Solo and Duo Works
Ruakuri Grotto
Ruakuri Grotto tonally explores the darkness of the Ruakuri Cave, part of the Waitomo cave system in New Zealand. The cavern is known for bioluminescent glow-worms that illuminate the darkness with a soft blue radiance.
Ruakuri is also a visual allegory for the pursuit of truth: oftentimes, the beauty and light that is worth finding must be sought by going through the darkest places. The further we venture into the unknown, and the harder we push back against imposed ideologies for the sake of curiosity, the closer we come to finding light and truth in the darkness. This piece is a coalescing of both the wonder at the sight of the natural phenomenon, and the journey through fear, uncertainty, and confusion to find illumination and courage.
[Recorded in Alba, Italy by Transient Canvas as part of the Alba New Music Festival Composition Program.]
Shillelagh Capoeira
A walk through the woods turns into a whirling dance with the leaves in this duet for clarinet and bassoon.
Composed for the East Chamber Music Composer’s Festival,
Summer 2022.
Performers: Kaye Royer, clarinet. Kristen Day, bassoon.
Ekklesia
Meditative and gentle, "Ekklesia" expresses the love, growth, and thoughtfulness of life-long faith through subtle texture shifts, mode mixture, and variations on fragmented themes. The piece draws its name from the Greek word used biblically for the church and body of Christ.
Composed for the East Chamber Music Emerging Composer’s Festival, October 2021.
Performers: Daniel Ramjattan, guitar Naoko Tsujita, marimba.
BOP
Premiered at the 50th Annual International Trombone Festival in 2021, BOP is a raucous ride through 11/8 and 12/8 for trombone and piano.
Šokis
This piece combines scalar elements of European folk and dance music with a Celtic 6/8 feel and slower melodic sections. The title itself comes from a Lithuanian word for ‘dance/dancing,’ and is a nod to part of my amalgamation of a heritage. Written for marvelous Eya Setsu, Šokis contains difficult passages designed to create a fun challenge.
Chamber Works
INCANDESCENCE
Movement 1 of a 3-movement trio sonata centered in the the abstract nature of fire and light.. The entire movement is designed to encapsulate the essence of rage, panic, flight from a threat, and determination to fight back. Featuring Tria Corazon: Anna Reitsma on flute, Elliot Kwolek on clarinet, and EJ Donkin on piano.
[This recording of Indcandescence was recorded live with Tria Corazon on March 31, 2021, as part of EJ Donkin's Graduate Composition Recital]
INCANDESCENCE (II)
The second movement of the Incandescence sonata is a slow, somber movement that captures the aftermath of the Inferno movement. Embers is reminiscent of a funeral march, and encapsulates the brokenness and dying out of the wrath in movement one.
[This recording of Indcandescence was recorded live with Tria Corazon on March 31, 2021, as part of EJ Donkin's Graduate Composition Recital.]
Annabelle Lee
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's poem Annabel Lee, this piece captures the emotion of love that transcends death. The poem is written from the perspective of the narrator, who tells us of how the intense love between him and Annabel Lee caused the angels to become jealous and kill his beloved. Deeply grieved, the narrator retains his love for Annabel Lee, and constantly longs for and dreams of her. The waltz-like meter and the wistful, intertwining melodies of the flute and piano blend together to create a song-like piece that brings out the passion and romance of the poem.
Composed October, 2015
Recorded April 18th, 2018
Listing of Works
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Shillelagh Capoeira (bassoon and clarinet) [2022] 5’
Samsonian Odyssey (trombone and piano) [2022] 9’
Ekklesia (marimba and guitar) [2021] 6’
Ruakuri Grotto (marimba and bass clarinet) [2021] 6’
Sokis (A Dance for Eya) (solo violin) [2021] 4’
BOP (trombone and piano) [2021]
Troikalia (flute and tenor sax) [2020] 10’
Ukaidi (solo vibraphone) [2019/20] 7’
Dusk (euphonium and piano) [2019] 4’
Cloud 9 (solo piano) [2017] 8’
Nocturne No. 1 in Ab (solo piano) [2017] 5’
2 Pieces for Flute and Piano (flute and piano) [2016] 7’
Rag for a Marionette (solo piano) [2015] 4’
Annabelle Lee (flute and piano) [2015] 5’
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NOAH (for mixed praise band: violin, guitar, piano, pad, voice) [2023] 5 mvts, 21’
Sapphirine Pastoral (clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, vibraphone) [2022] 6’
The Lighthouse Keeper (flute, clarinet, violin, cello) [2021] 6’
Incandescence (Sonata for flute, clarinet, and piano) [2021] 14’
Cacophony (YSU composition studio—mixed ensemble: voice, piano/pad, guitar, 2 tpts, euphonium, tuba, vln, tenor sax, percussion/drum kit) [2018] 13’
Dichometer (glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, wood block, piano) [2016] 4’
Feldoras (wind quintet) [2016] 5’
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Karamazov (big band) [2022] 5’
Effloresce (jazz quintet) [2021] 5’
Garden State Parkway (jazz quintet) [2021] 4’30”
Sonya (jazz quintet) [2021] 5’
‘Til We Meet Someday (big band) [2019] 6’
Barrage (big band) [2019] 5’
Scythe (big band) [2019] 8’
Caposhi (big band) [2017] 7’
Negative Space (jazz quintet) [2018] 5’
Smoke and Carnations (jazz quintet) [2018] 5’
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It Is Finished: A Tenebrae Cantata (SATB choir and piano) [2020] 7 mvts, 33’
The Pace of the Turning Earth (wind ensemble) [2020] 6’
Nova (wind ensemble) [2018] 6’