Benedictus Mater for unaccompanied choir (2006)
Commissioned by the Max Noah Singers of Georgia College & State University

Benedictus Mater contains text that was pieced together from the Bible and other sacred Latin texts to create a small story arc depicting the Annunciation of Mary. For Catholics, Mary's complete and immediate acceptance of God's will at the Annunciation ("Be it done unto me according to Your word,") is one reason we revere her. The work is in three sections: Prologue, Annunciation, and Conclusion.

Prelude, Fantasy, and Scherzo for euphonium and brass ensemble with percussion (2006)
Commissioned by Demondrae Thurman

Prelude, Fantasy, and Scherzo was commissioned by Demondrae Thurman for his performance with the Denver Brass at the 2006 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC). The Prelude and Fantasy movements were composed using a harmonic language similar to the one I used in Irradiations: a "macro-sonority" serves as the underlying structural framework of the music, with kaleidoscopic fragments of the sonority serving as foreground material. In the Scherzo, the pitch classes of the "macro-sonority" were ordered and used to create special types of arrays which produced both the structural framework as well as all of the surface motivic material.

- 2005 -

Sculpture in Metal for two-channel digital media (2005)

Sculpture in Metal utilizes FM synthesis techniques to create a variety of inharmonic metallic-sounding textures.  Different amplitude and modulation-index envelopes create a continuum of attack-types for the textures, ranging from "struck" (very fast attack) to "bowed" (slow attack).  In addition, several samples of a tam-tam being struck serve as source material for granular synthesis textures in the piece.  The pitch structure of Sculpture in Metal is primarily based on the [0126] tetrachord, with various partitions of it coming to the forefront as the piece progresses (for example, { [01], [04] }, { [02], [05] }, etc.)

Strata for oboe, Bb clarinet, and bassoon (2005)
Commissioned by the Society of Composers, Inc. and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.  

Strata, a three-movement work written for oboe, Bb clarinet, and bassoon, continues the idea of “accumulation and dissolution of complex musical objects” begun in 2004 with Metamagical Themas.   Multiple processes of accumulation and dissolution in the realms of pitch, rhythm, and form interact simultaneously, creating an atmosphere of constant variation with key structural points articulated where the processes become synchronized.   The orchestration creates a deliberate ambiguity concerning the role of each performer in terms of principal voice vs. accompaniment, providing an environment of constantly shifting focus upon each of the three performers who often perform as soloists simultaneously.

- 2004 -

Metamagical Themas for flute, violin, cello, and piano (2004)
Doctoral Dissertation Piece

The impetus of Metamagical Themas is one of multiple processes of accumulation and subsequent dissolution of materials. These processes control the pitch material, rhythm, and form. The pitch material of the work is primarily based on the gradual building up of the all-interval tetrachord [0146], beginning with a single pitch and progressing to the tetrachord, and then back again.

Improvisation No.1 for solo trombone (2004)
Written for Anthony Barfield

This piece was written expressly for Anthony Barfield. Improvisation No.1 belongs to the same "series" of solo instrumental works as Interference Patterns does. As a result, Improvisation No. 1 is based on a melodic idea which is found in Interference Patterns. The rising interval of a 7th followed by a downward semitone movement is developed differently in this work, and the development plays out in a fashion that is meant to showcase several aspects of Mr. Barfield's superb performance style.

- 2003 -

Mindstorm for two-channel digital media (2003)

Mindstorm was written entirely in Csound. The piece is an attempt to embed the "Golden Ratio" (1 to 1.6180339887...) into all aspects of the music: the form, frequencies of pitches, amplitude and modulation envelopes, and rhythmic groupings are all based on the proportion of the Golden Ratio. Many of the sounds found in Mindstorm were created through simple Frequency Modulation and Amplitude Modulation of sine waves, with the ratio of Carrier frequencies to Modulation frequencies at 1 to 1.6180339887 with varying modulation indices. The modulation indices were controlled by envelopes whose ratio of attack to decay were also in proportion to one another according to the Golden Ratio.

Time Canvas for two-channel digital media (2003)

This work gets its title from a term used by the Futurist composer George Antheil. As a sound source, the piece includes a short sample from the opening attack of Antheil's Ballet Mecanique. This sample was manipulated in many ways including by reduction to sine waves through FFT analysis for the purpose of duration and pitch manipulation. Time Canvas also includes a sample of a drinking glass being struck, which was manipulated using the Kurzweil K2000 synthesizer. In addition to the K2000, the sounds in this piece were also produced in Csound, and from recordings of sketches made on a Serge Modular synthesizer ten years ago at the University of Massachusetts.

Irradiations for orchestra (2003)

Irradiations is based on a seven-pitch sonority which manifests itself in various ways. Often, it can be heard as a progression of trichords whose intervals gradually "open up" from small to large, and sometimes back again. The piece slowly unveils its trichordal progression through a "three-dimensional" presentation utilizing gradually shifting harmonies with a variety of tone-colors.

- 2002 -

Canticle for two-channel digital media (2002)

The sounds in Canticle were created using Csound, a programming language used in digital sound synthesis.   The soprano “voice” was created using FOF (Fonction d'onde formantique) synthesis within the Csound environment.   FOF synthesis involves the use of a granular synthesis texture with five formant filters mimicking a human vocal apparatus.   There were no samples or recordings of “real” voices used in this piece.

Interference Patterns for flute alone (2002)

Interference Patterns: the patterns of peaks and troughs that result when two or more waves that traveled slightly different paths from the same source are brought together.

This piece initially presents two contrasting melodic ideas which gradually affect each other's characteristics as they are brought together over time. Eventually they combine into a composite musical structure: the two voices become one, until a new third voice appears to contrast the composite structure. This third voice is gradually assimilated so that one larger musical structure, possessing characteristics of all three original ideas, displays the pattern of interference caused by the coalescence of the original melodic ideas.

Primordia for two-channel digital media (2002)

Primordia explores the idea of a "chain-reaction". Simple events unfold and in turn, set off or trigger new, more developed events until the complexity causes the music to self-destruct only to be reborn in ever-changing manifestations. The sounds in the piece were created using a Kurzweil K2000 synthesizer, a 1978 Korg MS-20 analog synthesizer, and two software-based synthesizers: Absynth and Metasynth. The piece was realized in Digidesign's ProTools.