Selected Recordings

“Thursday Every Day is an experiment in combining traditional rhythmic textures and the rhythmic and pitch material that is inherent in words and phrases. The piece is an attempt to answer a central question: can speech be heard as music and interact with traditional musical content much like another musical voice? The text is meant as commentary as a TA and graduate during the Covid-19 pandemic, taken directly from emails and conversations I had over the year prior to writing. ”

“Method is a dramatization and distillation of the way I engage with composition. I feel a particular duty to create works that are accessible, full of the complex harmony and freedom of texture that characterizes modern music, but without creating a complexity that might be inaccessible. I feel that truly effective music connects with its audience in a way that is meaningful to them as individuals. Truly effective music meets people where they are. The four movements of Method reflect the different components that I contend with in trying to write effective music.”

“Presented in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz and the Del Sol string quartet (with percussionist Chris Froh) at the April in Santa Cruz new music festival.

Program note:
Pluviophile (n): a lover of rain;someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

Petrichor (n): a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

Heliotrope: (n) a plant that turns to face the sun as it grows. ”

“Gunpowder, Sulfur, Skybursts is a piece in which the soloist is continuously recorded. These recordings are played back every two minutes through transducers fitted to the drumheads. The intended effect is to imitate the cacophonous sound of a sky filled with fireworks.”