Duration: 5'00"

Instrumentation: flute (with loop station)

Alternate Versions: flute (without loop station)

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Program Notes:

Duration: 14’00”

Instrumentation: cello, piano

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ProgramNotes: I have long wanted to compose another piece that highlights the cello, and as an amateur cellist myself, I was overcome with this interest during the last half of 2023. The subtitle of this work (Portraits from my life in Appalachia) is derived from having lived near Asheville for four years prior to composing the Sonata. After 41 years living in Miami, in mid-2019 I relocated to the Asheville area to live among the majestic and ancient mountains of western North Carolina. The music is meant to represent just three of nature’s beautiful highlights from this area. There are many other sites too numerous to count.

First Performance: July 9, 2024 in Athens, Greece as part of the Phasma New Music Days Festival with Asterios Pouftis (cello), and Alexandros Makris (piano)

Duration: 6’00”

Instrumentation: marimba

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Completed in early 2023 for percussionist Harvey Warner, “A Blue Ridge Spring” is about six minutes in length and is a very upbeat, uplifting score with a high-energy flow and positive message. Since living near Asheville (NC), and having quick and easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway year-round, the composer is in awe of the bright, vibrant colors of the Appalachian mountains during the Spring. And it is during this time of year that all life can blossom with new possibilities.

Duration: 6’00”

Instrumentation: flute, guitar

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

ProgramNotes: Author Brian Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics, and the director of Columbia University’s Center for Theoretical Physics. From his book “Until the End of Time” he explains: “When we look up at the night sky we see stars as they were many thousands of years ago. Using powerful telescopes, we see far more distant astronomical objects as they were millions or billions of years ago. Some of these astronomical sources may have long since died, and yet we continue to see them because light they long ago emitted is still in transit. Light provides an illusion of presence.” I thought of this passage often while composing “Edges of Light”, and am still in awe of this phenomenon. I am not certain that the music expresses my understanding of Greene’s passage above, but it does reflect my general musical thoughts during this time.

Duration: 9’30”

Instrumentation: flute, harp

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: The title of this score for flute and harp refers simply to the name of the street where I now live, near Asheville and the beautiful Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. Everyday, I imagine my music studio at this home as a sort of “portal” to both the outside world, and my own inner world. For me, this portal to both worlds helps to bring meaning, possibility, and hope into otherwise confusing and chaotic worlds (both inner and outer). I compose for self-clarity. Musically, “On Balsam High” was inspired by my adoration of both the flute and the harp, and the combination of these two instruments.

First Performance: Aug 1, 2024 with Linda Cykert (flute) and Helen Rifas (harp) at the Jackson County Historic Courthouse in Sylva, NC

Other Performances:

Duration: 7’15”

Instrumentation: violin, viola, cello

Alternate Versions: flute, viola, cello

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: During my time composing this piece, which also included the last several months of the Trump presidency, I finished reading the historian and author Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. Meacham’s book is a powerful narrative about other difficult and tumultuous periods during the country’s history and the politics of fear, anger, and hate. Meacham’s unspoken conclusion is that, in the end, the kindness, understanding, and compassion of the American people have always won out. In Our Better Angels, I’ve attempted to represent this transformation musically. The piece is roughly divided into two equal parts, where the first section is in a minor key (E) and the second in a major key (A). This is also, by far, the most diatonically tonal music I have ever composed.

Duration: 9’30”

Instrumentation: flute, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: The Trio was composed during the many long months of 2020, while the Trump administration was propagating misinformation to the news media. During this time, the global pandemic was yet unchecked and spreading rapidly. There were no vaccines available at this time, or even a ray of hope that it might someday end. I believe the music of the Trio reflects this dismal and uncertain outlook of the world.

Duration: 10’00”

Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Composed in 2019, during the time I was relocating from Miami (FL) to Asheville (NC) and the beautiful Appalachian mountains. The trio begins with music that is meant to offer meaning, beauty, and hope into the world.

Duration: 3’15”

Instrumentation: flute

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: This piece is based on music originally composed for a very short, conventional, trumpet fanfare. The occasion was the birth of my first grandchild, Cooper Jack, in January 2019. Later these musical ideas were further developed, extended in length, and re-written for the flute’s range. Fanfare for a Flutist is meant to be joyful, lighthearted, and fun!

