Chamber Works
0,1,5 (2017-2018)
To put it bluntly and boldly, “0,1,5” is as close of a work as I could possibly come to composing twentieth century music… without actually composing twentieth century music (in order to preserve my sanity, for lack of better terms).
“0,1,5” experiments with duel elements of twentieth century serialism (i.e. the use of Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system), yet the work still maintains sense of tonality and “more desirable” content. Therefore, the idea is that these two contrasting musical ideas juxtapose one another and butt heads throughout the work. The “0,1,5” represents the atonal clock system with the first three notes of the piece, where 0 represents “F,” 1 represents “F#,” and 5 represents Bb.” These three notes are heard in variation throughout the entire work.
So while there is a system of chaos and dysfunction (twentieth century musical elements), the unseen rules of organization work their way in to balance out the chaos and create a sense of structure (eighteenth-nineteenth century musical elements). A term to define this would be “controlled chaos.”
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (2015-2016)
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a poem by the famous Welsh composer, Dylan Thomas (1947). It is one of his final works (and arguably his most famous work), prior to his death in 1953. The poem is a powerful work, implementing a sense of “life eternal.” It invokes us to be strong and bold, even in our final days of life. That even when “grave men” are near death, they shall rage against death and burn with eternal life.
An original rendition of this work was composed in 2015 for a compressed wind ensemble and vocal baritone solo. However, as I went back and re-orchestrated many elements of the piece for contest submissions, I decided to do away with the original orchestration and compress it down to twelve musicians; in addition, I also substituted typical wind band instrumentation (saxophones, trombones, trumpets, etc.) for strings.
Finlano (Marimba Quartet) (2017)
There is something pleasant and rich about mallet percussion, particularly marimba works. Having played a series of marimba quartets throughout my life with friends and colleagues, I decided to write one for a non-degree Composition Recital in the Fall of 2017.
“Finlano” is a 6/8 style dance that travels through various cycles of overlapping polyrhythms. While direct, short, and sweet to the point, “Finlano” is designed to be an exhilarating rhythmic journey that offers both technical challenges and equally memorable musical ideas.
Oh, and for those wondering what the word “Finlano” means, it is one of the greatest mysteries of musical school at Youngstown State University.
Good (Vibe)rations (Duet for Vibraphone and Cajon) (2018)
Don’t you just love God-awful puns?
“Good (Vibe)rations is a percussion duet with an ABA like form. The opening and closing sections (A) feature the vibraphone soloist playing through a series of chord progressions with an overarching melody line. Then, in a major character shift, the vibraphone and cajon establish a groove motive in the middle section (B).