Currently there are three works which occupy my daily composing schedule:
Little Night Creatures is a piece for soprano saxophone and vibraphone. In these whimsical episodes, I endeavor to create a handful of imagined ‘creatures’.There’s no telling who or what these creatures are; essentially it’s really up to each listeners imagination. As is the case with several of my other works, the musical materials are derived from a ‘palette’ of motivic materials. This includes interchangeable pitch and rhythmic materials. It is my hope to make Creatures both technically challenging as well as artistically rewarding for both performer and listener.
The Three Princes is an adaption of a Grimm’s fairy tale for brass quintet and narrator. Although this is one of the brother’s lesser known stories, the tale is filled with magic and adventure. From the composer’s standpoint, there are a lot of intriguing materials to work with including everything from encountering a swarm of bees to discovering an enchanted castle with a beautiful princess.The Three Princes is sure to captivate listeners both young and old alike. At the same time, the piece promises to be a lot of fun for members of the quintet to perform!
Trio ( the working title so far)for oboe,cello and piano is the third of my current projects.The piece is being written for Sarah Fraker, Professor of Oboe at the University of Arizona. Prior to this work, Sara has performed the premieres of my Pastorals with the Paloma Wind Quintet and Lyric Passages for Oboe and string trio (violin, viola and cello) a piece which was premiered at the International Double Reed Society Conference in Tempe, Arizona.The current trio contains some of the same features as Pastorals and Lyric with a particular focus on the use of the ‘singing’, lyrical qualities of each instrument. What’s more,Trio is also is a bit of a departure from the other aforementioned pieces in terms of its approach to form and harmony. It is my hope that Trio will have its first performance some time in 2015.