First Performance: Nov 14, 2020 with Marie Schwartz (flute) and the South Florida Chamber Ensemble at the Miramar Cultural Center, Florida.

Other Performances: Nov 15, 2020 repeat performance with Marie Schwartz (flute) at the Deerfield Beach Cultural Center, Florida.

Duration: 11’30”

Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano

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: The Piano Trio No. 2 was the last finished piece while still living in Miami, before moving to the Asheville area and the mountains of western North Carolina. This score presents bustling, hectic, and chaotic music, perhaps emblematic of a large metropolitan area. The trio opens with a high-energy rhythmic gesture and heavily repetitive chordal structures in the piano. Followed closely by a new motive in the violin, the cello repeats the violin’s motive. A syncopated rhythm is soon introduced by the piano which is carried forward by the whole ensemble at various points during the work. Again introduced in the piano, in contrasting material, is a triplet sixteenth-note pattern soon picked up also by the violin with an anchoring sustained note in the cello.

First Performance: October 27, 2019 at a Zimmermann’s Café event in Lake Worth, FL with Yordan Tenev (violin), Trace Johnson (cello), and Sergei Skobin (piano).

Other Performances: May 5, 2023 at the Weill Recital Hall in NYC with Trio Casals: Alexandr Kislitsyn (violin), Ovidiu Marinescu (cello), and Anna Kislitsyna (piano)

Duration: 10’00”

Instrumentation: flute, horn, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

You may also purchase the following assets at SheetMusicPlus.com by clicking these links: Set of parts | Score

Program Notes: Commissioned by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble, the title of “A Distant Love” refers to a long passage of time after an emotional and physical love between two people has an uncontrollable ending. An ending which neither person would wish for or desire. Thus, the work opens with a short, melancholy, forlorn melodic gesture in the solo horn. It evokes a sense of abandoned hope, or a love lost or forsaken. This short melody is quickly repeated in the flute and piano. Later in the work (again introduced by the horn), another short melody is heard which is more of an uplifting proclamation of love regained. It represents the realization that, although one of two persons in love may be gone, the emotional connection of love can still be present and sustainable. This melody is once again presented by the flute and piano as well. The piece reaches its conclusion by embracing a much more positive and balanced attitude (of life). Love can triumph over all adversity.

First Performance: January 13, 2018 by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble in Pompano Beach, FL with Marie Schwartz (flute), Myrna Meerof (horn, and Artistic Director), Michael Harris (Piano).

Other Performances: July 12, 2019 at the Kent-Blossom Summer Festival in Kent, Ohio

August 12, 2018 by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble at the Nat’l Flute Association Convention in Orlando, FL with Marie Schwartz (flute), Myrna Meeroff (horn), and Christine Griffin (piano).

April 13, 2018 by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble at the Frontwave New Music Festival at Palm Beach Atlantic University with Marie Schwartz (flute), Myrna Meerof (horn), Sheng-Yuan Kuan (Piano).

January 14, 2018 by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble at the Sunshine Cathedral in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with Marie Schwartz (flute), Myrna Meerof (horn, and Artistic Director), Michael Harris (Piano).

Duration: 11’00”

Instrumentation: percussion trio

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: Written for the Matrix Percussion Trio (Nashville, Tennessee)

Instrumentation: flute

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

Recordings: recorded 2018 by Iwona Glinka (flute) for the Phasma release of “HE” (Greece).

Program Notes: In late September of 2007 my beloved wife Elizabeth very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. This tragedy could have happened at any time that day, but it was late afternoon and I was with her at the time of her passing. I have always considered this to be her final gift to me. Mine was the last face she saw, the last voice she heard, and the last touch she felt.

First Performance: November 11, 2018 with Marie Schwartz (flute) and the South Florida Chamber Ensemble at the Miramar Cultural Center, FL, Myrna Meerof (Artistic Director)

Other Performances: October 29, 2023 with Kathy Marsh (flute) at St Bede’s Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, CA

April 10, 2022 with Marie Schwartz (flute) at the Deerfield Cultural Center, Deerfield, FL

March 13, 2022 with Marie Schwartz (flute) at the Miramar Cultural Center, Miramar, FL

March 6, 2020 with Rita D’Arcangelo (flute) at the Univ of Tenn, Knoxville Contemporary Music Festival

January 26, 2019 with Marie Schwartz (piccolo) at the Florida Flute Assoc Conference in Orlando, FL

January 20, 2019 with Iwona Glinka (flute) in Athens, Greece as part of a new CD launch concert

Duration: 8’30”

Instrumentation: flute, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Duration: 5’00”

Instrumentation: cello

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Program Notes: This piece was completed a few years after finishing work on both my String Quartet No. 1 and another solo string piece, “Etch” for violin. Part of my interest in writing this piece was to create more compositions for solo string instrumentalists, but also my personal interest in the cello as an instrument of study. I am an amatuer cellist. The title does not imply thematic music, but only refers to the personal journey of the listener during this short composition.

