The following is a list of some of my compositions. None of these pieces has been officially published, and some have never even been played by live musicians (but hopefully one day...). Each piece description includes the title, year composed, instrumentation, kind of ensemble (if it was written for a particular kind of ensemble), duration, and some brief program notes. The pieces are listed in order of composition, most recent to least recent.
4K Run on an Airport Tarmac (2006)
fl; cl; perc (vib, snare dr, bass dr); pno; vln; vc [Pierre Lunaire sextet]
Duration: c. five and a third minutes
A much more minimalist piece than some of the others. The name comes from Morse Code "translations" of the central rhythmic motifs.
Machine Wash Warm (2004-2005, revised later 2005)
fl, t sax, pno, eb
Duration: c. three minutes
Written in a vaguely rondo form, this piece's name comes from the fact that when I turned on the note color feature on Sibelius, the notes looked pretty dark, and if one were to wash them, then...
Overtones of a Crystalline Expression (2004, revised 2005)
fl, cl, gtr, kybd (e pno & pno)
Duration: c. 4 and half minutes
A pair of reasonably tonal (though harmonically different) sections are linked by a grungy, dissonant development section. Though originally conceived for flute and electric piano, this piece's instrumentation was expanded in the course of its composition.
Clash of the Theories (2003-04)
cl, kybd (B3 organ)
Duration: variable (premiere lasted c. 4 1/3 minutes)
An A-B-A-B piece (solos are just over the A-B). The A section has a bass ostinato, chordal accompaniment, and a melody, all of which don't quite mesh harmonically. The B section is, in its core, tonal, but the progression is somewhat random, as reminder that theories sometimes agree in unexpected ways.
The Hunt (2003)
glock, xyl, vib, mar [mallet quartet]
Duration: c. 4 minutes
With an roughly an A-B-A-B form, this piece has a chorale (to tie it with the other symphonic section chamber pieces I have written), some very minimalist-y B sections, and a Bartók night music section.
Seya i Quii (Song of the Night) (2003)
Version 1: vib, gtr, synth (e pno and str pad), eb, drums
Version 2: pno (solo)
Duration: c. 4 1/2 minutes
What starts out as another étude on stasis turns into a journey of several differment moods, though the ostinato is never far from the foreground. Written in response to the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
After the Fires (2002)
2 fl-2 ob-2 cl-1 t sx-2 bsns/4 hn-2 trpt-2 trb-euph-tba/timp-2 perc/pno/strings [orchestra]
Duration: c. 4 and half minutes
My final project for CMP 251, Fundamentals of Orchestration, this piece was somewhat of a sequel to Xeriscape (see below), reusing some melodic and harmonic elements (though it's pretty obscure), plus some textural ideas. The fires in the title refer to the fires that raged in Colorado during the summer of 2002.
Partial Derivatives (2002)
a sx, bari sx, perc (brake dr, 2 cowb, w bl)
Duration: c. 3 minutes
A wild, high energy piece that is partially derived from works of several of my favorite composers (well, maybe not the Purcell quote).
Shades of Weird (2002)
perc 1 (glock, sus. cym.); perc 2 (vib, t-t); elec gtr; eb
Duration: 5 and a half minutes
A shimmering piece, complete with wonderful dissonant polyphony and an A-B-C-D-E form.
Xeriscape (2001-2002, rev. 2003)
2 fl-ob-3 cl-1 b cl-bsn/2 a sx-t sx-bari sx/4 trpt-4 hn-4 trbn-euph-tba/5 perc [wind ensemble/symphony]
Duration: about 5 minutes, 45 seconds
An A-B piece with the an austere, fragmented, twelve-tone based A section, and a B section that is a flowing, chromatic trip through various modes with a descant melody. The title refers to the practice of landscaping one's lawn with water conservation in mind, something that is becoming more common in Colorado to deal with water shortage. (The word was invented by the Denver Water Board in 1981.)
It's a Clean Machine (2001)
trpt I, trpt II, hn, trbn, tba [brass quintet]
Duration: slightly over 2 minutes
A bit of everything: a melody over a syncopated groove, a chorale, a nocturne-like section, and a (quasi-)canon.
Static or Dynamic? (2001)
fl, ob, cl, bsn [woodwind quartet]
Duration: slightly under 3 minutes
A brief piece, with 4 scenes, featuring all the tetrachords with flat interval vectors.
En chômage (2001)
gtr, synth, eb, drumset [rock band]
Duration: 2 minutes
A rock piece that has, in lieu of screaming lyrics, a twelve-tone basis. (For the linguists familiar with Relational Grammar: The piece is so oblique that it is en chômage)
4351 (2001, orchestration 2003)
reeds (cl, a sax), mallets (vib mar), kybds (pno, e org), gtr, cb
Duration: about 5 minutes
A twelve-tone piece, but stylistically shares more in common with neo-classicism and minimalism (there's some jazz in there, too). In 5 scenes. The title refers to the first 4 notes.
Here Come the Cats (2001)
Instrumentation variable, originally scored for fl, cl, a sax, trpt, trbn, gtr, pno, bass, drumset
Duration: variable
A jazz piece with a blues basis influenced by the first movement of Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements. The title is derived from something the conductor said during a rehearsal of this Stravinsky piece, when the University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra played it in spring 2001.
(*) (2001) (pronounced "star")
vln, vla, vc, cb, pno
Duration: c. 6 and half minutes
A process piece of A-B-C form, shifting between dissonance and consonance. The title comes from the Differential Equations class I took, where the professor would habitually call the first equation of note in the lecture (*).
It Lightnings Dreamily (2000)
perc I (snare drum, sus cym, woodblock, low tom); perc II (mar, vib); pno; gtr; cb
Duration: 3 minutes
An A-B-C piece that starts very quietly and moves to a raucous and loud ending.
Perdu (Lost) (2000)
alto fl, bass cl, pno, vln, vc [Pierre Lunaire sextet]
Duration: about 4 minutes
A another A-B-A piece with a slow A-section with several solos and a fast ensemble B-section, in a style somewhat reminiscient of the impressionistic composers.
Doug's Mood (2000)
Insturmentaion variable, originally scored for fl, cl, a sax, trpt, trbn, gtr, pno, bass, drumset
Duration: variable
Dissonant minimalism meets the blues.
Comme une rêve (Like a Dream) (1999)
fl; cl; perc (mar, vib, roto-toms); pno; vln; vc [Pierre Lunaire sextet]
Duration: about 4 minutes
An A-B-A piece with fast multi-meter A sections and an impressionistic B-section, featuring the C half-whole octatonic scale.
Like Day in Night or Night in Day (1999)
timp; perc; mar; vib; kybds I (elec. piano, synth); kybds II (cel, pno); gtr; eb; 2 vlas; 2 vcs
Duration: about 5 and half minutes
An extended piece which was a musical response to taking a job delivering papers, somewhat influenced by the favorites tape I would listen to while I did that job.
Note: I use eb (for electric bass) for scores specifying the guitar-like bass instrument, cb (for contrabass) for scores specifying the so-called upright bass (in various jazz or classical settings), and bass for scores that could use either one.