Time Moves On expresses the hope for resurrection. The interplay between the melancholy death theme and the warm and humorous life theme give both the reflection on the true focus of life, and the future that awaits those who hope in the next life.
This piece is dedicated to my Aunt Mary Lynn.
Interested in performing Time Moves On?
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Performances:
October 29, 2014 [Premiere], Brigham Young University Symphonic Band.
Sleep Dances expresses the idea of brain waves during the sleeping process. The piece begins with Beta Waves, which are found during activity, then progresses to Alpha Waves, Theta Waves (and K-spindles), and finally into Delta Waves.
Interested in performing Sleep Dances?
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Performances:
Thoughtsketches features an open-ended structure that allows for improvisation. This technique is largely explored by Christian Asplund, who I studied with at the time. The first movement, Canonic Perception, has a line of text that is read by the performers at the rhythm of their choice, but within a tapped tempo. It proceeds in a round.
Synesthesia provides a uniquely colored chromatic scale for each performer. The vocalist has a list of colors with associated words to vocalize. The instrumentalists play within the limits of the colored notes according to which color they feel matches the word.
Interested in performing Thoughtsketches?
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Performances:
A setting of the text of the same name by Federico García Lorca, Romance Sonambulo explores the relationships of words and ideas within the poet's bleak yet beautiful text. Lorca contrasts the joys of nature to the persecutions of the Gypsies shortly before the Spanish Civil War. For this and other poems seeking social change, Lorca was later assassinated.
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Performances:
Written with office sounds and inspired by photographs of volcanic magma.
Interested in having Molten Sepulchres performed?
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Performances:
January 11, 2014. [Premiere], Utah Xtalk.
for string quartet
A Faraday Cage allows a safe area from currents or transmissions. For example, when lightning strikes an automobile, the driver will not be shocked, being in the vehicle. The driver is surrounded by the charge—being inside the conductive material; however, the car acts as a Faraday Cage and isolates its interior from outside forces. A musical example would be a safe haven from radio or telecommunication, an isolation from outside noises.
The piece is symbolic of the battle between the outside influences and voices that the world has to offer and the subtle, yet sublime inner peace that comes from following the values that resonate in the heart. Each part yearns for inner peace while surrounded by the dissonance of its opposing parts. Allusions to early chant music echo the search for peace that comes from hearkening to the ancient and eternal truths revealed by God. The unison ending refers to the ultimate finding of tranquility through God.
Interested in performing RF ISOLATION: Faraday Cage?
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Performances: