Duration: 9’00”

Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn

Availability:

Program Notes:

Duration: 14’30”

Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: The String Quartet No. 2 (Arrokoth) is about the vast expanse of space that surrounds us on planet Earth. Arrokoth is the NASA-given name for a trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper Belt. It is the farthest and most primitive object in our Solar System visited by the NASA probe New Horizons in January 2019. The object is about 4.1 billion miles from Earth and takes about 298 years to complete one orbit around the Sun.

Duration: 10’00”

Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: “Waiting Is Not An Option” is the first piece of music I've composed that has any overtones of political or social economic commentary (at least that was my intention). It seems that every issue facing our nation has become weaponized, and is at the mercy of political partisanship. Not the least of which is the climate crisis, plus the economy, jobs, fair housing, health care, education, immigration, voting, and more.

Musically, the structure of this work is composed in four segments which can be easily heard. These segments or sections are organized using a simple Fibonnaci numbering scheme. The music moves from the first half (segments 1,2) being less stable and dense, to the second half (segments 3,4) being more stable and less dense.

Duration: 12″

Instrumentation: fl/picc, ob, b. cl, bsn, C tpt, trb, strings, perc (1)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Written for the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra.

Duration: 10’00”

Instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, violin, bass, percussion

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Written for the same instrumentation as Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat”, for the Deviant Ensemble of NYC. This short work is composed in three brief movements.

Duration: 8’30”

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: The opening gesture of Shimmer with vibraphone, flute, and violins in unison is meant to invoke a “shimmering” sound. This gesture is repeated several times while being interrupted by more dissonant sounds in the winds, strings, and brass. The first passage finally ends in a short duet between double bass and timpani, with upper strings. As the work continues to unfold using material from this first section, the music broadens in scope and contrasting textural density. After a segue into a hymn-type chant in the strings (accompanied by oboe and flute), the music returns with numerous iterations of material from the first half. Shimmer was written in 2014 for the New Score Chamber Orchestra, Orlando, Florida.

First Performance: Orlando Repertory Theatre (Orlando, Florida) June 3, 2016, by the New Score Chamber Orchestra (Jamie Wehr, Artistic Director).

Duration: 13’45”

Instrumentation: string quartet

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

You may also purchase assets for this work at SheetMusicPlus.com by clicking the following links: Set of Parts | Full Score

Program Notes: Apophis (previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a probability of up to 2.7% that it would hit Earth in 2029. Apophis is the name given by NASA to the massive asteroid which is expected to pass within 20,000 miles of Earth on April 13, 2029. This is less than one-tenth the distance between the earth and the moon. Once considered among the most dangerous asteroids in space, it was subsequently removed from NASA's “risk list” after the agency determined that it poses no risk within the next century. “Apophis” is the ancient Greek name for the ancient Egyptian deity called “Apep”, who was seen as the embodiment of chaos and the opponent of light and order in the cosmos.

The two outer movements of Apophis consist of some high-octane, hard-driving rhythmic music. The slower inner movement provides a few minutes of repose. The score is not programmatic, but is meant to reflect a few thoughts and internal observations while contemplating a potentially devastating global event of this magnitude.

“It is well-made music” Daniel Avshalomov, American String Quartet

First Performance: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea, NYC on June 2 2017, by the Delgani String Quartet (Wyatt True, Artistic Director)

Duration: 8′ 15″

Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano, chimes

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: In loving memory of my wife, Elizabeth R Glesser. For those of us fortunate to know her and love her in this life, she left us far too soon.

Duration: 10′ 30″

Instrumentation: clarinet, violin, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here. You may also purchase this work at SheetMusicPlus.com by clicking here.

