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"Listening Through an Open Door," originally for the JACK Quartet, is a reflection on the occurrence of sounds and noises that surround us from day to day. These sounds are mostly second nature to our ears and we often do not notice their existence. However, these sounds can also be quite intrusive and disruptive to our natural ability to hear rhythms within our daily soundscape. This version has been orchestrated for the NYU Symphony Orchestra. 

“No Longer There, But Here,” for symphony orchestra, is a piece that is very personal to both myself and my family. I began writing the original theme, based on a series of falling thirds, around the time of my grandmothers death. It was a hard time for me and I naturally turned to music as an outlet of emotions. The piece, however, would be put aside for quite a few years before I returned to it in 2014 to finish what I had started. Reflecting on the events, and the music I had written, I noticed that by adding just a few notes to the original theme it gave me the “Dies Irae” theme from traditional Gregorian Chant. Over the development of the piece I built a theme and variations based on both the original theme and the “Dies Irae” theme passed between various voicings and styles. At the conclusion of the piece the opening chorale returns while struggling to speak within the thick texture of movement within the brass and winds. The texture slowly thins allowing the chorale to speak with the final reiteration of the theme presented for the first time as a major third interval.

Shadow Evolutions (2013) 

Instrumentation: Two Solo Percussion with Symphony Orchestra 

Duration: 23:30

Commissioned by the North Shore Symphony Orchestra

"Shadow Evolutions" (Duo Concerto no. 1 for two percussionists and symphony orchestra) is an intense and dramatic work consisting of life’s two most common characteristics; good and evil. From beginning to end, the piece unfolds revealing the deep evolution of these characteristics and their existence parallel to one another within our world.

SACRIFICE (2012)

Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble

Duration: 10:20

Nocturnal Sunset (2011)

Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble

Duration: 7:30

Large Ensemble | Chamber Ensemble | Chamber Percussion | Percussion Ensemble | Solo

are we not drawn onward to new era? (2017)

Instrumentation: Cello Sextet

Duration: 4'15''

"are we not drawn onward to new era?" is a short interlude with a focus on experimenting with palindromes in music. A palindrome is a word, phrase or sequence that is read exactly the same forwards as it is backwards. This piece, both in title and in structure, is just that. This idea is not new to music as the first composer to do this was Haydn in his Symphony no. 47. Following a similar structure I've created a piece that reaches a middle point, at rehearsal mark E, and flips on itself to create an exact mirror image. It is important for the performers to note that the dynamics written are extremelly important to create emphasis on the middle point of the piece. Through density of scoring and a gradual increase in dynamics the middle point is also the loudest moment that occurs within the music. The phrase there should be performed quite aggressively and with a lot of energy.

During a time period of my life, from 2014 through 2016, I spent much of my time commuting to and from New York City as well as within New York City. Hurry Up - Wait, written for Washington Square Winds, is a reflection of time spent during various time periods within my typical daily schedule. Although the music is not designed to tell a story, each movement of the piece is meant to reflect different moods and emotions that I have come to associate with the idea of my own personal "New York Minute."

This I Am Sure Of, for Saxophone and Percussion, is dedicated to my best friend and loving fiancée, Kayla Ann Dempsey. The initial melodic and harmonic content of the piece was created by using a custom musical cryptogram that assigned each letter of the alphabet to specific pitches. Using this cryptogram I selected a few names, locations and dates that are important to our relationship. Using these short melodic fragments I expanded the texture of the piece by filling in the gaps and adding supportive harmony.

“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” – Walt Whitman

“On Water and Land” for the NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble is an exploration of soundscapes created by the unique instrumentation used within the piece. Combining traditional orchestral elements alongside the use of some more contemporary techniques, a gently flowing transition from one texture to another is created. The piece is originally inspired by Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman combines a balance between swelling “water” tones and heavily rhythmic earthy, or “land” tones.

"Push Stop. To Go" had presented itself at a time when daily life was beginning to be a rather monotonous and repetitive pattern. From commuting on the train to sitting in class, spending time in a practice room and teaching lessons, there was nothing to break-up my own daily tendencies. The commission for Bent Frequency would lend itself to being the first of many plans "outside the box," a reflection on my own actions to stop daily patterns and push beyond previous capabilities. 

