Year composed: 2010Duration: 4′Instrumentation: clarinet, cello, piano Premiered in Morrison Hall, July 2010 Notes: Wave 2 takes the shape of an ever- increasing, oceanic-like wave form. This short piece is constructed around a small circular scalar fragment; the harmony gradually takes shape in a revolving motion above and below the central melody and builds into…

Year composed: 2010Duration: 17′Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, trombone, bass trombone Commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and premiered in Herbst Theater, San Francisco, March 2011. Movements:I. HeadlongII. Tender, NostalgicIII. Strong, Punchy Notes: In 2010, Ben Simon approached me about composing a new work for the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and he…

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…