Duration: 10’00”

Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano

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Duration: 9’15”

Instrumentation: violin, cello

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Duration: 5’00”

Instrumentation: violin

Alternate Versions: viola

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

Program Notes: Etch was completed shortly after finishing work on the string quartet Apophis. This solo piece for violin (or viola) borrows material from the quartet and further develops it. Another interest in writing this piece was to create more compositions for solo instrumentalists. The title Etch refers to the ‘sound’ of the opening motive of a ninth using the open G string of the violin (or the open C of the viola).

First Performance: November 7, 2020 Premiere (virtual) performance of “Etch” for solo violin with Sini Virtanen (violin) as part of the USF Int’l New Music Festival in Tampa, Florida.

Duration: 3′ 45″

Instrumentation: Bb clarinet

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

Program Notes: “Wait for Me” was another piece in a series of compositions from about 2003 to 2018 that dealt with the grief and despair of personal loss. Regarding this work, in Sept 2007 my wife Elizabeth suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from complications of a minor injury. Some years later, finishing this short score for clarinet proved once again to be self-therapeutic. “Wait For Me” was composed for Arianna Tieghi (Rovigo, Italy) upon her request for a short composition by a composer from each of the fifty states in the U.S.

First Performance: The “Il Festival delle Arti” in Ferrara, Italy (Arianna Tieghi, clarinet) Sept 12, 2015, with a repeat performance Sept 18, 2015.

Other Performances:

Oct 22, 2022 with Sarah Manasreh (clarinet), faculty artist at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. The New Music Weekend 2022 hosted by the Int’l Clarinet Association.

May 13, 2022 with Sarah Manasreh (clarinet) faculty artist at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

South Florida Chamber Ensemble in Coral Gables, FL with Myrna Meeroff (Artistic Director), and Christine Pascual-Fernandez (clarinet) July 21, 2018.

Duration: 5′ 30″

Instrumentation: piano

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

Program Notes: The simple and brief four-note motif which begins “Clear Blue”, establishes several important musical components of this short composition. Primarily, the motif initiates the pervasive and forward-moving rhythmic energy of the first half of the piece. But it is also an open-ended gesture that does not contain any real sense of resolution. This propels the music forward to find that resolution. Lastly, it is just a simple little blues riff that, compositionally, could be used to guide the trajectory of the music in any number of alternate directions. With the opening motif being referenced only occasionally throughout the remainder of the work (most notably at the end), the music does eventually find a place of resolve and repose around the midpoint. The music transitions to a more contemplative and reflective mood here, before returning for the final occurrence of the opening material. This final occurrence however, is supported by harmonic structures and embellishments not heard originally. “Clear Blue” was commissioned in late 2010 by Dutch pianist Marcel Worms for the “New Blues for Piano” project.

First Performance: The “Jazzweek” Festival (January 27, 2012) in Leiden, Netherlands with Marcel Worms (piano).

Duration: 4′ 00″

Instrumentation: flute, violin

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

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

Program Notes: Often heard as part of a Biblical quote (King James version, Matthew 24:44) “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”, the title of this short duet is meant only to be emblematic of one’s journey through a lifetime. “Be Also Ready” is a very brief, frenzied, rapid-paced music which also contains some unexpected changes in the anticipated direction of a phrase or passage. Just as the planned (anticipated) direction of one’s path through life can be changed in an instant and forever altered from that moment forward, the title of Be Also Ready is a reminder for everyone to “be prepared, and expect the unexpected”.

First Performance: Sounds New concert (March 20, 2011) at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA (Deborah Schmidt, flute and Brooke Aird, violin).

Duration: 11′ 30″

Original Instrumentation: flute, string orchestra, harp (or piano)

Alternate Duo Versions: flute, piano (2006); alto flute, piano (2013)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

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

Program Notes: While working on Summer Nights Passing I reached my fiftieth year. For most people (those fortunate enough to reach it), this is a milestone occasion, among many others. Naturally this event caused me to allow for greater reflection on my life. What had I been doing all those years, where was I now, and where am I headed? For me, this inner reflection caused a healthy chance for nostalgia and sentiment as my thoughts turned back to a simpler period in my life. For many people, I believe, our fondest memories may come from early childhood as we are just beginning to grow. This presumes of course, that one is growing in a stable, secure, and loving environment at home. I was. In the early to mid 1960’s I was 6 to 8 years old. I do remember where I was, and what I was doing, when all the world learned of the assassination of President Kennedy. However, at that young age I was unable to grasp anything beyond the very superficial understanding of that single event. How could I comprehend the political and ideological positing of Cold War policies that held the world in a vice-grip. How could I understand the meaning and significance of some wall built in a strange place called Berlin. And how could I ever hope to understand the meaning and significance of names, places, and phrases like Cuban Missile Crisis, nuclear annihilation, Castro, Khrushchev, or Bay of Pigs. Where in the world was Cuba? And what was Korea? What did I care? I was only a kid, very young, and of much greater importance were the endlessly euphoric possibilities of the hot summer nights growing up in northwest Ohio. They would begin just around dusk, and last until my mother began calling for me to come home after several hours of darkness. After already spending the entire day outside with my friends, playing, running, jumping, wrestling, climbing, and riding bikes, we would continue on still, but now, around dusk, we could roll in the cool grass and chase after fireflies too. It was chasing the fireflies that I remember most. There was no past then, and the future was not significant …. there was just right now, and hundreds of fireflies to chase. Only now do I understand how fleetingly and quickly were my very few, short, and cherished Summer Nights Passing, and how I cannot ever return completely to that time in body, mind, or spirit. Musically, the material of Summer Nights Passing is derived from an earlier work for clarinet and piano trio entitled Insensible Choices. This material is further developed and re-worked to present the music itself in a venue of larger scale and greater scope. However the depth of personal meaning of this composition, as described above, would become greatly altered as my progress on it continued.

First Performance: September 30, 2012, at Benoit Glazer’s “Lake Timucua” Concert Series, with Michael J. Garasi (conducting) and Tammy Phillips (flute).

Other Performances: Performance at the Kwidzyn Int’l Music Festival in Kwidzyn, Poland on September 30, 2020 with Iwona Glinka (flute) and Vicky Stylianou (piano).

Performance by the South Florida Chamber Ensemble in Miami Florida on September 10, 2016, at The Miami-Dade Aventura Library, with Marie Schwartz (flute) and Sheng-Yuan Kuan (piano).

Duration: 11′ 0″

Instrumentation: trombone, percussion (1)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: For many months prior and during the composition of Saucy Sally, Mad Mary I had been listening to a variety of classic rock and blues artists and bands (early recordings of The Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix, and blues artists Willie McTell, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, et al). Whatever influences from these great artists that may have been transferred to this composition while writing proceeded, were not suppressed. Saucy Sally, Mad Mary is definitely a character piece. The fictitious Sally and Mary (or are they?) were conjured up to provide that underlying bluesy “my wife left me, lost my job, the dog died” feeling. The work is divided into three separate sections, each having a unique “personality”.

Duration: 10′ 30″

Instrumentation: mandolin, guitar

Alternate Versions: flute quartet: 2 C flutes, alto, bass (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. 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: Version for flute and guitar with Lauren Zwonik (flute) and Parsa Sabet (guitar) on Sept 19, 2022 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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

Duration: 6′ 30″

Instrumentation: viola, marimba (or piano)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

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

Program Notes: My intention with Hurry, Wait was to write a “crowd pleaser”. A piece that everyone would be happy to hear, except perhaps the most die-hard new music fan (this piece is not for them!). I also wanted to compose a work that would really showcase both performers equally, and that would not only be challenging to play, but fun too. The musical impetus for this work was the rapid syncopated triplet rhythm heard immediately from the marimba as the piece begins. The slower, more eloquent, and reflective mid-section was a needed contrast in character which seemed to fall right into place as composing proceeded.

First Performance: The New Music North Festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (June 24, 2002) by Catherine Jillings (viola) and Dylan Benson (marimba).

Duration: 13′ 30″

Instrumentation: flute, viola, & harp or piano

Alternate Versions: flute, cello, harp (2007)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Program Notes: This is a re-instrumentation of my 1996 work for double bass and piano Contraforte. The original concept of Contraforte (material that would later become the first dozen measures of the piece) was of a work for flute and harp. However, when the opportunity arose to write a piece for bass and piano I began to look at this material in a new way, and started to develop it for a low register instrument. Four years later, with other projects completed and newer projects not yet underway, the chance to re-orchestrate this material for flute and harp (with the addition of the viola – inspired by the beautiful Debussy Sonata) had finally presented itself.

First Performance: Tenth Symposium of Contemporary Music Festival in Rosario, Argentina (June 25, 2005) with Gabriela Elizburu (flute), Marcelo Ajubita (viola), and Max Lifchitz (piano).

Duration: 8′ 15″

Instrumentation: double bass, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

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

Program Notes: This is a short work that uses lyrical material derived from it’s larger parent work, Contraforte. It is intended for intermediate level players, and was written in response to the 1997 call for scores for double bass by the National String Teachers Association.

First Performance: Accessible Contemporary Music Ensemble reading in Chicago, IL (July 2005).

Duration: 13′ 00″

Instrumentation: double bass, piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

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

Program Notes: During my first discussion about writing this piece for double bass and piano, it was requested that I not write a piece with “a bunch of pops, snaps, knocks, raps, and other extraneous noises” in it. But rather to create a melodic, lyrical work that emulated the more “classical” style writing of the other orchestral string instruments, but in a modern language. I consider both approaches to be a challenge in writing for the double bass, and working on this piece certainly did not disappoint me in facing that challenge. The piece is divided into four broad sections. The first section begins with a sort of “Call to Arms” between the bass and piano and goes on to introduce much of the lyrical material that is used throughout the whole work. The second section begins as a spotlight for the bass to solo, and then cautiously pauses to begin a “call and answer” dialogue between bass and piano. The third section starts with certainty using the opening “Call” from the beginning (somewhat modified) and continues with a frenzy until the final section arrives with more “majestic” phrasing reminiscent of prior material, and very high “pedal tones” in the bass.

First Performance: “New Directions” Concert with the Tampa Bay Composers Forum in St. Petersburg, FL (March 1999) with Mark Neuenschwander (double bass) and Peter Blauvelt (piano).

Other Performances: Broadcast on The Society for New Music “Fresh Ink” program, Nov 2003 (WCNY-FM Syracuse, WUNY-FM Utica, and WJNY Watertown).

SCI Regional Conference at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (Nov 1999) with Luiz Gomez-Imbert (double bass) and Carlos Amat (piano).

Duration: 9′ 30″

Instrumentation: flute, marimba

Alternate Versions: flute, violin (1997) flute, clarinet (1997)

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: available from Zimbel Press on The Tampa Bay Composers’ Forum “Members’ Works In Live Performance” (flute and clarinet version) www.zimbel.com

Program Notes: Mix2 was originally written for flute and a computer generated sound recording. However, since I was never satisfied with either the recorded segment, or the computer realized sound files themselves, the piece was eventually revised and reworked for acoustic instrumentation only. It now exists as three different instrumental versions. The title “Mix2” was the name of one of the C programs used to process the original fixed-media segment. It seemed appropriate as the work’s title also. While working on Mix2 from a compositional standpoint, I also once again became interested and concerned about the notion of how silence can be used in a musical composition. I tend to think of silence as “musical space”. This is most evident toward the end of the piece, but also between and throughout some sections. In subsequent compositions, this idea was explored to an even greater extent.

First Performance: The original version of Mix2 (1988) with pre-recorded sound was premiered by flutist Lisa LaCross at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, FL (March 1990).

Other Performances: Release of “Mix2” (flute, clarinet version) on “Members’ Works In Live Performance 1989-2003”

Tampa Bay Composers Forum (Jan 2004).

California State University in Long Beach, CA (Nov 2001) with John Barcellona (flute) and Justus Matthews (clarinet).

University of Portland in Portland, OR (April 2000) with Kesatuan – Karen DeWig (flute) and Ingrid Gordon (marimba).

The Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic marimba masterclass held at the University of Minnesota (Nov 1997).

SCI Regional Conference in St. Petersburg, FL (Sept 1996) with Barbara Prescott (flute) and David Irwin (clarinet).

Duration: 8′ 30″

Instrumentation: piano

Availability: Please contact the composer directly by clicking here.

Recordings: available from North/South Recordings “Final Bell” www.northsouthmusic.org.

Program Notes: Minimalist inspired, yet interrupted by interludes of often raucous outbursts, For One provided a venue to approach the intriguing conceptual design challenge of “composing” silence. This has been addressed in some way in much of my work since this time. The piece begins in the extreme high register of the instrument and gradually migrates into the lower register. Eventually, the music begins an upward motion until reaching its conclusion in the high register where it began.

First Performance: SCI Regional Conference at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (Sept 1991) with Mary Kauffman, piano.

Other Performances: Release on North/South Recordings “Final Bell” with Max Lifchitz, piano (Jan 2006).

Christ & St. Stephen's Church in New York City (Dec 5, 2005) with Max Lifchitz, piano.

“Modern American Composers” Concert in Yerevan, Armenia (Oct 1997) with Anahit Nersisian (piano).

“Modern American Composers” Concert in Kiev, Ukraine (June 1996) with Valeri Madivujin (piano).

The SubTropics Festival in Miami, FL (March 1994) with Michael Linville, piano.

The Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, PA (April 1993) with Max Lifchitz, piano.

Composers’ Forum reading at Brooklyn College in New York (Oct 1991) with Kathleen Supové, piano.

Duration: 12′ 30″

Instrumentation: flute, piano

Availability: published by Falls House Press

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

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

Program Notes: The Sonata was written between June 1982 and February 1984. The piece uses the classic fast-slow-fast structure for its three separate movements. The first movement makes extensive use of quarter-tone pitches and harmonics in the flute part, making it sometimes sound out-of-tune with the piano. The second movement is one of the earliest examples where this composer started to become concerned with spacing of musical events. Notice the pacing and occasional long gaps between events in this movement. The composer had, as a flutist, worked on or performed many of the great 20th century compositions for flute and piano (i.e., Piston, Prokofiev, Poulenc, Hindemith) and trios showcasing the flute (i.e., Debussy, Rorem) prior to the conception of this piece. No doubt the influence of these masterworks is reflected here, perhaps especially in the third movement. All pitch material in this movement is derivative of the opening arpeggiated gesture of the piano.

First Performance: Full premiere at The Art and Culture Center in Hollywood, Florida (May 1987) with Kirk Evan-Billet (flute) and Mary Kauffman (piano).

Other Performances: NYC premiere at the Tenri Cultural Institute (June 9, 2017) with Lisa Hansen (flute) and Max Lifchitz (piano).

West Coast premiere on a “Sounds New” Concert, Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA (March 12, 2006) with Deborah Schmidt (flute) and Herb Bielawa (piano).

“New Directions” Concert with The Tampa Bay Composers Forum in St. Petersburg, FL (Jan 1999) with Patricia Dominowski (flute) and Peter Blauvelt (piano).

Loyola University in New Orleans, LA (March 1987); partial performance.

University of Georgia in Athens, GA (April 1985); partial performance.

University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL (Nov 1983); partial performance.

Duration: 5′ 30″

Instrumentation: horn, 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. 2)

Program Notes: This work was originally planned as a “trio” to include a part for pre-recorded tape, with each part being of equal importance and disposition. Although the fix-media part never materialized, the piece works quite well as a duo for these two instrumentalists. The inspirational “burst” of the opening measures came very late one summer evening, while standing in the calm silence on the shoreline of a lake in lower Michigan. This has been one of the very few instances for me where some external influence has caused the formation of a musical idea. The rest of the piece seemed to fall into place behind it. The intention of this work was to explore a few of the technical, and timbral, possibilities of both the horn and a multiple percussion setup; and to create a challenging ensemble environment for both players.

First Performance: University of Miami, Florida (Nov 1978) with Lynda Pickney (horn) and Linda Bailey (percussion).

Other Performances: Release on Vol. 2 of “Masterworks of a New Era” ERMMedia (March 2004).

SCI Region IV Conference, University of Florida in Gainesville, FL (March 1988).

The Art & Culture Center in Hollywood, FL (Nov 1986).

The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (Nov 1986).

Kent State University in Kent, Ohio (Nov 1985).

University of Youngstown in Youngstown, Ohio (April 1985).

Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL (May 1981).

University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL (Feb 1979).