Recordings: available from Albany Records (TROY886 “Glisten”) www.albanyrecords.com

Program Notes: Frequently, the titles chosen for my compositions have less to do with the music itself than with my own demeanor and disposition at the time. This is certainly true of Insensible Choices. My work blunderingly began on this composition during a period of serious self-doubt and despondency, to the extent that little focused attention or concentration could be afforded the effort at all. All attempts to compose ceased for many months while I tried to decide whether this activity could ever resume again. And as the title suggests, other decisions and choices during this time were made with less prudence than usual. Eventually, when my ability to continue work did resume this music came quickly and easily. I strongly believe that periods of making insensible choices befalls most individuals from time-to-time, so at least I felt confident in my “choice” of the title for this work. Perhaps to counterbalance my own indecisive mindset, I wanted to create an uncharacteristically “light” piece. A work that would not be so serious, should not be too difficult for the players to perform, or for the audience to hear. It is melodic, even lyrical in sections, and often gravitates around a tonal center. A portion of the musical material of Insensible Choices (much of the middle section), was borrowed from a previous composition of mine for viola and marimba, re-worked and further developed.

First Performance: Florida Southern College Festival of Fine Arts (Lakeland, Florida) Nov 2, 2006, by Ibis Camerata: Christopher Graham (clarinet), Dmitri Pogorelov (violin), Ian Maksin (cello), and Biljana Milovanovic (piano)

Other Performances: The Roper Performing Arts Center (Norfolk, VA) Nov 10, 2011, by The Hardwick Chamber Ensemble: John Winsor (clarinet), Jeanette Winsor (piano), and guest artists

Broadcast on The Society for New Music “Fresh Ink” program, Oct 2011 (WCNY-FM Syracuse, WUNY-FM Utica, and WJNY Watertown)

All Saints Episcopal Church (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) Nov 26, 2006, by Ibis Camerata: Christopher Graham (clarinet), Dmitri Pogorelov (violin), Ian Maksin (cello), and Biljana Milovanovic (piano)

Recorded for Albany Records release of “Glisten” May 5, 2006, by Ibis Camerata: Christopher Graham (clarinet), Domagoj Ivanovic (violin), Marie-Elaine Gagnon (cello), and Biljana Milovanovic (piano).

Duration: 5′ 30″

Instrumentation: string quartet

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: This is an arrangement of the live version of The Allman Brothers’ Band theme song “Statesboro Blues” for string quartet. I always thought it would be a great venue for any string quartet ensemble who could reach beyond their music conservatory training and play music that crossed over into rock, blues, or jazz. The arrangement also allowed the opportunity to explore some of my own early influences in blues and rock music.

Duration: 10′ 30″

Original Instrumentation: flute quartet: 2 C flutes, alto, bass (2003),

Alternate Duo Versions: mandolin and guitar (2003), violin and guitar (2004), flute and guitar (2004)

Availability: published by PAN-VERLAG: www.pan-verlag.com

Recordings: a reference recording is available directly from the composer for perusal purposes.

Program Notes: In early September 2001 my only sibling and older brother, Douglas, unexpectedly passed away after suffering a major illness. The next morning, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred. It was a very difficult week. More than a year passed before my feelings and emotions over these events had been reconciled to the extent that I could express any of my own sorrow and distress. As I started working on this piece, the wife of my oldest grade-school friend abruptly died after a very brief illness. You Never Know was not meant to be so much an homage or a tribute, but rather a simple and candid expression of musical thought as I struggled through my own experience with these events. It is also not meant to be wholly dark, somber, or morbid. In fact, there are sections in You Never Know that are joyful, light, and full of positive hope for the future.

You Never Know was written upon request by duo Ahlert-Schwab.

First Performance: Daniel Ahlert (mandolin) and Birgit Schwab (guitar) on July 31, 2004 in Herongen, Germany.

Other Performances: Daniel Ahlert (mandolin) and Birgit Schwab (guitar) on February 6, 2011 in Bochum, Germany.

The following recording is from a different version of the piece, but I’m including it here for perusal and reference purposes.

Duration: 12′ 40″

Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Fine Tuning was originally conceived as a piano trio and was to begin where (in this version as a sextet), the cello and piano first appear approximately two minutes into the piece. Most of the chosen pitch material of this work is based upon, or derived from, a 13-note sequence not unlike the “row” of early 20th century 12-tone music. (This 13-note sequence can be heard in it’s “purest” form in the cello, just prior to the slow section between piano and strings that occurs more than halfway through the piece.) The similarities end there however, as this work has an unquestionable tendency to gravitate towards tonal centers, and at times even becomes lyrically melodic.

