December 2024
About a month ago, I completed a commission from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, PIttsburgh, for a Christmas anthem that will be premiered on Christmas Eve of this year. The text, by Janet Loxley Lewis, is entitled, “A Lullaby.” The setting is for SATB and string quartet. I was drawn to this poem because it addresses the baby from Mary’s perspective (Lulee, lullay, I could not love thee more if thou were Christ the King), but it also speaks to the purpose of Christ’s coming (To save the world from sin).
This anthem (SATB/organ) and my recently commissioned hymn, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go”, will be published by Selah Publishing Co. in 2025.
May 2023
My present focus is on publishing a number of my works, both choral and instrumental. Beyond this, I have been asked to orchestrate Sonata di Gloria for string orchestra, so I’m hoping to get to that by this summer.
October 2019
Summers usually allow me a lot of time to compose, but not this past summer, during which I traveled quite a bit. Most meaningful was a June pilgrimage to the Holy Land through Saint George’s College, Jerusalem—a fascinating journey, and a deeply profound faith experience. That was followed pretty immediately by a week in Boston in July, and then the wedding celebration of young friends in Minnesota in August. In September, it was jumping right back in to teaching, with a full roster of piano and composition students. So now that things are settling in, I am back to writing. Most immediately, I am making a solo piano arrangement of the German Christmas tune, “Maria durch ein Dornwald ging” for pianist Virginia Sircy. I have one or two other German Christmas tunes in mind to arrange for solo piano, so this may turn into a suite, or it may not. I do find this “Maria” tune quite enchanting, and I’ve lived with it for over a year, so I should be able to make quick work of it. After that, I want to visit the finale of my Christmas oratorio to see if I can make an a cappella version of “O Jesu, mi dulcissime,” one of the pieces that I have written that is nearest and dearest to my heart.
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The summer of 2018 has been a summer of arranging scores. I arranged a work originally for saxophone quartet, Slant of Light, for piano solo. The new piano version of the work was premiered in July 2018 by Marina Chamasyan on her solo piano recital, UMBRA, which she will record to CD in the coming months. The piano version of this work was very well received, and already other performances are being scheduled. I am also arranging (transposing, really--which is no easy task, even given Finale's powerful capabilities) the aria I long for Thy Salvation, O Lord, for contertenor Gus Mercante in advance of his recitals in Wilmington, DE and Alexandria, VA. Additionally, I will be working with the group Vox Futura on a recording on the Parma Recordings label of my setting of Ave Maria. The recording will have national distribution of the physical product and worldwide distribution of the digital product through the classical music label Naxos. I am especially excited about this recording endeavor and the exposure it will give to my music.
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I spent several months, from the end of 2016 through March, 2017 preparing scores for a full concert of my works which is was held on April 1, 2017 at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. I arranged a Pastorale and Three Arias from my Christmas oratiorio, Welcome to Thy World, O King for chamber ensemble and vocalists, and several choral works for string quartet and other chamber ensembles. Sarah Kim, violinist and violist, organized the concert, which also included several choral works and other chamber music works.
My Sicilienne for viola and piano was premiered in April, 2016 at on the Concerts at Saint Luke's series (Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia) by violist Eric Costantino. A few years back I had started a choral piece on a boat song text; I put that piece aside, and some ideas from that piece have now made it into this instrumental work. The piece is impressionistic in nature, with unapologetic nods to Fauré, Debussy and Poulenc.
During the summer of 2015, I completed four new choral works, SATB a cappella, none of which I had planned to write. Three of these presented themselves at the end of July and the beginning of August in quick succession. The fourth I wrote at the beginning of September. The first of these is a setting of the Ave Maria; the second is a setting of the Blake poem The Lamb; the third is a setting of Ubi Caritas; the fourth is a setting of Adam lay ybounden. I am so pleased with each of these. They are short works, but, I think, effective. They are not simple, but they are quite accessible to a well-trained choir or chorus. They are appropriate for both church and concert use. Samples of these four new pieces are posted on the website. A recording of the Ave Maria is also posted on the website.
In June of 2015, I completed a commission for the Washington Saxophone Quartet. The piece is about 4 1/2 minutes in length, entitled Slant of Light. It was premiered at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in January 2016 as part of WSQ's 40th anniversary season. The title of the piece is taken from and Emily Dickinson poem: There's a certain Slant of light/Winter Afternoons. But the music in no way reflects the poem, but rather, it portrays the gentleness of early morning or late afternoon light. As inspiration, I have referenced a photograph by James Steele called "Sturbridge Window". I love the way the light angles through the panes of the New England church window to create interesting geometries.
In the summer of 2015 I began re-creating parts of scores that I lost when my home flooded in 2006. I am especially excited about bringing back two excerpts from my Christmas oratorio. The first of these is an aria for tenor and piano, "I long/The Almighty will sustain you". The text is from the Hebrew Scriptures, and as such, the piece is suitable for performance during both Jewish and Christian (advent) services. I have always been fond of this aria, and I hope that it might find its way onto recital programs that are not necessarily seasonal in nature. I have posted the complete score of this on the website under "Choral/Vocal score samples".
The other excerpt, O Jesu, mi dulcissime, was originally written with an accompaniment (to which I am still partial), but I have decided to make an a cappella setting of this excerpt, which I think will be equally--if not more--effective. The text is a medieval Christmas poem of anonymous origin that alternates with a setting of the plainsong tune, "Of the Father's Love Begotten". The ensemble is choir SATB with SATB soli. I think it would sound really lovely one to a part, and I'm hoping to interest some chamber vocal ensembles in the piece. Length is about six minutes. In the context of the oratorio, it is the concluding section. The soli parts are especially florid, in contrast with the simplicity of the choir parts.
Other projects: I have begun to sketch a flute sonata, and am toying with the idea of some dances for cello and piano.
Thanks for your interest, and thanks for stopping by.