee!

O Child of whom the angels sing!




O little Child, our Infant King!




What balm for every sorrow lies




Within those clear, illumined eyes!




O precious gift to mortals given




To win us heritage in Heaven!

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Works

Chamber

2025

Into Orbit

Cello Duo

05:00

2023

inhabit

Flute Horn Cello

09:00

To inhabit yourself fully takes courage.

This work was created under the aegis of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and American Composers Forum, workshopped in Minnesota, originally recorded in Boonville, CA and virtually premiered in November 2023 by Rayo Furuta, Amr Selim, and Christine Lamprea.

Listen to the flute, clarinet, and cello version here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Cello

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2022

thread

Piano (four hands) Vibraphone (four hands)

14:30

A fine, gossamer strand, slowly unspooling.


Vibraphone, with motor (4-hands) + notched stick
Grand piano (4-hands)
+ tape from cassette
+ horsehair (or fishing wire, if not available)


This piece was composed for and premiered by Yarn/Wire.

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2022

Hold Tight

String Quartet

05:00

Hold Tight attempts to depict the sensation of trying to grasp on to something – physically or metaphorically – that keeps constantly shifting, changing shape, making it all the more challenging to hold on. 

The title “Hold Tight” comes from a mural in West Philadelphia by Steve Powers, just a few blocks away from where I lived for many years.

This piece was commissioned by Orchestra 2001.

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2021

Ensure Proper Drainage

Percussion Quartet

08:00

I got really interested in indoor plants during the pandemic. My collection grew from 3 or 4 plants – to 20 – to 50, in the span of a few months. There was something comforting (arguably, addicting) about watching something grow while the world outside had come to a halt. One element of plant care that I had to learn early on was how often to water my plants. It’s a common mistake to overwater, especially for first-time plant parents. We think that we’re helping our plants to grow by providing them with plenty of water, but more often than not, we’re actually drowning them and leeching them of essential nutrients. Plants need water and light to survive, and they also need to be potted in a way that allows them to drain excess water when we get overzealous. This allows the plant to self-regulate, and reduces the impact of our inevitable care mistakes.


Instrumentation
  • 4 flower pots. Pots should be roughly pitched from high to low, but don’t need to have specific pitches. The sound should ideally be complex and resonant. Pots will need to have one central drainage hole at the bottom.

  • 4 large glass (pyrex) mixing bowls, filled with water. Bowls should be big enough to dip upside-down flower pots in without touching the sides.

  • 4 triangles. Triangles should be roughly pitched from high to low - again, no specific pitches, but go for complexity and resonance.

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2021

four interludes

String Quartet

07:30

These interludes were composed for Laura Lizcano's 2022 album, "Daughter of the Sea". Recorded by the Daedalus Quartet.

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2020

...but not the words

Violin Viola Cello

04:00

“I often can scarcely hear a person if speaking low; I can distinguish the tones, but not the words […]”
– Letter to Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Beethoven’s childhood friend. Dated June 29, 1800: Vienna. 





Although he admitted to a few close friends that his hearing had severely declined, and complained often of a perpetual ringing or buzzing in his ears (indicating that he likely suffered from some form of tinnitus), Beethoven was ashamed of his deafness and was desperate to keep it a secret from the public. Many letters to a few close friends express his deep distress over his gradual hearing loss, and he often mentions the presence of a constant “ringing and buzzing” in his ears. It is both tragic and fascinating to imagine what Beethoven must have heard while listening to his own music during this steady decline; for this miniature, I chose to explore some ways in which his aural perception might have changed over time. The piece begins with the statement of a Beethovenian melody, which quickly devolves through the increasing prevalence of high harmonic partials, white noise, and general sonic instability.

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2020

untethered

Horn Quartet

09:00

The title untethered is taken from a poem written by a dear friend Rev. Kim Wildszewski, with whom I worked closely during my tenure as an accompanist at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. In May of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Kim and her wife, Tara, suddenly lost their young son, Malcolm. The unbelievable tragedy of losing their child was amplified by the complications of the pandemic, as those of us who loved Malcolm were unable to gather or grieve together. 

It was shortly after this time that I was asked to write a horn quartet. Without consciously realizing that I was doing so, I processed much of what I was feeling in the wake of Malcolm’s death through writing this piece. It was only at the very end of the compositional process, when I came to the title untethered, that I realized this piece was for Malcolm.  There are moments in the piece of near-emptiness and scarcity, and others that feel more like a reflection of Malcolm’s vibrant spirit: a joyous toddler who loved music. 

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2019

words, contained: set ii

String Quartet

08:00

This piece is the second set of miniatures that I have composed inspired by words from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. This project by John Koenig attempts to encapsulate familiar but yet unnamed experiences by creating new words to describe them. About the project, Koenig writes:

"I think the act of naming something implies, very simply, that you’re not alone. We give names to things so we can talk about them. Once there’s a word for an experience, it feels contained somehow — and the container has a handle, which makes it much easier to pick up and pass around." 


The four words I chose for this set are:

opia:
The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.

chrysalism:
The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly.

morii:
The desire to capture a fleeting experience.

ambedo:
A kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details  — raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee — briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.


Excerpts from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows are used with the permission of John Koenig.

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2018

Glimpse

Cello Marimba Vibraphone

05:30

Recording available upon request.

2017

Thirteen Ways

Clarinet Cello Piano

20:00

I wrote Thirteen Ways after taking a several month hiatus from composing, my longest-ever break since pursuing composition professionally. I had just graduated from my masters degree in composition, and was feeling very tired and a bit creatively lost. This piece came out of a place of patience, of allowing myself to take the time I needed to rejuvenate and find the joy of composing again. The piece illustrates each movement of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

Also available for pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion). Listen here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

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2017

Two winter scenes

Soprano Saxophone Alto Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Baritone Saxophone

09:30

Two winter scenes was ironically written in the summertime, when I was longing for the change of season. I love all of the seasons, but there is something magical about wintertime, which I tried to at least partially encapsulate in these two short scenes. 

The first movement opens as if awakening from a deep sleep, as the faint light of the winter sun brings warmth to the cold earth. This movement is prayerful and wandering, the embodiment of a mind not yet weighed down by the promise of a long and cold day to come. 

The second movement, “snow begins to fall”, derives some thematic material from the first movement and recycles it in more angular and playful ways. I imagined short bursts of imagery as I wrote this movement: a snowball fight between neighborhood children, a weary father hauling sleds from the garage as his kids dance around him excitedly, a puppy experiencing its first snow with unbridled joy. 

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2015

Washed Away

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

08:30

There are times in our lives when we get so lost in our own thoughts that we are almost entirely out of touch with the physical world. Washed Away is the musical realization of this phenomenon. Staring out the window, one begins to reflect inward; scenes in the mind play as rain starts to fall outside.

Works

Large Ensemble

2025

Bassoon Concerto

Bassoon Harp Percussion String Orchestra

20:00

Work in progress.

Anticipated premiere by Zachary Feingold and the University of Delaware Symphony in the 25/26 season.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2024

perennial

Flute Alto Flute Clarinet Bass Clarinet Electric Guitar Drum Set Violin Viola Cello Double Bass

28:00

perennial is a four-movement work with an interlude that is scored for violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric guitar, and drum set. This genre-elusive piece centers around perpetual cycles of growth and decay and explores verdant textures, wandering harmonies, and continuous pulse, all of which lead to inevitable disintegration.

i. overwinter - 5” (strings only)
resonant and light -- the earth rests.

ii. seedling : chrysalis - variable 5 – 6”
free and meditative, taking time to form -- bird song in a forest clearing.

interlude - 2” (bass clarinet only)
freely, a pause in time.

iii. braiding waters - 8”
gentle and unhurried -- wading into the river.

iv. into the soil - variable 5 – 6”
emerging, coming to life.

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2020

With what we could carry with us

Trombone Ensemble

14:30

Program note by Laura Lizcano.

