The Butterfly Garden (for harp, viola, and flute)
Sometimes, watching butterflies can lead to a piece of music.
Reverie (string quintet)
In the Fall of 2019, a viola-playing friend of mine asked if I’d written anything for strings. When I responded that I hadn’t, she challenged me to do so. Initially, I considered writing for one of the most historically common of string ensembles – the string quartet. I got to thinking: “But, wait a minute. What about a string quintet? I could show the viola players of the world some love by adding a second viola to the typical string quartet!” Completed in early 2020, Reverie is the result.
Seasons on the Crow River (for orchestra)
Seasons on the Crow River was composed in 2019 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Delano Performing Arts Center in Delano, MN. This five-movement piece reflects seasonal changes along the Crow River, which runs through Delano. This version for orchestra was completed in early 2020.
About the music (click here).
Solstice: a symphonic suite for concert band
Solstice is a psychological journey through the mind of a U.S. soldier deployed to Iraq. The thematic content of this three-movement piece was conceived from some of my experiences during a deployment to Iraq (2009-2010) with the 34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota Army National Guard.
About the music (click here)
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (concert band)
The traditional Black American spiritual set for concert band.
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child originated in the American slave community in the mid-1800s. Slave children were often removed from their mothers and sold at auction, or simply sold to a desiring buyer. The song reflects the feelings of that child growing up without the benefit of a mother in his/her life. Later, the song took on a wider meaning, reflecting the feelings of a people unwillingly removed from their homeland (or, motherland in this case).
About this arrangement (click here).
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (brass quintet)
An arrangement of the French carol for brass quintet.
