metatation (2014) for solo vibraphone and percussion

I wrote this piece as an experiment to bring some of my favorite musical styles together, despite their very different aesthetic properties.  My goal was to combine elements of serialism, minimalism, aleatoric, and tonal (“classical”) music into one cohesive piece of music that emphasized how these styles can work together, rather than in opposition to one another.  metatation is scored for vibraphone, tuned gongs, crotales, desk bells, and a large tam tam.

picidae (2014) for six or more percussionists

picidae was inspired by a woodpecker that took up residence outside of my wife and I’s bedroom for about 6 weeks in the spring of 2014.  The piece is largely indeterminate, drawing on the influence of John Cage by asking the players to use chance operations to create their individual parts, as well as leaving instrument choice largely in the hands of the performers.  However, this particular piece does have a strong programmatic element that many of Cage’s pieces do not, as I attempted to depict the early morning sounds of the woodpecker.

confluence (2012) for three percussionists

confluence was written after a casual conversation with my friends from So Percussion. After a heated debate about the longest rivers in the United States, which was eventually resolved using the all-knowing Wikipedia, I got to thinking about the importance of rivers in the development of modern society.  I used the geography of the rivers as a basis for the piece, along with a few other simple parameters.  You can check out a score sample HERE.

hawthorn (2012) for solo percussion

One of my first compositions, hawthorn uses five graduated drums to explore the idea of process and layering in music.  I wrote this piece while I was at MASS MoCA for the 2012 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, and it takes its inspiration from Sol Lewitt’s “Wall Drawing 422” (seen above).  I found the connections between Lewitt’s conceptual art and modern percussion performance to be quite fascinating, and have been interested in his work ever since.  You can check out a score sample HERE.