We left our homes with what we could carry with us. Some of us brought two suitcases, some just a backpack, and some nothing but ourselves. All of us brought with us a mixture of the necessary things and the symbolic things. We preserve these sentimental items, like flies in the amber, because they remind us of our most precious memories of our lives in Venezuela.  A book a dear friend gave us. A rosary blessed by a beloved priest. A photograph of our grandmothers. A last homework assignment.These things we brought with us through each border that we crossed by plane, by boat, or by foot. And each border crossed is now a scar-- a reminder of a wound that is healing and a mark of the journey that placed us on strange land. All of us carry within us the collective memory of the land that we left behind, of the soil that we love. We dream of returning to a place that does not exist anymore except for in our memories and in our mundane, but precious things. How bittersweet  it is to know that over four million of us are the amber that trapped the old Venezuela. We preserved its beauty and brought it across the world, and while we are apart, we are connected by the land we all come from. 

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2016

Open Doors

Percussion Ensemble Piano

05:45

Imagine a completed thought as the action of a door opening and closing: the door opens when the mind processes a thought, and it closes when the mind has moved on to another idea. A person with OCD does not think this way; the door does not close, but remains open, flooding the mind with constant and repetitive information, resulting in ritualistic activity.

Open Doors is scored for 7 percussionists and 1 pianist.


Instrumentation:

Wood Blocks (five) - pitched 
Claves
Castanets
Tambourine 
Suspended Cymbal 
Tam-tam
Snare Drum 
Concert Bass Drum 
Cajon 
Marimba (five-octave) 
Vibraphone
Grand Piano 

Works

Youth & Non-Professional

2024

New Beginnings

Youth Orchestra

04:00

New Beginnings is a piece about possibility. When I first spoke to the students in the Germantown Friends School (GFS) orchestra to discuss what this piece could be about, they were all very excited about the new building currently being constructed on their campus. This new building would provide a space for interdisciplinary learning and would be open to the community, as well as provide new resources and class space. Construction was happening actively throughout the year I visited with GFS, so I was able to witness it firsthand. During one of my visits, the construction was literally happening on the adjacent wall to the rehearsal room - the sound was unbelievable, and I had to use a microphone to speak to the ensemble. 

In New Beginnings, I wanted to try and capture all of this into one piece: the excitement of the GFS students, the potential that comes with a new space, and the energy and activity that comes with the construction itself. The opening motive is inspired by the musical spelling of GFS: the notes G, F, and Eb (pronounced “es” in German), which I transposed and inverted throughout the piece. I wanted the melody itself to sound like a celebration of the GFS students, current and future.

The title was chosen by the students in the GFS orchestra in the 2024–2025 academic year.


Instrumentation:

Flute
Clarinet in Bb

Trumpet in Bb
Trombone

Percussion I: Marimba, vibraphone
Percussion II: Tambourine, triangle, glockenspiel
Percussion III: Bass Drum, suspended cymbal

Piano

Guitar - optional

Violin I
Violin II
Violin III - optional
Viola
Violoncello
Contrabass

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2023

See the moon and the stars

Wind Band

05:30

As an alum of the Pennsbury School District, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to compose a piece for PHS middle school bands. Through this piece, I wanted to introduce these young musicians to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), the earliest female composer of whom we have any record and a canonized Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church. In addition to being a prolific composer, Hildegard was also a writer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and medical practitioner – she was clearly a clever, talented, and dedicated artist of her time.

Like all composers in the Medieval Era, Hildegard wrote monophonic music, meaning that she composed melodies to be performed without any accompaniment. I chose an excerpt from her piece Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans (“The Holy Spirit gives life”), which served as the melodic basis for the entire piece. Hildegard’s music was typically performed in cathedrals and other sacred spaces, and so throughout the piece I try to manufacture this reverberant setting through the woodwinds by pushing and pulling the melody, asking some players to sustain while having others move on with the next few notes. The upbeat middle section provides a moment of levity and escapism – perhaps a summer fair at the next town over, the music wafting over to the abbey – before we once again return to Hildegard’s reverent melody, set more sparsely with solo woodwinds and percussion.

The title See the moon and the stars comes from Hildegard’s own words:

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think.”


Instrumentation

Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinets in Bb I & II
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Alto Saxophones I & II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Trumpets in Bb I & II
Horn in F
Trombones I & II
Euphonium
Tuba in Bb

Percussion I – V
1. Marimba
2. Wind Chimes, Snare Drum
3. III.Vibraphone
4. IV.Bass Drum, Suspended Cymbal
5. Triangle, Soprano Glockenspiel

Recording available upon request.

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2018

Volando sobre Neltume

String Orchestra

06:00

Volando sobre Neltume is intended to be a direct representation of the plane ride that I took during my visit to Panguipulli in southern Chile. The piece begins very softly and with a thin texture, only using half of the first violins, as the propellor on the front of the plane begins to spin. The texture gradually thickens as more violins join the sound, and the plane soon gains enough momentum to take off. The harmonies are a bit turbulent here, representing some fear and apprehension on my part, which is enhanced by the addition of the violas and cellos to form more dissonant chords. Eventually, as the full effect of the breathtaking landscape below begins to come into view, the sound of the propellors resolves and fades away; I feel myself enter a quasi-meditative state, as if I was floating above the beautiful mountains and lakes beneath me. The solo violin melody represents this pulling away from reality, and is intended to be performed out of time. The orchestra then layers the melody in a blended wash of sound as I fly over more of Panguipulli – the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, the Schoshuenco volcano, and the Neltume town center – and any sense of passing time vanishes. Eventually, we begin to descend - the sound of the propellor returns very softly in the first violins, and the remaining strings flow through a series of reflective harmonies. These chords, in tandem with the sound of the propellor, convey that even though the trip has come to an end, the beauty of the journey will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

I am forever grateful for my time in Panguipulli, especially for the young musicians that I met in Neltume.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2015

Fanfare for Winds

Wind Band

03:30

Also available for youth orchestra and commencement band.

Recording available upon request.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Youth Orchestra

Email to Request Perusal Score

Works

Solo

2024

hover

Clarinet Electronics

06:00

hover was originally composed as a one-minute miniature for clarinetist David Dziardziel as part of the Community Commissions Initiative in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Composers Conference. The original title of this miniature was honest feedback. I liked this title as a way to illustrate the short soliloquy: a brief moment where questions were asked and given time to linger, rather than rush to find answers or move forward.

The opportunity to work with Sean Bailey that fall prompted me to revisit the piece and see what might happen in an expanded version with live electronics. Sean is an amazing clarinetist and electronicist, and together we worked to craft a dialogue between the live clarinet and processed sound that felt organic and immersive.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2020

refract

Cello

04:00

Whenever I am practicing cello – and especially if I am supposed to be practicing something challenging – I often procrastinate by improvising melodies, which usually involves a lot of play with natural harmonics. This particular piece was borne entirely out of this kind of improvisation. To me, the fleeting opening gesture reminded me of light moving and refracting through different materials, perpetually ephemeral.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Violin

Email to Request Perusal Score

2019

can't find the words

Tenor Saxophone Electronics

14:00

can’t find the words is about a struggle to verbally express difficult or complex experiences, the complications of memory, and the necessity of reframing our experiences so others might understand.


Technical Notes:

This piece uses Max/MSP, which acts mainly a system for audio playback with live reverb the runs throughout the entire piece. The entire piece should be played relatively freely and without a click. The live saxophone should be lightly amplified throughout the performance to contribute to a better mix of live and processed sound.


Equipment:
  • Laptop running Max/MSP

  • Audio interface with two channels out

  • Mic & mic stand with XLR 

  • One bluetooth or wired pedal for Max/MSP cues

  • Stereo house speakers

Email to Request Perusal Score

2018

dreamwaking

Piano

09:00

The word dreamwaking is one that I created to define the state of being that exists early in the morning, when you are somewhere in-between sleep and wakefulness. I often wake up well before my alarm, and find myself drifting in and out of dreams, sometimes aware of my surroundings and sometimes not. The piece illustrates this transitory state by residing in a harmonic world that is somewhere between improvised and composed.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2017

Rain

Cello Fixed Media

05:30

Works

Voice

2024

Centering Songs

Voice Piano

14:00

This collection of 10 songs was composed over the 2023–2024 season in collaboration with lyricist Rev. Kim Wildszewski. Each month, we would compose a new song together that centered around a monthly theme and an earth teacher, such as a nest, an acorn, or a pumpkin seed.

