Chamber and Ensemble

Commissioned by the Catalyst Quartet's "Minute Project", I found inspiration for this short work by the world's gradual emergence after sheltering in place during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

This arrangement of the first section of the string quartet Home was commissioned by Conspirare for their House of Belonging recording on the Delos label.

The refugee crisis in Europe, documented in recent media by horrific stories and photos of displaced families, led me to compose Home.

When Daniel Ching of the Mirò Quartet asked me to write a quartet for a program he was planning exploring ‘the lighter side of America’, I wasn’t sure I could deliver.

I have always held a deep fascination for the sea and for all things maritime: the harbor sounds and smells of shipping business, the slap of waves against anchored hulls, the elegant dance of sea plants floating beneath the docks, the distant clang of bells, the taste of salty wind.

Trio Variations was commissioned by Constance Cone as a birthday gift to her husband Mike.

I wrote Simaku in the summer of 1996 for the then Elm City Ensemble (now Antares) while attending the fellowship program at Tanglewood.

A couple of music critics have recently asked me whether I believe there is cultural relevancy in using old forms like the symphony and the concerto, and why do I employ these tired old forms in my work?

Three Nocturnes was commissioned by the Verdehr Trio and Michigan State University.

Traveler was commissioned by the Chamber Soloists of Austin (Texas) and premiered in April 2003.

Ritual Protocol was composed for Makoto Nakura, after study of ritual music in various cultures.

Quintet for piano and strings (affectionately titled The Red Snapper Quintet) was commissioned by Robert Freeman and members of his family in loving memory of his father, Henry Freeman (1909-97).

Living Frescoes was inspired Bill Viola’s 2002 art installation Going Forth by Day, a series of five looped digital “frescoes” which explore themes of human existence: individuality, society, death, rebirth.

When Daniel Ching of the Mirò Quartet asked me to write a quartet for a program he was planning exploring ‘the lighter side of America’, I wasn’t sure I could deliver.

Lento Assai was commissioned by the Cypress Quartet as part of its Call and Response commissioning project, a program through which composers write works inspired by masterpieces in the standard repertoire.

It was a great pleasure to find occasion to write once more for the bass-baritone Timothy Jones, who in 2002 premiered my first work for voice, Einstein on Mercer Street, based on the poetry of Fleda Brown.

The opening bears a strong Baroque influence, though the simple “short-long” motive in the piano recurs incessantly throughout the movement and may have its roots in the second movement of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, Le Gibet.

In the summer of 2001, I talked to Fleda Brown about the idea of a project involving a set of poems written especially for use in a musical composition.

Based on a earlier piece for string quartet, Elegy was written for the Bay Brass in 2009.

ark Vigil was a reaction to the unrelenting pattern of violence that plagued our country’s elementary and high schools during the year it was written, 1999.

Continuo was one of twenty-five fanfares commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in 1995 and marked my first professional commission.

Composed in the summer of 2001, And Legions Will Rise is about the power in all of us to transcend during times of tragedy and personal crisis.

Each night on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the immense volcano Haleakala sleeps soundly by the light of moon until around three AM when several dozen tourists create an unbroken parade of headlights along the long and winding drive to the summit.

My Concerto for Oboe and Strings was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra for their “Prelude” concert series.