"Listening Through an Open Door," for the JACK String Quartet, is a reflection on the occurrence of sounds and noises that surround us from day to day. These sounds are mostly second nature to our ears and we often do not notice their existence. However, these sounds can also be quite intrusive and disruptive to our natural ability to hear rhythms within our daily soundscape.

Also available for: Symphony Orchestra

What Is ... (2015)

Instrumentation: Violin, Clarinet (Bb) and Piano

Duration: 5'00''

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"What Is ..." is a high energy experiment in a theme and variations. The theme, heard between rehearsal marks A and B, is more textural rather than melodic. The structure of this theme, and it's variations, also rely on a few sub-themes within the texture. The two sub-themes, parallel minor 3rd / minor triads and a pattern of half and whole steps, can be heard throughout the entire work both on the surface and buried within the structure.

"Whirlwind", as the name implies, is a flourish of melodic lines dancing over a driving bass line motif. A burst of energy from start to finish, in the moto perpetuo style, keeps the players in constant motion until the gradioso chorale-like conclusion. Light and lively this short piece of music is perfect to break up your program. The World Premiere of Whirlwind, done by the Washington Square Winds, is in the woodwind quintet version. Originally written for piano, Whirlwind has since been arranged for many ensemble settings including woodwind quintet, saxophone quartet, and percussion ensemble.

Dark Paradise (2012)

Instrumentation: Solo Vibraphone + Solo Soprano (voice)

"Dark Paradise" is a modern take on the Dies Irae from traditional mass text. Opposed to a traditional setting this is written more intimately with only two performers and a few verses of the english text translation from the Dies Irae. Stage setting and mood make this an interesting and modern take on a traditional form. 

Nightlights (2012)

Instrumentation: Two Flutes + Piano

"Nightlights" is a modern version of a nocturne that plays on the original sense of the musical form. Traditionally a nocturne is night music, however, "Nightlights" mixes the idea of a nocturne with the idea of a young child at rest; Nothing but the shadows on the walls within their line of sight.

Aubade no. 2 (2012)

Instrumentation: Solo Bb Clarinet + Piano accompaniment

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"Aubade no. 2" is a short etude designed to be playful and light in style. An Aubade, in definition, is something pertaining to the morning and sunrise. An etude similar to a nocturne in style but opposite from a nocturne in mood.

Large Ensemble | Chamber Ensemble | Chamber Percussion | Percussion Ensemble | Solo

The idea of this piece began with the imagery of a painting being folded several times, until just a small piece of it was visible. What you would be able to see at this point presents a very small amount of information about the painting until you begin to unfold it, slowly revealing more information about the larger image. This imagery was used to first create a motive and then break it down into it’s smallest fragments. As the piece unfolds more of the big picture is revealed while the very first small details are still present. Although the end of the piece completes the image, the image was always present from the very beginning.

The idea of abstract objects is a theory on the existence of non-physical items and how our minds operate in order to perceive them. With concrete objects they exist in a physical sense. We can see the object and touch the object to learn about it. We do not have these same abilities with an abstract object, such as the idea of numbers. We know that numbers exist but we have no ability to physically see them or touch them. Relating this idea to music, I wanted to experiment with this idea of time signatures as abstract objects. Every musician knows what time signatures are and how to use them, but there is no physical existence. With this in mind, I’ve written a piece that places each performer in their own “time signature” through the piece, using variations of 4, 5, 6, and 7. The large structure is created using the opening chord of deskbells, having each performer strike their respective notes within the chord on each “downbeat” of their individual time signatures. From the first chord it takes 420 beats to complete a full cycle and have that same chord struck again. For ease of performance purposes, the piece was later place into a single time signature.

"it resonates?" is an experimentation with resonant sounds that are seperated into three different "families" of instruments. These families consist of mallet percussion (vibraphone), auxilliary percussion (crotales, small cymbals, and cowbell), and found percussion (metal pipes and a metal plate). Each family throughout the piece recieves similar treatment in which the sounds are altered through different playing areas, different mallets, and dampening. The piece begins with long open tones to set the harmonic language, followed by each section after that stacking another layer of sound ontop of the last. The form functions almost like a spiral; continously and seamlessly moving upward until it suddenly stops. 

When I first began writing a piece for the 2017 Sandbox Summer Seminar, I had no direction, theme, or general plan. I had written plenty for percussion before, so I first made a list of some new textures and ideas I wanted to work with, and then I found the above poem.The poem, by Arthur Conan Doyle, uses text to mimic the transition of spoken word into an echo. It plays on complete statements being made while only incomplete statements are returned.This spoke to me and I began to think how I could try to use this musically.