As Kim says in the forward to the collection:

"Being human is a sacred thing, and too often only considered cerebrally. These songs were created in an effort to reignite our relationship with the natural world, and to re-member ourselves as a part of that web."

The songs are intended to be performed through congregational singing and are therefore not written for any particular voice part.

I am happy to distribute a PDF copy of this collection in exchange for a donation in any amount to the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2023

songs

Soprano Alto Flute Bass Clarinet Violin Vibraphone

06:00

This short collection of songs is divided into five sections:

i. center
ii. first lullaby
iii. grasshopper
iv. tides
v. second lullaby

Soprano range: G3 to A5

I am very grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this work.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2019

I know a god

Soprano Flute Clarinet Violin Percussion

06:00

Text:

I know a god I cannot believe in
Untamed, untethered
In my refusal

Still I feel it
Like a shadow having caught my body
At high noon

I have heard the name
It sings in silent places
Enough! I practice
Still I hear the name

Program Note:

The text for this piece is a poem written by Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski, a Unitarian Universalist minister who was raised in the faith. She is currently serving the congregation at the UU church in Titusville, NJ, where I worked as the church accompanist for several years. Each Sunday, I would spend part of the service improvising at the piano while Kim led meditations from the pulpit. We worked together effortlessly in this way: her words brought to life with my music, my music deepened through her words. After leaving the accompanist position in fall 2018, I asked Kim to send me a few poems to see if I might set one to music, and I know a god stood out to me immediately as the text I felt called to set. About this poem, Kim says: “I know a god is a reflection on reluctant theism and the way god has persistently shown up, released of the definitions, titles, personification, or dogma of traditional religion.”

I am grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this piece.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Soprano Flute Piano

Email to Request Perusal Score

2018

O child

SATB

06:00

Text:

From anonymous source

O Child of Mary's tender care!




O little Child so pure and fair!




Cradled within the manger hay




On that divine first Christmas day!




The hopes of every age and race




Are centered in Thy radiant face!

O Child whose glory fills the earth!




O little Child of lowly birth!





The shepherds, guided from afar,




Stood worshiping beneath the star,




And wise-men fell on bended knee




And homage offered unto Thee!

O Child of whom the angels sing!




O little Child, our Infant King!




What balm for every sorrow lies




Within those clear, illumined eyes!




O precious gift to mortals given




To win us heritage in Heaven!

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Works

Chamber

2025

Into Orbit

Cello Duo

05:00

2023

inhabit

Flute Horn Cello

09:00

To inhabit yourself fully takes courage.

This work was created under the aegis of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and American Composers Forum, workshopped in Minnesota, originally recorded in Boonville, CA and virtually premiered in November 2023 by Rayo Furuta, Amr Selim, and Christine Lamprea.

Listen to the flute, clarinet, and cello version here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Cello

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2022

thread

Piano (four hands) Vibraphone (four hands)

14:30

A fine, gossamer strand, slowly unspooling.


Vibraphone, with motor (4-hands) + notched stick
Grand piano (4-hands)
+ tape from cassette
+ horsehair (or fishing wire, if not available)


This piece was composed for and premiered by Yarn/Wire.

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2022

Hold Tight

String Quartet

05:00

Hold Tight attempts to depict the sensation of trying to grasp on to something – physically or metaphorically – that keeps constantly shifting, changing shape, making it all the more challenging to hold on. 

The title “Hold Tight” comes from a mural in West Philadelphia by Steve Powers, just a few blocks away from where I lived for many years.

This piece was commissioned by Orchestra 2001.

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2021

Ensure Proper Drainage

Percussion Quartet

08:00

I got really interested in indoor plants during the pandemic. My collection grew from 3 or 4 plants – to 20 – to 50, in the span of a few months. There was something comforting (arguably, addicting) about watching something grow while the world outside had come to a halt. One element of plant care that I had to learn early on was how often to water my plants. It’s a common mistake to overwater, especially for first-time plant parents. We think that we’re helping our plants to grow by providing them with plenty of water, but more often than not, we’re actually drowning them and leeching them of essential nutrients. Plants need water and light to survive, and they also need to be potted in a way that allows them to drain excess water when we get overzealous. This allows the plant to self-regulate, and reduces the impact of our inevitable care mistakes.


Instrumentation
  • 4 flower pots. Pots should be roughly pitched from high to low, but don’t need to have specific pitches. The sound should ideally be complex and resonant. Pots will need to have one central drainage hole at the bottom.

  • 4 large glass (pyrex) mixing bowls, filled with water. Bowls should be big enough to dip upside-down flower pots in without touching the sides.

  • 4 triangles. Triangles should be roughly pitched from high to low - again, no specific pitches, but go for complexity and resonance.

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2021

four interludes

String Quartet

07:30

These interludes were composed for Laura Lizcano's 2022 album, "Daughter of the Sea". Recorded by the Daedalus Quartet.

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2020

...but not the words

Violin Viola Cello

04:00

“I often can scarcely hear a person if speaking low; I can distinguish the tones, but not the words […]”
– Letter to Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Beethoven’s childhood friend. Dated June 29, 1800: Vienna. 





Although he admitted to a few close friends that his hearing had severely declined, and complained often of a perpetual ringing or buzzing in his ears (indicating that he likely suffered from some form of tinnitus), Beethoven was ashamed of his deafness and was desperate to keep it a secret from the public. Many letters to a few close friends express his deep distress over his gradual hearing loss, and he often mentions the presence of a constant “ringing and buzzing” in his ears. It is both tragic and fascinating to imagine what Beethoven must have heard while listening to his own music during this steady decline; for this miniature, I chose to explore some ways in which his aural perception might have changed over time. The piece begins with the statement of a Beethovenian melody, which quickly devolves through the increasing prevalence of high harmonic partials, white noise, and general sonic instability.

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2020

untethered

Horn Quartet

09:00

The title untethered is taken from a poem written by a dear friend Rev. Kim Wildszewski, with whom I worked closely during my tenure as an accompanist at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. In May of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Kim and her wife, Tara, suddenly lost their young son, Malcolm. The unbelievable tragedy of losing their child was amplified by the complications of the pandemic, as those of us who loved Malcolm were unable to gather or grieve together. 

It was shortly after this time that I was asked to write a horn quartet. Without consciously realizing that I was doing so, I processed much of what I was feeling in the wake of Malcolm’s death through writing this piece. It was only at the very end of the compositional process, when I came to the title untethered, that I realized this piece was for Malcolm.  There are moments in the piece of near-emptiness and scarcity, and others that feel more like a reflection of Malcolm’s vibrant spirit: a joyous toddler who loved music. 

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2019

words, contained: set ii

String Quartet

08:00

This piece is the second set of miniatures that I have composed inspired by words from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. This project by John Koenig attempts to encapsulate familiar but yet unnamed experiences by creating new words to describe them. About the project, Koenig writes:

"I think the act of naming something implies, very simply, that you’re not alone. We give names to things so we can talk about them. Once there’s a word for an experience, it feels contained somehow — and the container has a handle, which makes it much easier to pick up and pass around." 


The four words I chose for this set are:

opia:
The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.

chrysalism:
The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly.

morii:
The desire to capture a fleeting experience.

ambedo:
A kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details  — raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee — briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.


Excerpts from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows are used with the permission of John Koenig.

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2018

Glimpse

Cello Marimba Vibraphone

05:30

Recording available upon request.

2017

Thirteen Ways

Clarinet Cello Piano

20:00

I wrote Thirteen Ways after taking a several month hiatus from composing, my longest-ever break since pursuing composition professionally. I had just graduated from my masters degree in composition, and was feeling very tired and a bit creatively lost. This piece came out of a place of patience, of allowing myself to take the time I needed to rejuvenate and find the joy of composing again. The piece illustrates each movement of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

Also available for pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion). Listen here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

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2017

Two winter scenes

Soprano Saxophone Alto Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Baritone Saxophone

09:30

Two winter scenes was ironically written in the summertime, when I was longing for the change of season. I love all of the seasons, but there is something magical about wintertime, which I tried to at least partially encapsulate in these two short scenes. 

The first movement opens as if awakening from a deep sleep, as the faint light of the winter sun brings warmth to the cold earth. This movement is prayerful and wandering, the embodiment of a mind not yet weighed down by the promise of a long and cold day to come. 

The second movement, “snow begins to fall”, derives some thematic material from the first movement and recycles it in more angular and playful ways. I imagined short bursts of imagery as I wrote this movement: a snowball fight between neighborhood children, a weary father hauling sleds from the garage as his kids dance around him excitedly, a puppy experiencing its first snow with unbridled joy. 

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2015

Washed Away

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

08:30

There are times in our lives when we get so lost in our own thoughts that we are almost entirely out of touch with the physical world. Washed Away is the musical realization of this phenomenon. Staring out the window, one begins to reflect inward; scenes in the mind play as rain starts to fall outside.

Works

Large Ensemble

2025

Bassoon Concerto

Bassoon Harp Percussion String Orchestra

20:00

Work in progress.

Anticipated premiere by Zachary Feingold and the University of Delaware Symphony in the 25/26 season.

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2024

perennial

Flute Alto Flute Clarinet Bass Clarinet Electric Guitar Drum Set Violin Viola Cello Double Bass

28:00

perennial is a four-movement work with an interlude that is scored for violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric guitar, and drum set. This genre-elusive piece centers around perpetual cycles of growth and decay and explores verdant textures, wandering harmonies, and continuous pulse, all of which lead to inevitable disintegration.

i. overwinter - 5” (strings only)
resonant and light -- the earth rests.

ii. seedling : chrysalis - variable 5 – 6”
free and meditative, taking time to form -- bird song in a forest clearing.

interlude - 2” (bass clarinet only)
freely, a pause in time.

iii. braiding waters - 8”
gentle and unhurried -- wading into the river.

iv. into the soil - variable 5 – 6”
emerging, coming to life.

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2020

With what we could carry with us

Trombone Ensemble

14:30

Program note by Laura Lizcano.

We left our homes with what we could carry with us. Some of us brought two suitcases, some just a backpack, and some nothing but ourselves. All of us brought with us a mixture of the necessary things and the symbolic things. We preserve these sentimental items, like flies in the amber, because they remind us of our most precious memories of our lives in Venezuela.  A book a dear friend gave us. A rosary blessed by a beloved priest. A photograph of our grandmothers. A last homework assignment.These things we brought with us through each border that we crossed by plane, by boat, or by foot. And each border crossed is now a scar-- a reminder of a wound that is healing and a mark of the journey that placed us on strange land. All of us carry within us the collective memory of the land that we left behind, of the soil that we love. We dream of returning to a place that does not exist anymore except for in our memories and in our mundane, but precious things. How bittersweet  it is to know that over four million of us are the amber that trapped the old Venezuela. We preserved its beauty and brought it across the world, and while we are apart, we are connected by the land we all come from. 

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2016

Open Doors

Percussion Ensemble Piano

05:45

Imagine a completed thought as the action of a door opening and closing: the door opens when the mind processes a thought, and it closes when the mind has moved on to another idea. A person with OCD does not think this way; the door does not close, but remains open, flooding the mind with constant and repetitive information, resulting in ritualistic activity.

Open Doors is scored for 7 percussionists and 1 pianist.


Instrumentation:

Wood Blocks (five) - pitched 
Claves
Castanets
Tambourine 
Suspended Cymbal 
Tam-tam
Snare Drum 
Concert Bass Drum 
Cajon 
Marimba (five-octave) 
Vibraphone
Grand Piano 

Works

Youth & Non-Professional

2024

New Beginnings

Youth Orchestra

04:00

New Beginnings is a piece about possibility. When I first spoke to the students in the Germantown Friends School (GFS) orchestra to discuss what this piece could be about, they were all very excited about the new building currently being constructed on their campus. This new building would provide a space for interdisciplinary learning and would be open to the community, as well as provide new resources and class space. Construction was happening actively throughout the year I visited with GFS, so I was able to witness it firsthand. During one of my visits, the construction was literally happening on the adjacent wall to the rehearsal room - the sound was unbelievable, and I had to use a microphone to speak to the ensemble. 

In New Beginnings, I wanted to try and capture all of this into one piece: the excitement of the GFS students, the potential that comes with a new space, and the energy and activity that comes with the construction itself. The opening motive is inspired by the musical spelling of GFS: the notes G, F, and Eb (pronounced “es” in German), which I transposed and inverted throughout the piece. I wanted the melody itself to sound like a celebration of the GFS students, current and future.

The title was chosen by the students in the GFS orchestra in the 2024–2025 academic year.


Instrumentation:

Flute
Clarinet in Bb

Trumpet in Bb
Trombone

Percussion I: Marimba, vibraphone
Percussion II: Tambourine, triangle, glockenspiel
Percussion III: Bass Drum, suspended cymbal

Piano

Guitar - optional

Violin I
Violin II
Violin III - optional
Viola
Violoncello
Contrabass

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2023

See the moon and the stars

Wind Band

05:30

As an alum of the Pennsbury School District, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to compose a piece for PHS middle school bands. Through this piece, I wanted to introduce these young musicians to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), the earliest female composer of whom we have any record and a canonized Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church. In addition to being a prolific composer, Hildegard was also a writer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and medical practitioner – she was clearly a clever, talented, and dedicated artist of her time.

Like all composers in the Medieval Era, Hildegard wrote monophonic music, meaning that she composed melodies to be performed without any accompaniment. I chose an excerpt from her piece Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans (“The Holy Spirit gives life”), which served as the melodic basis for the entire piece. Hildegard’s music was typically performed in cathedrals and other sacred spaces, and so throughout the piece I try to manufacture this reverberant setting through the woodwinds by pushing and pulling the melody, asking some players to sustain while having others move on with the next few notes. The upbeat middle section provides a moment of levity and escapism – perhaps a summer fair at the next town over, the music wafting over to the abbey – before we once again return to Hildegard’s reverent melody, set more sparsely with solo woodwinds and percussion.

The title See the moon and the stars comes from Hildegard’s own words:

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think.”


Instrumentation

Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinets in Bb I & II
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Alto Saxophones I & II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Trumpets in Bb I & II
Horn in F
Trombones I & II
Euphonium
Tuba in Bb

Percussion I – V
1. Marimba
2. Wind Chimes, Snare Drum
3. III.Vibraphone
4. IV.Bass Drum, Suspended Cymbal
5. Triangle, Soprano Glockenspiel

Recording available upon request.

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2018

Volando sobre Neltume

String Orchestra

06:00

Volando sobre Neltume is intended to be a direct representation of the plane ride that I took during my visit to Panguipulli in southern Chile. The piece begins very softly and with a thin texture, only using half of the first violins, as the propellor on the front of the plane begins to spin. The texture gradually thickens as more violins join the sound, and the plane soon gains enough momentum to take off. The harmonies are a bit turbulent here, representing some fear and apprehension on my part, which is enhanced by the addition of the violas and cellos to form more dissonant chords. Eventually, as the full effect of the breathtaking landscape below begins to come into view, the sound of the propellors resolves and fades away; I feel myself enter a quasi-meditative state, as if I was floating above the beautiful mountains and lakes beneath me. The solo violin melody represents this pulling away from reality, and is intended to be performed out of time. The orchestra then layers the melody in a blended wash of sound as I fly over more of Panguipulli – the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, the Schoshuenco volcano, and the Neltume town center – and any sense of passing time vanishes. Eventually, we begin to descend - the sound of the propellor returns very softly in the first violins, and the remaining strings flow through a series of reflective harmonies. These chords, in tandem with the sound of the propellor, convey that even though the trip has come to an end, the beauty of the journey will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

I am forever grateful for my time in Panguipulli, especially for the young musicians that I met in Neltume.

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2015

Fanfare for Winds

Wind Band

03:30

Also available for youth orchestra and commencement band.

Recording available upon request.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Youth Orchestra

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Works

Solo

2024

hover

06:00

Clarinet Electronics

hover was originally composed as a one-minute miniature for clarinetist David Dziardziel as part of the Community Commissions Initiative in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Composers Conference. The original title of this miniature was honest feedback. I liked this title as a way to illustrate the short soliloquy: a brief moment where questions were asked and given time to linger, rather than rush to find answers or move forward.

