Question 1

Canticum Sphaerarum [The Song of the Spheres] (2024); Installation

Accepted Answer

The Music of the Spheres, an idea created by Pythagoras thousands of years ago, proposes that each planet in our Solar System hums in a grand cosmic harmony. What if that music was real? What if we could hear each sphere orbit around us in a grand hymn? Canticum Sphaerarum aims to answer these questions by translating the actual location of every celestial body in the solar system between July 20th 1969 - Dec 20th 1972, (the first and last Moon Landings) into music.

Canticum Sphaerarum was co-written and co-produced with Sean Smith.
www.music-of-the-spheres.com

Question 2

Etude No. 1 for Electronic Organ and Tape (2024)

Accepted Answer

This piece uses the Vox Continental played through a Fender Frontman guitar amplifier head and the line out being fed to a tape recorder and the DAW simultaneously. I liked the sound of the spring reverb on the Fender amp quite a bit. The tape recorder is recording onto a loop using the Sound on Sound technique, by which the erase head is covered with a piece of aluminum foil, allowing multiple layers of sound to build on top of each other. The organ's volume is being controlled with a Vox volume pedal, allowing for great levels of expressiveness. The Continental's unique trapezoidal vibrato effect paired with volume swells is one of my favorite sounds.

Question 3

Acknowledgment Triptych (2021/2022); Violin, Flute, Guitar and Tape Loop

Accepted Answer

In the summer of 2021, I got into open reel tape recording and my interest in the medium has grown exponentially since then. All three movements in Acknowledgement Triptych, (Continuous Evolution, There Is More Than One Answer and The Pieces Aren’t Perfect) are for solo instruments plus an analog tape loop. As the performer plays, the sound of their instrument is recorded onto the tape loop and as the machine continues to record while looping, what was recorded three or four cycles ago will eventually become inaudible, replaced with new material, thus creating a lush soundscape that seems to grow out of itself. And by the end of the piece, the player’s entire performances will have existed on that little bit of tape at some point in time, but all that is left by the end are the quiet remnants of the last few measures.

I find it weirdly metaphorical...

Question 4

Flint Hills (2023); Alto Saxophone and Guitar

Accepted Answer

Flint Hills was perhaps the most difficult piece of music I've written, as I never had that "moment of inspiration" in the entire writing process. But nonetheless, I do genuinely enjoy the notes on the page. The quasi-minimalist patterns and grooves throughout the piece evoke the spirit of the Flint Hills in Kansas. Driving down I-35 from Emporia to El Dorado is perhaps one of the greatest sights the state (and this country) has to offer, in my opinion.

Question 5

Expanded on the Horizon (2022); Percussion Quartet

Accepted Answer

Expanded on the Horizon is a percussion quartet piece for two vibraphones, two glockenspiels, congas, bongos, and tom-toms. The piece was premiered by a student ensemble at the University of Missouri-Kansas City under the guidance of Sandbox Percussion. Full of rich harmony, rhythmic intricacies, and unique blending of textures, the result is a whimsical, psychedelic soundscape. Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/xDIpYBk-ZXI?t=2651

Question 6

Mirage of Time (2021); Clarinet, Electric Guitar and Piano

Accepted Answer

Mirage of Time takes listeners on a whimsical trip across three distinct musical worlds, each one flowing seamlessly into the next. A lullaby-type tune opens the piece, and builds in rhythmic interest before landing in an all-out rock-n-roll blues section. The opening guitar passage is used as a frequent thematic callback, and is quite distinctive due to the use of a delay pedal. The piece closes by recalling earlier material, completing the metaphorical time loop. The use of the electric guitar with effects pedals adds an eclectic, modern touch to blend with the clarinet and piano.

Question 7

Internal Conflict (2021); Film Score

Accepted Answer

Internal Conflict is a short film directed by Terrell Jackson II that visually represents the daily struggles of depression and anxiety. The accompanying score aims to introduce an auditory element to this representation, and is achieved through the use of harmonic strings, reverse guitar and percussion, and other aural oddities. Watch the short film here:  https://vimeo.com/510878905

Question 8

Sanctuary (2021); Film Score

Accepted Answer

Sanctuary is a short film directed by Terrell Jackson II that explores the importance of escape from the various mental, physical, and emotional struggles people face in the real world. The unnamed main character finds comfort in a colorful abandoned courtyard, a type of sanctuary for herself. The score uses various orchestral samples played back through an old tape machine and eastern wind instruments to create a sonic sense of evasion from reality. Watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/569086802

Question 9

Canon for the Times (2021); String Orchestra

Accepted Answer

Canon for the Times is a piece written for the Olathe Northwest High School concert orchestra. It is reflective of the high and low points in the lives of all people, and its 3-part form symbolizes how we can overcome adversities of many kinds. The main theme is built on an arpeggio that ascends and cascades across the orchestra, creating a canon, and is intended to represent looking forwards to an ever-brighter future.

Question 10

Train Through My Dreams (2020); Piano Quintet

Accepted Answer

Train Through My Dreams explores the various timbres of the stringed instruments, accompanied by the piano. The piece makes use of small two or three-note motifs, and explores how they can be used in conjunction with one another. This piece is also characterized by its distinctive three part form, with each section offering a new texture from the strings.

Question 11

Many Years Ago Today (2019); Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Mellotron and vinyl record

Accepted Answer

Many Years Ago Today is designed to reflect the innovations in studio recording being made in the 1960s. One particular group, The Beatles, have been rightly credited with pushing the limits of analogue recording capabilities, starting circa 1965 and particularly emphasized on their groundbreaking 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Complex studio tricks were employed throughout that album and those that followed suit, creating a unique sound that can only be described as purely magical. This piece adapts some of those unique sounds of the 1960s and 70s into the modern day. One highlighted instrument, the Mellotron, is a tape replay machine that produces such a beautifully imperfect timbre that perfectly encapsulates the auditory aesthetic of those decades past. And the distortion and reverb on the guitars only add to the semi-psychedelic atmosphere of this piece.

Question 12

Secondhand Newsstand (2019); Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Vibraphone, and Guitar

Accepted Answer

Secondhand Newsstand combines bits and pieces of music ("old news") from a variety of genres and styles, and each section offers a highlight of the abilities of each instrument in the ensemble.

Question 13

Two Movements on December (2018); Cello Quartet

Accepted Answer

Two Movements on December is a two-movement piece for cello quartet. This piece is a musical interpretation of the changes in nature between autumn and winter. The two movements (I. Waiting For... and II. The Origins of Winter) are linked by both musical ideas and their distinctive 3-part form.

Composition