Compositions
List of Works
My parents (a cellist and a violist) learned Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Duo in E flat major for viola and cello, a piece also dubbed “Eyeglasses” as Beethoven’s way of joking with his near-sighted cellist friend. I wrote this piece as a fun pairing, naming it “Sunglasses,” because my parents still rock out. This piece is dedicated to them for giving me my start on my musical journey.
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Evening Surf (2022)
For Clarinet, Violin, Violoncello, and Piano
4 minutes, 30 seconds
Performed by
NotaBene Chamber Group:
Yuri Nemivrowskyi, clarinet
Maksym Grischenko, violin
Artem Poludennyi, violoncello
Roman Lopatynskyi, piano
This piece was named “Evening Surf” for the way it ebbs and flows between loud and soft, bright and dark, harsh and pleasant – giving mind to the dynamic soundscape out on the water and the vivid colors of the fading light.
The theme of the 2022 International Summer Academy of Music was the musical language of George Crumb (1929-2022), an American composer who passed away this year. Written for this festival, “Evening Surf” utilizes his love of symmetrical scales and harmonies.
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Wind Wrought River (2022)
For SATB divisi and Piano
5 minutes, 45 seconds
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Midi demo
After five days of traveling through Utah’s national parks, the imagery of water and stone seemed a fitting allegory for the shaping of wisdom. The sometimes rigid way we view the world when young is crucial in giving the secure foundation needed for development, but with the introduction into a larger world full of new perspectives and influences, some of this security is lost. A new dimension of ambiguity is entered as once self-evident answers are questioned and need to be realized for oneself– and it can be grudgingly painful to discover that not all questions have answers. However, it is with the discomfort of uncertainty that wisdom is found.
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The Tiger and the Little Bear:
A Fantasy Cantata (2022)
For Chamber Orchestra, Two Sopranos, and Tenor
25 minutes, 30 seconds
Libretto by the Composer
Performance of Select Movements:
II. Duet: Second Place Again
IV. Aria: Sleep, Sleep Ever Deep
Performed by
The Washington State University Symphony Orchestra
Kayla Ray, soprano
Sarah Smith, soprano
Bryce Weber, baritone
Performance of Select Movement from the Vocal Score:
II. Duet: Second Place Again
Performed by
Sarah Smith, soprano
Bryce Weber, baritone
Elena Panchenko, piano
The Tiger and the Little Bear is a fantastical story written in the style of the Grimm fairy tales. Many modern tellings of these stories are quite tame in comparison to the nonchalant gruesomeness that is common in the originals. This cantata tells a story in this manor with an odd mix of light-hearted fantasy and dark consequentialism.
The cantata is a genre that originated is Italy during the Baroque period. Many aspects of this work are specifically modeled after the Italian solo chamber cantata which was traditionally performed unstaged in intellectual clubs known as academies. In comparison to opera, which was also developing at this time, cantatas tended to be more experimental, particularly in the recitative. In addition, while the main purpose of opera was to entertain, cantatas were intended to stimulate thought. In emulation of this, the libretto’s main theme is symbolized with “a bright blue sky; a crimson creek.” The main character, the tiger, must make some difficult decisions on how to protect her domain from the ever-encroaching presence of humans.
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Pricing includes multiple copies for ensemble members
Full Score, Parts, and Vocal Score: $423.38
Movements III. and IV. are written for four hands but can be played by one person for rehearsal purposes.
Room with Sink (2021)
For Soprano Saxophone, Violincello, Percussion (Marimba and Vibraphone), and Piano
5 minutes, 30 seconds
Midi and performance audio demo
“Room with Sink” won first place in The Joseph Dorfman Memorial Composer’s Competition at the International Summer Academy of Music in 2021. The piece is based on the painting “Room with Sink” by Ben Willikens, the 20th and 21st century German painter known for his stimulating geometrical representations of interior designs. The painting depicts an empty room with a tile floor, a single window, and a simple porcelain sink. In my interpretation of the painting there are two layers of meaning represented in the piece with an ABA’ ternary form. First, there is a literal depiction of the sink in the A sections, with a fast eighth note motive introduced by the marimba and representing a leaky faucet. In the B section I slow down to reflect on the emotive implications of the painting. The subject matter is very mundane, but at the same time possesses a simple beauty. It is a reminder that beauty is not solely a proponent of grandiose views and passionate romances, but is also present in the sun shining through a living room at just the right angle or in a single blade of grass against an otherwise barren field.