Elongation of Phrases: A key componant to the structure of this piece is the idea of creating longer phrases out of shorter ones.When you are dealing with an echo, the original phrase is reiturated with each extra reituration adding to the original phrase. Musically, I tried to mimic this idea by taking a repeating phrase and slowly adding a little extra to the end of it to make a new phrase. Often, the new phrase would create transitional material into the next section.

Displacement of Rhythm: When you have an echo, you are hearing the original phrase bounce back at you slightly after the original phrase is created. Musically I tried to do this by the displacement of musical figures from one player to the next. Often, due to the mirrored setup of the piece, I played on the visual aspect by create a delay from one side of the setup to the other.

Oversaturation of the Echo: An echo naturally occurs slightly after the first presenation of the phrase.When you are dealing with a longer phrase, the echo will begin before the original phrase is finished, blurring the distinction between the two. When you are dealing with a single voice, and it's echo, it creates a new texture when they overlap. When you begin to add more voices into the mix, the texture begins to get so thick that the distinction of the original phrase is nearly impossible.

Rhythmic Groupings: The basis for the rhythmic groupins in "it must be now," comes from the title by using the numbers of letters in each word. (2 + 4 + 2 + 3) At the very beginning of the piece the seperate groupings are made very clear through the dampening of pipes between harmonic shifts. As the piece continues the groupings become a little less present while an overlying larger grouping of 11, the sum total of the original groupings, remains in place. 

"Motion no. 7" is the last duet in volume I of the Motions series. In a similar style to the previous pieces in the series, performers are facing each other on opposite ends of the setup while hocketing rhythms and melodies. The main structure, and motives, of the piece are built on two simple polyrhythms; 5:4 and 4:3. 

Distant Destinations (2011 - Revised 2017)

Instrumentation: Mallet Quartet

Duration: 15:00/20:00

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As an active percussionst, and a composer, I have spent many years performing and studying the music of Steve Reich. "Distant Destinations" is inspired by, and dedicated to, the original sound in which his music has evolved. The entire piece is derived from a single fragment of music using methods from his writing while attempting to put my own influence into the style.

"Just Like That,” written for the NYU Percussion Ensemble Call-for-scores, is a comparison of percussive sounds separated into two categories: resonant and non-resonant. Using a mixture of traditional instruments and found sounds, the piece is divided into three separate sections to both separate and combine the two categories of sound to create various textures and sonorities within the same set-up of instruments. Buried within the structure of the music you will also find a recurring grouping of 13 notes used in various forms throughout the piece. 

"All Experiences Come and Go," for Cisum Percussion, is a reflection on the emotions that tend to run our lives as individuals. The more I began to think about this idea the more I began to take solace within the quote by Eckhart Tolle. "Nothing that comes and goes is you" slowly began to take shape within my thought process that not only dealt with simple emotions, such as boredom and anger, but dealt with almost everything we do on a daily basis. The first connection I made, and the initial source for the track, was my own personal connection to the subway and train systems on my cummute. These trains, for me, were not only a way for me to get from one place to another physically but also a way for me to get to another place mentally. Often as I'm on my cummute I am reflecting, almost in a meditative state, about things I need to do during the day, things that may have happend during the day and often working on my most recent composition from a purely thought provoked position. I found that as the trains were coming and going, so were my thoughts. However, as much as my thoughts would travel they would always be coming from a place that is myself.

"Motion no. 1" is a duet for shared bass drum and shared bongos. Each performer stands on opposide sides of the set-up and weaves rhythms together to form one pulse/groove between them. Fast tempos, dynamic variation, tempo changes, and rhythmic complexity will keep an audience at the edge of their seat the entire time!

“Motion no. 2” is a study in common rock and funk rhythms. Originally derived from grooves on a drum set each player performs separate sections of the groove to create the whole part. The combination of laid back grooves and fast intertwining rhythms create the unique texture that is “Motion no. 2”

Motion no. 3 (2012) 

Instrumentation: Duet

Duration: 4:00

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"Motion no. 3," written at a time while I was living in Brooklyn and commuting to Manhattan, is a duet that mimics the daily bump and grind of city life. Inspired by noises and sounds from passing traffic at night or a busy subway station I used glass bottles, rim clicks, cymbals and bass drum hits to create a texture based groove and melody that is passed between the two performers. The combination of found objects along with pieces of a drumkit give it that subway street performer feel while not straying too far from a live band sound. The main feature is a hocket groove, derived from various styles of rock and funk drum beats, that drives the piece from beginning to end.   