The opportunity to work with Sean Bailey that fall prompted me to revisit the piece and see what might happen in an expanded version with live electronics. Sean is an amazing clarinetist and electronicist, and together we worked to craft a dialogue between the live clarinet and processed sound that felt organic and immersive.

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2020

refract

04:00

Cello

Whenever I am practicing cello – and especially if I am supposed to be practicing something challenging – I often procrastinate by improvising melodies, which usually involves a lot of play with natural harmonics. This particular piece was borne entirely out of this kind of improvisation. To me, the fleeting opening gesture reminded me of light moving and refracting through different materials, perpetually ephemeral.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Violin

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2019

can't find the words

14:00

Tenor Saxophone Electronics

can’t find the words is about a struggle to verbally express difficult or complex experiences, the complications of memory, and the necessity of reframing our experiences so others might understand.


Technical Notes:

This piece uses Max/MSP, which acts mainly a system for audio playback with live reverb the runs throughout the entire piece. The entire piece should be played relatively freely and without a click. The live saxophone should be lightly amplified throughout the performance to contribute to a better mix of live and processed sound.


Equipment:
  • Laptop running Max/MSP

  • Audio interface with two channels out

  • Mic & mic stand with XLR 

  • One bluetooth or wired pedal for Max/MSP cues

  • Stereo house speakers

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2018

dreamwaking

09:00

Piano

The word dreamwaking is one that I created to define the state of being that exists early in the morning, when you are somewhere in-between sleep and wakefulness. I often wake up well before my alarm, and find myself drifting in and out of dreams, sometimes aware of my surroundings and sometimes not. The piece illustrates this transitory state by residing in a harmonic world that is somewhere between improvised and composed.

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2017

Rain

05:30

Cello Fixed Media

Works

Voice

2024

Centering Songs

14:00

Voice Piano

This collection of 10 songs was composed over the 2023–2024 season in collaboration with lyricist Rev. Kim Wildszewski. Each month, we would compose a new song together that centered around a monthly theme and an earth teacher, such as a nest, an acorn, or a pumpkin seed.

As Kim says in the forward to the collection:

"Being human is a sacred thing, and too often only considered cerebrally. These songs were created in an effort to reignite our relationship with the natural world, and to re-member ourselves as a part of that web."

The songs are intended to be performed through congregational singing and are therefore not written for any particular voice part.

I am happy to distribute a PDF copy of this collection in exchange for a donation in any amount to the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing.

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2023

songs

06:00

Soprano Alto Flute Bass Clarinet Violin Vibraphone

This short collection of songs is divided into five sections:

i. center
ii. first lullaby
iii. grasshopper
iv. tides
v. second lullaby

Soprano range: G3 to A5

I am very grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this work.

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2019

I know a god

06:00

Soprano Flute Clarinet Violin Percussion

Text:

I know a god I cannot believe in
Untamed, untethered
In my refusal

Still I feel it
Like a shadow having caught my body
At high noon

I have heard the name
It sings in silent places
Enough! I practice
Still I hear the name

Program Note:

The text for this piece is a poem written by Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski, a Unitarian Universalist minister who was raised in the faith. She is currently serving the congregation at the UU church in Titusville, NJ, where I worked as the church accompanist for several years. Each Sunday, I would spend part of the service improvising at the piano while Kim led meditations from the pulpit. We worked together effortlessly in this way: her words brought to life with my music, my music deepened through her words. After leaving the accompanist position in fall 2018, I asked Kim to send me a few poems to see if I might set one to music, and I know a god stood out to me immediately as the text I felt called to set. About this poem, Kim says: “I know a god is a reflection on reluctant theism and the way god has persistently shown up, released of the definitions, titles, personification, or dogma of traditional religion.”

I am grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this piece.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Soprano Flute Piano

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2018

O child

06:00

SATB

Text:

From anonymous source

O Child of Mary's tender care!




O little Child so pure and fair!




Cradled within the manger hay




On that divine first Christmas day!




The hopes of every age and race




Are centered in Thy radiant face!

O Child whose glory fills the earth!




O little Child of lowly birth!





The shepherds, guided from afar,




Stood worshiping beneath the star,




And wise-men fell on bended knee




And homage offered unto Thee!

O Child of whom the angels sing!




O little Child, our Infant King!




What balm for every sorrow lies




Within those clear, illumined eyes!




O precious gift to mortals given




To win us heritage in Heaven!

Email to Request Perusal Score

Works

Chamber

2025

Into Orbit

05:00

Cello Duo

2023

inhabit

09:00

Flute Horn Cello

To inhabit yourself fully takes courage.

This work was created under the aegis of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and American Composers Forum, workshopped in Minnesota, originally recorded in Boonville, CA and virtually premiered in November 2023 by Rayo Furuta, Amr Selim, and Christine Lamprea.

Listen to the flute, clarinet, and cello version here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Cello

Email to Request Perusal Score

2022

thread

14:30

Piano (four hands) Vibraphone (four hands)

A fine, gossamer strand, slowly unspooling.


Vibraphone, with motor (4-hands) + notched stick
Grand piano (4-hands)
+ tape from cassette
+ horsehair (or fishing wire, if not available)


This piece was composed for and premiered by Yarn/Wire.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2022

Hold Tight

05:00

String Quartet

Hold Tight attempts to depict the sensation of trying to grasp on to something – physically or metaphorically – that keeps constantly shifting, changing shape, making it all the more challenging to hold on. 

The title “Hold Tight” comes from a mural in West Philadelphia by Steve Powers, just a few blocks away from where I lived for many years.

This piece was commissioned by Orchestra 2001.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2021

Ensure Proper Drainage

08:00

Percussion Quartet

I got really interested in indoor plants during the pandemic. My collection grew from 3 or 4 plants – to 20 – to 50, in the span of a few months. There was something comforting (arguably, addicting) about watching something grow while the world outside had come to a halt. One element of plant care that I had to learn early on was how often to water my plants. It’s a common mistake to overwater, especially for first-time plant parents. We think that we’re helping our plants to grow by providing them with plenty of water, but more often than not, we’re actually drowning them and leeching them of essential nutrients. Plants need water and light to survive, and they also need to be potted in a way that allows them to drain excess water when we get overzealous. This allows the plant to self-regulate, and reduces the impact of our inevitable care mistakes.


Instrumentation
  • 4 flower pots. Pots should be roughly pitched from high to low, but don’t need to have specific pitches. The sound should ideally be complex and resonant. Pots will need to have one central drainage hole at the bottom.

  • 4 large glass (pyrex) mixing bowls, filled with water. Bowls should be big enough to dip upside-down flower pots in without touching the sides.

  • 4 triangles. Triangles should be roughly pitched from high to low - again, no specific pitches, but go for complexity and resonance.

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2021

four interludes

07:30

String Quartet

These interludes were composed for Laura Lizcano's 2022 album, "Daughter of the Sea". Recorded by the Daedalus Quartet.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2020

...but not the words

04:00

Violin Viola Cello

“I often can scarcely hear a person if speaking low; I can distinguish the tones, but not the words […]”
– Letter to Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Beethoven’s childhood friend. Dated June 29, 1800: Vienna. 





Although he admitted to a few close friends that his hearing had severely declined, and complained often of a perpetual ringing or buzzing in his ears (indicating that he likely suffered from some form of tinnitus), Beethoven was ashamed of his deafness and was desperate to keep it a secret from the public. Many letters to a few close friends express his deep distress over his gradual hearing loss, and he often mentions the presence of a constant “ringing and buzzing” in his ears. It is both tragic and fascinating to imagine what Beethoven must have heard while listening to his own music during this steady decline; for this miniature, I chose to explore some ways in which his aural perception might have changed over time. The piece begins with the statement of a Beethovenian melody, which quickly devolves through the increasing prevalence of high harmonic partials, white noise, and general sonic instability.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2020

untethered

09:00

Horn Quartet

The title untethered is taken from a poem written by a dear friend Rev. Kim Wildszewski, with whom I worked closely during my tenure as an accompanist at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. In May of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Kim and her wife, Tara, suddenly lost their young son, Malcolm. The unbelievable tragedy of losing their child was amplified by the complications of the pandemic, as those of us who loved Malcolm were unable to gather or grieve together. 