Duration: 16′ 00″ – 23′ 00″

Instrumentation: flute, double bass, glassware instruments (4 players)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: no commercial recording (archival recording available for perusal)

Program Notes: This work was written expressly for The Glass Orchestra ensemble of Toronto Canada. Upon first hearing The Glass Orchestra perform, I was struck by the spectacularly rich palette of sounds they produced. Like the conventional symphonic orchestra, whose wealth of sound spectra is uncontested, this ensemble truly deserves the word “orchestra” as part of their name. In writing Clearly Glass, I wanted to apply as much of their sound palette as possible without creating a piece that sounded too forced, busy or “spotty”. Also, the use of the flute and double bass was approached as complementing the glassware instruments only, adding additional sonic color, rather than elevating these instruments into the spotlight as soloists.

“ … as complex as a symphony.”
-music critic John Fleming of the St. Petersburg Times.

” … Clearly Glass takes full advantage of the fragile arsenal of instruments and imaginatively adds to it a flute and bass. The result is a slow-moving kaleidoscope of tones that gently merge into riveting patterns.” -music critic Tim Smith of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

First Performance: The Music Gallery in Toronto Canada (Nov 1998) by The Glass Orchestra (Eric Cadesky, Paul Hodge, John Puchiele, Richard Sacks).

Other Performances: The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL (May 1999) with The Glass Orchestra.

The Rubell Family Gallery in Miami, FL (May 1999) with The Glass Orchestra.

Duration: 12′ 00″

Instrumentation: flute, oboe, horn, trumpet, bass trombone, violin (2), viola, cello, double bass, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: no commercial recording (archival recording available for perusal)

First Performance: Premiered at the SCI Nat’l Conference hosted by Florida Int’l University (March 1997), performed by the University of Miami’s “The Other Music Ensemble” (Dennis Kam, conducting).

Duration: 13′ 30″

Instrumentation: flute, oboe, cello, piano, percussion (1)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

You may also purchase this work at SheetMusicPlus.com by clicking here.

Recordings: available from ERM Media Masterworks of the New Era. Vol. 8

Program Notes: My interest in writing this work was to contrast single instruments or groupings of instrumental combinations within each of the five short movements, while still maintaining coherency throughout the whole work. In movement One, only piano-percussion are used in contrast. In movement Four, the cello-oboe-percussion contrast with the flute-piano combination. In movement Five, the cello is used in contrast with the piano-chimes combination. Also, I hoped to compose sections of nearly uncontrolled chaos (movt. 1), balanced by sections of calmer, serene reflection (movt. 3). Additionally, as in some previous works, all vertical pitch groups and horizontal pitch occurrences chosen for the entire work are “seeded” immediately in the piece and derived from there. In By Five, there are five pitch cells used throughout the work which appear in their purest form as the first five piano sonorities of movement One.

First Performance: North/South Consonance ensemble (June, 1988) at Christ & St. Stephen’s Church in New York City (Max Lifchitz, conducting).

Other Performances: Release on Vol. 8 of “Masterworks of a New Era” ERMMedia (Oct 2005).

California State University (July, 1989) in Arcata, California.

“New From Abroad” Festival (Oct 1991 – Dec 1991) as part of the Arts Listening Room in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Duration: 5′ 30″

Instrumentation: mixed voices (3), clarinet, horn, violin, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: no commercial recording (archival recording available for perusal)

Program Notes: This piece is a short setting of the Dylan Thomas poem by the same name. The symbolism of the text, reflecting in a broad sense our own desecration of the earth, casts the musical work into a dark, uncomfortable aura. The work is scored for soprano, alto and bass speakers, and an instrumental ensemble.

First Performance: University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida (Feb 1980) with Dennis Kam, conducting.

Other Performances: University of Alabama (Nov 1982).

Duration: 8′ 0″

Instrumentation: flute, oboe, violin, harpsichord

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: no commercial recording (archival recording available for perusal)

Program Notes: This work was written in response to the 2nd annual “New Music for Young Ensembles” competition in New York City. It received an Honorable Mention in that year’s competition.

First Performance: The Mannes School of Music in New York City (April 1978).

Other Performances: Kent State University (Kent, Ohio) in May 1978.