Large Ensemble | Chamber Ensemble | Chamber Percussion | Percussion Ensemble | Solo

Whirlwind (2013)

Instrumentation: Percussion Ensemble + Piano 

Duration: 3'00''

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"Whirlwind", as the name implies, is a flourish of melodic lines dancing over a driving bass line motif. A burst of energy from start to finish, in the moto perpetuo style, keeps the players in constant motion until the gradioso chorale-like conclusion. Light and lively this short piece of music is perfect to break up your program. The World Premiere of Whirlwind, done by the Washington Square Winds, is in the woodwind quintet version. Originally written for piano, Whirlwind has since been arranged for many ensemble settings including woodwind quintet, saxophone quartet, and percussion ensemble. 

The Bells (2012) 

Instrumentation: Percussion Ensemble 

Duration: 3:45

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"The Bells" is a unique arrangement of the Ukrainian Bells melody. Texture changes, fast moving lines, and 7/8 grooves make this an original adaptation of a melody your audience will be sure to know. 

Moonlight For Percussion  (2011) 

Instrumentation: Percussion Ensemble 

Duration: 4:45

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"Moonlight For Percussion" is an arrangement of Beethoven's 3rd movement from "Moonlight Sonata". "Moonlight For Percussion" is written for four percussionists at a collegiate performance level using two 4.3 octave marimbas, 5.0 octave marimba, vibraphone, chimes, glockenspiel, tam-tam and windchimes. 

Large Ensemble | Chamber Ensemble | Chamber Percussion | Percussion Ensemble | Solo

In A City That Never Sleeps (2014)

Instrumentation: 5.0 Octave Marimba

Duration: 7:00

Night Sky (2013)

Instrumentation: Solo Cello 

Duration: 7:00

"Night Sky" is a work for solo cello that utilizes open space and the large range of the instrument to depict the calm and the mystery of a night sky. Written just after Hurricane sandy with no power and just a candle the performer is instructed to mimic this feeling and sensation by having performance lights off and just a single candle between the performer and the audience, thus allowing the listeners to get lost by the sonorities of the cello filling the dark concert hall and leading the listener to get lost in Night Sky.

"Rollercoaster," commissioned by Ryan McNulty, is a theatrical piece written for solo trombone. The performer is instructed to act and portray the themes not only through the sound of their instrument but through the motions, expressions, and sounds of the performer themselves.

Phrenecticus (2012) - Etude in B Minor

Instrumentation: 5.0 Octave Marimba

Duration: 3:30

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 "Phrenecticus" is the Latin word that is the origin of the English word frantic. This etude pushes the performer in control, endurance, precision, and finesse.  

"Etude For Long Arms" is a short 2 mallet marimba solo designed to test the performers ability to play the music without looking at their hands. The name comes from the idea that the hands spend much time an octave apart from each other. This extended range will also reach 2 octaves and more apart from each other throughout the solo.

Frenzy (2011) - Etude in A Minor

Instrumentation: 5.0 Octave Marimba

Duration: 1:45

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"Frenzy" is a short etude designed to test the performers ability while performing in odd meters as well as many interchanging meters. Throughout the solo there are many "atonal" sections or phrases that can drift away from the original a minor motives.

"Aldonza" is a short etude designed to test the performers ability while performing in 6/8 time. A constant 16th note rhythm and various tempo changes create different textures throughout the piece. 

Aubade (2011) - Etude in C# Major 

Instrumentation: 5.0 Octave Marimba

Duration: 2:50

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"Aubade" is a short etude designed to test the performers ability to move about the instrument in a rapid manor. These movements also deal mostly around arpeggiated rhythms moving across the entire range of the marimba. 

Forward Motion (2011)

Instrumentation: 4.3 Octave Marimba

Duration: 6'30''

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 "Forward Motion" is great for the intermediate level percussionist looking to further their skills in rotations and octaves. Written in an ABA' form the piece drives from the beginning to the end with a short chorale section in the middle.