It was shortly after this time that I was asked to write a horn quartet. Without consciously realizing that I was doing so, I processed much of what I was feeling in the wake of Malcolm’s death through writing this piece. It was only at the very end of the compositional process, when I came to the title untethered, that I realized this piece was for Malcolm.  There are moments in the piece of near-emptiness and scarcity, and others that feel more like a reflection of Malcolm’s vibrant spirit: a joyous toddler who loved music. 

Email to Request Perusal Score

2019

words, contained: set ii

08:00

String Quartet

This piece is the second set of miniatures that I have composed inspired by words from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. This project by John Koenig attempts to encapsulate familiar but yet unnamed experiences by creating new words to describe them. About the project, Koenig writes:

"I think the act of naming something implies, very simply, that you’re not alone. We give names to things so we can talk about them. Once there’s a word for an experience, it feels contained somehow — and the container has a handle, which makes it much easier to pick up and pass around." 


The four words I chose for this set are:

opia:
The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.

chrysalism:
The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly.

morii:
The desire to capture a fleeting experience.

ambedo:
A kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details  — raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee — briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.


Excerpts from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows are used with the permission of John Koenig.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2018

Glimpse

05:30

Cello Marimba Vibraphone

Recording available upon request.

2017

Thirteen Ways

20:00

Clarinet Cello Piano

I wrote Thirteen Ways after taking a several month hiatus from composing, my longest-ever break since pursuing composition professionally. I had just graduated from my masters degree in composition, and was feeling very tired and a bit creatively lost. This piece came out of a place of patience, of allowing myself to take the time I needed to rejuvenate and find the joy of composing again. The piece illustrates each movement of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

Also available for pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion). Listen here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

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2017

Two winter scenes

09:30

Soprano Saxophone Alto Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Baritone Saxophone

Two winter scenes was ironically written in the summertime, when I was longing for the change of season. I love all of the seasons, but there is something magical about wintertime, which I tried to at least partially encapsulate in these two short scenes. 

The first movement opens as if awakening from a deep sleep, as the faint light of the winter sun brings warmth to the cold earth. This movement is prayerful and wandering, the embodiment of a mind not yet weighed down by the promise of a long and cold day to come. 

The second movement, “snow begins to fall”, derives some thematic material from the first movement and recycles it in more angular and playful ways. I imagined short bursts of imagery as I wrote this movement: a snowball fight between neighborhood children, a weary father hauling sleds from the garage as his kids dance around him excitedly, a puppy experiencing its first snow with unbridled joy. 

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2015

Washed Away

08:30

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

There are times in our lives when we get so lost in our own thoughts that we are almost entirely out of touch with the physical world. Washed Away is the musical realization of this phenomenon. Staring out the window, one begins to reflect inward; scenes in the mind play as rain starts to fall outside.

Works

Large Ensemble

2025

Bassoon Concerto

20:00

Bassoon Harp Percussion String Orchestra

Work in progress.

Anticipated premiere by Zachary Feingold and the University of Delaware Symphony in the 25/26 season.

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2024

perennial

28:00

Flute Alto Flute Clarinet Bass Clarinet Electric Guitar Drum Set Violin Viola Cello Double Bass

perennial is a four-movement work with an interlude that is scored for violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric guitar, and drum set. This genre-elusive piece centers around perpetual cycles of growth and decay and explores verdant textures, wandering harmonies, and continuous pulse, all of which lead to inevitable disintegration.

i. overwinter - 5” (strings only)
resonant and light -- the earth rests.

ii. seedling : chrysalis - variable 5 – 6”
free and meditative, taking time to form -- bird song in a forest clearing.

interlude - 2” (bass clarinet only)
freely, a pause in time.

iii. braiding waters - 8”
gentle and unhurried -- wading into the river.

iv. into the soil - variable 5 – 6”
emerging, coming to life.

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2020

With what we could carry with us

14:30

Trombone Ensemble

Program note by Laura Lizcano.

We left our homes with what we could carry with us. Some of us brought two suitcases, some just a backpack, and some nothing but ourselves. All of us brought with us a mixture of the necessary things and the symbolic things. We preserve these sentimental items, like flies in the amber, because they remind us of our most precious memories of our lives in Venezuela.  A book a dear friend gave us. A rosary blessed by a beloved priest. A photograph of our grandmothers. A last homework assignment.These things we brought with us through each border that we crossed by plane, by boat, or by foot. And each border crossed is now a scar-- a reminder of a wound that is healing and a mark of the journey that placed us on strange land. All of us carry within us the collective memory of the land that we left behind, of the soil that we love. We dream of returning to a place that does not exist anymore except for in our memories and in our mundane, but precious things. How bittersweet  it is to know that over four million of us are the amber that trapped the old Venezuela. We preserved its beauty and brought it across the world, and while we are apart, we are connected by the land we all come from. 

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2016

Open Doors

05:45

Percussion Ensemble Piano

Imagine a completed thought as the action of a door opening and closing: the door opens when the mind processes a thought, and it closes when the mind has moved on to another idea. A person with OCD does not think this way; the door does not close, but remains open, flooding the mind with constant and repetitive information, resulting in ritualistic activity.

Open Doors is scored for 7 percussionists and 1 pianist.


Instrumentation:

Wood Blocks (five) - pitched 
Claves
Castanets
Tambourine 
Suspended Cymbal 
Tam-tam
Snare Drum 
Concert Bass Drum 
Cajon 
Marimba (five-octave) 
Vibraphone
Grand Piano 

Works

Youth & Non-Professional

2024

New Beginnings

04:00

Youth Orchestra

New Beginnings is a piece about possibility. When I first spoke to the students in the Germantown Friends School (GFS) orchestra to discuss what this piece could be about, they were all very excited about the new building currently being constructed on their campus. This new building would provide a space for interdisciplinary learning and would be open to the community, as well as provide new resources and class space. Construction was happening actively throughout the year I visited with GFS, so I was able to witness it firsthand. During one of my visits, the construction was literally happening on the adjacent wall to the rehearsal room - the sound was unbelievable, and I had to use a microphone to speak to the ensemble. 

In New Beginnings, I wanted to try and capture all of this into one piece: the excitement of the GFS students, the potential that comes with a new space, and the energy and activity that comes with the construction itself. The opening motive is inspired by the musical spelling of GFS: the notes G, F, and Eb (pronounced “es” in German), which I transposed and inverted throughout the piece. I wanted the melody itself to sound like a celebration of the GFS students, current and future.

The title was chosen by the students in the GFS orchestra in the 2024–2025 academic year.


Instrumentation:

Flute
Clarinet in Bb

Trumpet in Bb
Trombone

Percussion I: Marimba, vibraphone
Percussion II: Tambourine, triangle, glockenspiel
Percussion III: Bass Drum, suspended cymbal

Piano

Guitar - optional

Violin I
Violin II
Violin III - optional
Viola
Violoncello
Contrabass

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2023

See the moon and the stars

05:30

Wind Band

As an alum of the Pennsbury School District, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to compose a piece for PHS middle school bands. Through this piece, I wanted to introduce these young musicians to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), the earliest female composer of whom we have any record and a canonized Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church. In addition to being a prolific composer, Hildegard was also a writer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and medical practitioner – she was clearly a clever, talented, and dedicated artist of her time.

Like all composers in the Medieval Era, Hildegard wrote monophonic music, meaning that she composed melodies to be performed without any accompaniment. I chose an excerpt from her piece Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans (“The Holy Spirit gives life”), which served as the melodic basis for the entire piece. Hildegard’s music was typically performed in cathedrals and other sacred spaces, and so throughout the piece I try to manufacture this reverberant setting through the woodwinds by pushing and pulling the melody, asking some players to sustain while having others move on with the next few notes. The upbeat middle section provides a moment of levity and escapism – perhaps a summer fair at the next town over, the music wafting over to the abbey – before we once again return to Hildegard’s reverent melody, set more sparsely with solo woodwinds and percussion.