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Makakai (2020)
For Wind Quintet
17 minutes
Performed by
Dr. Sophia Tegart, flute/piccolo
Dr. Keri McCarthy, oboe
Dr. Shawn Copeland, clarinets
Dr. Martin King, horn
Dr. Javier Rodriguez, bassoon
Although born in Oklahoma, the composer spent the first seventeen years of his life in Hilo, Hawai’i where he grew up within walking distance of the surf
beach Honoli’i. The naming of this piece is based on the memories associated
with his childhood home, 18 Makakai Place. His earliest memory of music is falling asleep under his father’s chair as his parents and their friends played string quartets in the open screen living room.
I. Sunrise
The post-card-brilliant red sunset is the imagery many people envision when
picturing Hawai’i. However, a Hilo sunrise is very different. Its colors are a soft pink and blue which harmonize with a dense green rainforest and a dark rolling ocean. Crisp beams of sun breaking through the rainclouds.
II. Norfolk
In the front yard was a Norfolk pine. The composer would often climb this tall,
beautiful, and resilient conifer to over a hundred feet high where the
wind steadily swayed the trunk and branches. The bark was ruff and the
branches were thin. Numerous abrasions were inevitable from each expedition.
III. Ocean Mist
Makakai translates as “ sea washed” or “ the spray of surfing waves.” 1 Ever
present in the air is a soft humidity and the smell of the ocean. While this
combination increases the rate of wood rot, rust, and mold, the warmth and
ocean are also a source of life, symbolized by the constant movement and
energy of the waves.
1 Pukui, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English English-Hawaiian. Rev. Ed. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2020. http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0ped-000Sec–11haw-50-20-frameset- book–1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0.3.7&toc=0.
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Three Miniature Waltzes (2019)
For Solo Piano
6 minutes, 15 seconds
Performed by Jan Roberts
Character suites were a staple of the Romantic period, particularly in piano repertoire such as with Robert Schumann’s The Carnaval. The character suite is a collection of short movements each of which describes an extramusical concept with a compact singular affect. The theme of this brief character suite is of small mythological creatures: I. The Dwarf, II. The Elf, and III. The Pixie.
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Conversations (2019)
For Solo Piano
8 minutes
I. Dialogue
II. Monologue, Part One
III. Monologue, Part Two
Performed by Trevor Natiuk
This piece is a musical representation of the communication between two individuals. In “Dialogue,” the tone shifts frequently as two speakers play off each other’s words. At the end, a consensus has been reached; the opening melody is played in the parallel major key, signifying the culmination of ideas. In the two subsequent monologues, each speaker has the chance to iterate a unified idea in a prepared monologue that elaborates on a single theme for the whole movement.
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Fáinne Geal an Lae (2018)
For String Quartet
10 minutes
Theme, Variation I. “I Wandered Through the Townlands”
Variation II. “I Met a Beautiful Maid”
Variation III. “In the Dew She Looked so Fair”
Variation IV. “She Sat by My Side”
Variation V. “Please Go Away”
Performed by
Hannah Schafer, violin I
Noni Patchett, violin II
Nicole Leach, viola
Brandon Rittenour, violoncello
Originally sung in Gaelic, Fáinne Geal an Lae [fanja gæl ən lɛi] or “The
Dawning of the Day” is a traditional Irish tune which today is more commonly paired with the poem, “Raglan Road.” The original poem is a comic balled about a fair maiden who rejects the affections a local rake. The tale begins at dawn when a dissolute man takes a stroll through the countryside. As he admires the beauty of the landscape, he meets a fair maiden. Following a lengthy description of her fine features and a brief conversation, he asks if she will stay with him forever. She responds simply, “please go away.” Each variation in this piece chronologically outlines the story with lines from the poetry.
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