Year composed: 2011Duration: 17′Instrumentation: 10 performers – flute (alto flute, piccolo), oboe, clarinet (bass clarinet), percussion, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass Commissioned by the Eco Ensemble and premiered in Hertz Hall, Berkeley, April 2011. Movements, played without pause:I. IntroductionII. Chant IIII. RegretsIV. A yearV. Chant 2VI. CriesVII. Coda Notes: My piece, Tranfigurations of…

[All Things are One] Year composed: 2014Duration: 18′Instrumentation: B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano Part 1I. Resonant and fragileII. Swaying, swirling–Dark, brooding Part 2III. Silvery and liltingIV. Forceful Part 3V. Resonant and fragile Notes: “Hishuk ish ts’awalk” is a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations word. To them it means “All things are one”, a reminder that…

Year composed: 2015Duration: 10′Instrumentation: bass clarinet, cello, percussion, piano Notes: My work for bass clarinet, cello, percussion, and piano, Lift-up-over-sounding, is based on two lines from a poem by John Campion: “World a tuning fork/ lift-up-over sounding.” The lines in his poem are a literal translation of the words dulugu ganalan in the Bosavi language…

Year composed: 2016Duration: 9′Instrumentation: gayageum, geomungo, ajaeng Notes: Commissioned and premiered by the Pacific Rim Festival and the National Gugak Center, Santa Cruz, CA, October 2017 “Naseon” is Korean for spiral. You will hear the instruments revolving around a central pitch, becoming increasingly embellished as the piece progresses. Naseon II is the second part of…

Year composed: 2001Duration: 10′Instrumentation: alto saxophone, percussion, piano, contrabass, and tape Commissioned and premiered by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players Notes: World a tuning fork is based on two lines from a poem by John Campion: “World a tuning fork/ lift-up-over sounding.” The poem describes a living, canopied world of resonant space in Papua…

Year composed: 1997Duration: 11′Instrumentation: amplified violin, saxophone, Mallet Kat, electronic drums, keyboard, samplers, electric guitar Notes: In August 1992 the starved and emaciated corpse of twenty-four year old Christopher McCandless was discovered at a remote campsite in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless’s story, which ended so tragically, is told by Jon Krakauer in a recent best-seller…

Year composed: 2004Duration: 15′Instrumentation: amplified flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, with live electronics Notes: When I began Axis Mundi, my working title was Hamlet’s Mill, from a book by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend. According to their account, indigenous peoples across the world understood, in a way that contemporary cultures no longer…

Year composed: 2005Duration: 20′Instrumentation: amplified trombone quartet with live electronics Movements:I. Nature Is, quartet for alto, 2 tenor, and bass trombonesII. The opening, for alto trombone soloIII. Nature is, trio for alto, tenor, and bass trombonesIV. Chorale, duo for 2 tenor trombones (or tenor and bass trombone)V. Nature is, quartet for alto, 2 tenor, and…

Year composed: 2008Duration: 15′Instrumentation: two pianos Movements:I. Nuts and BoltsII. MachinationsIII. Frame SwitchIV. A note to follow solV. Coming Back For Julie Steinberg and Cindy Cox. Premiered by Julie Steinberg and Cindy Cox at Hertz Hall, Berkeley in 2008. Notes: Playing a round was originally written for the duo keynote+, which consisted of amplified harpsichord…

Year composed: 2008Duration: 14′Instrumentation: amplified harpsichord and prepared piano Movements:I. Nuts and BoltsII. MachinationsIII. Frame SwitchIV. A note to follow solV. Coming Back Commissioned by Keynote+, Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK, March 2008 Notes: Some years ago Jane Chapman and Kate Ryder of the duo keynote+ gave a memorable concert at the Center…