The title See the moon and the stars comes from Hildegard’s own words:

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think.”


Instrumentation

Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinets in Bb I & II
Bass Clarinet in Bb
Alto Saxophones I & II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Trumpets in Bb I & II
Horn in F
Trombones I & II
Euphonium
Tuba in Bb

Percussion I – V
1. Marimba
2. Wind Chimes, Snare Drum
3. III.Vibraphone
4. IV.Bass Drum, Suspended Cymbal
5. Triangle, Soprano Glockenspiel

Recording available upon request.

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2018

Volando sobre Neltume

06:00

String Orchestra

Volando sobre Neltume is intended to be a direct representation of the plane ride that I took during my visit to Panguipulli in southern Chile. The piece begins very softly and with a thin texture, only using half of the first violins, as the propellor on the front of the plane begins to spin. The texture gradually thickens as more violins join the sound, and the plane soon gains enough momentum to take off. The harmonies are a bit turbulent here, representing some fear and apprehension on my part, which is enhanced by the addition of the violas and cellos to form more dissonant chords. Eventually, as the full effect of the breathtaking landscape below begins to come into view, the sound of the propellors resolves and fades away; I feel myself enter a quasi-meditative state, as if I was floating above the beautiful mountains and lakes beneath me. The solo violin melody represents this pulling away from reality, and is intended to be performed out of time. The orchestra then layers the melody in a blended wash of sound as I fly over more of Panguipulli – the Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, the Schoshuenco volcano, and the Neltume town center – and any sense of passing time vanishes. Eventually, we begin to descend - the sound of the propellor returns very softly in the first violins, and the remaining strings flow through a series of reflective harmonies. These chords, in tandem with the sound of the propellor, convey that even though the trip has come to an end, the beauty of the journey will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

I am forever grateful for my time in Panguipulli, especially for the young musicians that I met in Neltume.

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2015

Fanfare for Winds

03:30

Wind Band

Also available for youth orchestra and commencement band.

Recording available upon request.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Youth Orchestra

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Works

Solo

2024

hover

Clarinet Electronics

06:00

hover was originally composed as a one-minute miniature for clarinetist David Dziardziel as part of the Community Commissions Initiative in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Composers Conference. The original title of this miniature was honest feedback. I liked this title as a way to illustrate the short soliloquy: a brief moment where questions were asked and given time to linger, rather than rush to find answers or move forward.

The opportunity to work with Sean Bailey that fall prompted me to revisit the piece and see what might happen in an expanded version with live electronics. Sean is an amazing clarinetist and electronicist, and together we worked to craft a dialogue between the live clarinet and processed sound that felt organic and immersive.

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2020

refract

Cello

04:00

Whenever I am practicing cello – and especially if I am supposed to be practicing something challenging – I often procrastinate by improvising melodies, which usually involves a lot of play with natural harmonics. This particular piece was borne entirely out of this kind of improvisation. To me, the fleeting opening gesture reminded me of light moving and refracting through different materials, perpetually ephemeral.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Violin

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2019

can't find the words

Tenor Saxophone Electronics

14:00

can’t find the words is about a struggle to verbally express difficult or complex experiences, the complications of memory, and the necessity of reframing our experiences so others might understand.


Technical Notes:

This piece uses Max/MSP, which acts mainly a system for audio playback with live reverb the runs throughout the entire piece. The entire piece should be played relatively freely and without a click. The live saxophone should be lightly amplified throughout the performance to contribute to a better mix of live and processed sound.


Equipment:
  • Laptop running Max/MSP

  • Audio interface with two channels out

  • Mic & mic stand with XLR 

  • One bluetooth or wired pedal for Max/MSP cues

  • Stereo house speakers

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2018

dreamwaking

Piano

09:00

The word dreamwaking is one that I created to define the state of being that exists early in the morning, when you are somewhere in-between sleep and wakefulness. I often wake up well before my alarm, and find myself drifting in and out of dreams, sometimes aware of my surroundings and sometimes not. The piece illustrates this transitory state by residing in a harmonic world that is somewhere between improvised and composed.

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2017

Rain

Cello Fixed Media

05:30

Works

Voice

2024

Centering Songs

Voice Piano

14:00

This collection of 10 songs was composed over the 2023–2024 season in collaboration with lyricist Rev. Kim Wildszewski. Each month, we would compose a new song together that centered around a monthly theme and an earth teacher, such as a nest, an acorn, or a pumpkin seed.

As Kim says in the forward to the collection:

"Being human is a sacred thing, and too often only considered cerebrally. These songs were created in an effort to reignite our relationship with the natural world, and to re-member ourselves as a part of that web."

The songs are intended to be performed through congregational singing and are therefore not written for any particular voice part.

I am happy to distribute a PDF copy of this collection in exchange for a donation in any amount to the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing.

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2023

songs

Soprano Alto Flute Bass Clarinet Violin Vibraphone

06:00

This short collection of songs is divided into five sections:

i. center
ii. first lullaby
iii. grasshopper
iv. tides
v. second lullaby

Soprano range: G3 to A5

I am very grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this work.

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2019

I know a god

Soprano Flute Clarinet Violin Percussion

06:00

Text:

I know a god I cannot believe in
Untamed, untethered
In my refusal

Still I feel it
Like a shadow having caught my body
At high noon

I have heard the name
It sings in silent places
Enough! I practice
Still I hear the name

Program Note:

The text for this piece is a poem written by Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski, a Unitarian Universalist minister who was raised in the faith. She is currently serving the congregation at the UU church in Titusville, NJ, where I worked as the church accompanist for several years. Each Sunday, I would spend part of the service improvising at the piano while Kim led meditations from the pulpit. We worked together effortlessly in this way: her words brought to life with my music, my music deepened through her words. After leaving the accompanist position in fall 2018, I asked Kim to send me a few poems to see if I might set one to music, and I know a god stood out to me immediately as the text I felt called to set. About this poem, Kim says: “I know a god is a reflection on reluctant theism and the way god has persistently shown up, released of the definitions, titles, personification, or dogma of traditional religion.”

I am grateful to the TAK Ensemble for workshopping and premiering this piece.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Soprano Flute Piano

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2018

O child

SATB

06:00

Text:

From anonymous source

O Child of Mary's tender care!




O little Child so pure and fair!




Cradled within the manger hay




On that divine first Christmas day!




The hopes of every age and race




Are centered in Thy radiant face!

O Child whose glory fills the earth!




O little Child of lowly birth!





The shepherds, guided from afar,




Stood worshiping beneath the star,




And wise-men fell on bended knee




And homage offered unto Thee!

O Child of whom the angels sing!




O little Child, our Infant King!




What balm for every sorrow lies




Within those clear, illumined eyes!




O precious gift to mortals given




To win us heritage in Heaven!

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Works

Chamber

2025

Into Orbit

Cello Duo

05:00

2023

inhabit

Flute Horn Cello

09:00

To inhabit yourself fully takes courage.

This work was created under the aegis of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and American Composers Forum, workshopped in Minnesota, originally recorded in Boonville, CA and virtually premiered in November 2023 by Rayo Furuta, Amr Selim, and Christine Lamprea.

Listen to the flute, clarinet, and cello version here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Cello

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2022

thread

Piano (four hands) Vibraphone (four hands)

14:30

A fine, gossamer strand, slowly unspooling.


Vibraphone, with motor (4-hands) + notched stick
Grand piano (4-hands)
+ tape from cassette
+ horsehair (or fishing wire, if not available)


This piece was composed for and premiered by Yarn/Wire.

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2022

Hold Tight

String Quartet

05:00

Hold Tight attempts to depict the sensation of trying to grasp on to something – physically or metaphorically – that keeps constantly shifting, changing shape, making it all the more challenging to hold on. 

The title “Hold Tight” comes from a mural in West Philadelphia by Steve Powers, just a few blocks away from where I lived for many years.

This piece was commissioned by Orchestra 2001.

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2021

Ensure Proper Drainage

Percussion Quartet

08:00

I got really interested in indoor plants during the pandemic. My collection grew from 3 or 4 plants – to 20 – to 50, in the span of a few months. There was something comforting (arguably, addicting) about watching something grow while the world outside had come to a halt. One element of plant care that I had to learn early on was how often to water my plants. It’s a common mistake to overwater, especially for first-time plant parents. We think that we’re helping our plants to grow by providing them with plenty of water, but more often than not, we’re actually drowning them and leeching them of essential nutrients. Plants need water and light to survive, and they also need to be potted in a way that allows them to drain excess water when we get overzealous. This allows the plant to self-regulate, and reduces the impact of our inevitable care mistakes.


Instrumentation
  • 4 flower pots. Pots should be roughly pitched from high to low, but don’t need to have specific pitches. The sound should ideally be complex and resonant. Pots will need to have one central drainage hole at the bottom.

  • 4 large glass (pyrex) mixing bowls, filled with water. Bowls should be big enough to dip upside-down flower pots in without touching the sides.

  • 4 triangles. Triangles should be roughly pitched from high to low - again, no specific pitches, but go for complexity and resonance.

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2021

four interludes

String Quartet

07:30

These interludes were composed for Laura Lizcano's 2022 album, "Daughter of the Sea". Recorded by the Daedalus Quartet.

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2020

...but not the words

Violin Viola Cello

04:00

“I often can scarcely hear a person if speaking low; I can distinguish the tones, but not the words […]”
– Letter to Franz Gerhard Wegeler, Beethoven’s childhood friend. Dated June 29, 1800: Vienna. 





Although he admitted to a few close friends that his hearing had severely declined, and complained often of a perpetual ringing or buzzing in his ears (indicating that he likely suffered from some form of tinnitus), Beethoven was ashamed of his deafness and was desperate to keep it a secret from the public. Many letters to a few close friends express his deep distress over his gradual hearing loss, and he often mentions the presence of a constant “ringing and buzzing” in his ears. It is both tragic and fascinating to imagine what Beethoven must have heard while listening to his own music during this steady decline; for this miniature, I chose to explore some ways in which his aural perception might have changed over time. The piece begins with the statement of a Beethovenian melody, which quickly devolves through the increasing prevalence of high harmonic partials, white noise, and general sonic instability.

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2020

untethered

Horn Quartet

09:00

The title untethered is taken from a poem written by a dear friend Rev. Kim Wildszewski, with whom I worked closely during my tenure as an accompanist at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. In May of 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Kim and her wife, Tara, suddenly lost their young son, Malcolm. The unbelievable tragedy of losing their child was amplified by the complications of the pandemic, as those of us who loved Malcolm were unable to gather or grieve together. 

It was shortly after this time that I was asked to write a horn quartet. Without consciously realizing that I was doing so, I processed much of what I was feeling in the wake of Malcolm’s death through writing this piece. It was only at the very end of the compositional process, when I came to the title untethered, that I realized this piece was for Malcolm.  There are moments in the piece of near-emptiness and scarcity, and others that feel more like a reflection of Malcolm’s vibrant spirit: a joyous toddler who loved music. 

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2019

words, contained: set ii

String Quartet

08:00

This piece is the second set of miniatures that I have composed inspired by words from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. This project by John Koenig attempts to encapsulate familiar but yet unnamed experiences by creating new words to describe them. About the project, Koenig writes:

"I think the act of naming something implies, very simply, that you’re not alone. We give names to things so we can talk about them. Once there’s a word for an experience, it feels contained somehow — and the container has a handle, which makes it much easier to pick up and pass around." 


The four words I chose for this set are:

opia:
The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.

chrysalism:
The amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly.

morii:
The desire to capture a fleeting experience.

ambedo:
A kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details  — raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee — briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.


Excerpts from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows are used with the permission of John Koenig.

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2018

Glimpse

Cello Marimba Vibraphone

05:30

Recording available upon request.

2017

Thirteen Ways

Clarinet Cello Piano

20:00

I wrote Thirteen Ways after taking a several month hiatus from composing, my longest-ever break since pursuing composition professionally. I had just graduated from my masters degree in composition, and was feeling very tired and a bit creatively lost. This piece came out of a place of patience, of allowing myself to take the time I needed to rejuvenate and find the joy of composing again. The piece illustrates each movement of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

Also available for pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion). Listen here.

Alternate
Instrumentation

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

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2017

Two winter scenes

Soprano Saxophone Alto Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Baritone Saxophone

09:30

Two winter scenes was ironically written in the summertime, when I was longing for the change of season. I love all of the seasons, but there is something magical about wintertime, which I tried to at least partially encapsulate in these two short scenes. 

The first movement opens as if awakening from a deep sleep, as the faint light of the winter sun brings warmth to the cold earth. This movement is prayerful and wandering, the embodiment of a mind not yet weighed down by the promise of a long and cold day to come. 

The second movement, “snow begins to fall”, derives some thematic material from the first movement and recycles it in more angular and playful ways. I imagined short bursts of imagery as I wrote this movement: a snowball fight between neighborhood children, a weary father hauling sleds from the garage as his kids dance around him excitedly, a puppy experiencing its first snow with unbridled joy. 

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2015

Washed Away

Flute Clarinet Violin Cello Piano Percussion

08:30

There are times in our lives when we get so lost in our own thoughts that we are almost entirely out of touch with the physical world. Washed Away is the musical realization of this phenomenon. Staring out the window, one begins to reflect inward; scenes in the mind play as rain starts to fall outside.

Works

Large Ensemble

2025

Bassoon Concerto

Bassoon Harp Percussion String Orchestra

20:00

Work in progress.

Anticipated premiere by Zachary Feingold and the University of Delaware Symphony in the 25/26 season.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2024

perennial

Flute Alto Flute Clarinet Bass Clarinet Electric Guitar Drum Set Violin Viola Cello Double Bass

28:00

perennial is a four-movement work with an interlude that is scored for violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric guitar, and drum set. This genre-elusive piece centers around perpetual cycles of growth and decay and explores verdant textures, wandering harmonies, and continuous pulse, all of which lead to inevitable disintegration.

i. overwinter - 5” (strings only)
resonant and light -- the earth rests.

ii. seedling : chrysalis - variable 5 – 6”
free and meditative, taking time to form -- bird song in a forest clearing.

interlude - 2” (bass clarinet only)
freely, a pause in time.

iii. braiding waters - 8”
gentle and unhurried -- wading into the river.

iv. into the soil - variable 5 – 6”
emerging, coming to life.

Email to Request Perusal Score

2020

With what we could carry with us

Trombone Ensemble

14:30

Program note by Laura Lizcano.

We left our homes with what we could carry with us. Some of us brought two suitcases, some just a backpack, and some nothing but ourselves. All of us brought with us a mixture of the necessary things and the symbolic things. We preserve these sentimental items, like flies in the amber, because they remind us of our most precious memories of our lives in Venezuela.  A book a dear friend gave us. A rosary blessed by a beloved priest. A photograph of our grandmothers. A last homework assignment.These things we brought with us through each border that we crossed by plane, by boat, or by foot. And each border crossed is now a scar-- a reminder of a wound that is healing and a mark of the journey that placed us on strange land. All of us carry within us the collective memory of the land that we left behind, of the soil that we love. We dream of returning to a place that does not exist anymore except for in our memories and in our mundane, but precious things. How bittersweet  it is to know that over four million of us are the amber that trapped the old Venezuela. We preserved its beauty and brought it across the world, and while we are apart, we are connected by the land we all come from. 

Email to Request Perusal Score

2016

Open Doors

Percussion Ensemble Piano

05:45

Imagine a completed thought as the action of a door opening and closing: the door opens when the mind processes a thought, and it closes when the mind has moved on to another idea. A person with OCD does not think this way; the door does not close, but remains open, flooding the mind with constant and repetitive information, resulting in ritualistic activity.

Open Doors is scored for 7 percussionists and 1 pianist.


Instrumentation:

Wood Blocks (five) - pitched 
Claves
Castanets
Tambourine 
Suspended Cymbal 
Tam-tam
Snare Drum 
Concert Bass Drum 
Cajon 
Marimba (five-octave) 
Vibraphone
Grand Piano 

Works

Youth & Non-Professional

2024

New Beginnings