three teasdale songs

from the co-composed work SOLO, for string orchestra

Sara Teasdale is one of few poets whose work has deeply resonated with me. A beautiful blend of melancholy, hope, and memory, I have always wanted to work with her text. So why not? You know… *sigh*… public domain. As in, it’s not. (I discovered this after trying to register a song I definitely DID NOT WRITE NOR PERFORM AT MY UNDERGRAD COLLEGE on one of her texts.) So when my composer’s collective/production company, W4, embarked on an evening-length poetry-inspired work for the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, obviously here was my chance to “set” Sara’s words, ahem, legally. I chose three of my favorite poems to interpret for string orchestra; the closest to me of these is A Rush of Rain, a beautiful poem about getting slapped upside the face with an unexpected memory. In my setting, a violinist in the orchestra (Marandi Hostetter) makes contact with her past—portrayed by a violinist in the balcony (Mark Chung).

A Rush of Rain, performed by the String Orchestra of Brooklyn at Roulette on March 30th, 2017; featuring soloists Marandi Hostetter and Mark Chung.

Verdant Vibes on February 22nd, 2020 at the New Music Mansion, Providence, RI.

lean

for sextet: clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, piano, vibraphone

Commissioned by Echo Chamber in 2016, lean was premiered in May of that year and has been performed several times since, most recently as a call-for-scores winner by the Providence-based ensemble Verdant Vibes. This moody, brooding, and rhythmically complex piece opens with darkly pulsing string chords (borrowed, for fun, from the song Lean On) and presses on toward an ecstatic climax. Check out the Verdant Vibes video for an incredible performance.

“. . . grows cold,” performed by Synergy Percussion.

…grows cold

miniature for percussion quartet

Part of Synergy Percussion’s 40 Under 40 Project, “. . . grows cold,” for two vibraphones, marimba, and glockenspiel, incorporates a riff from one of commissioner Beth Dawson’s favorite 80s bands, New Order. You know the song: Blue Monday. Coincidentally, it’s also the bass line to one of my favorite artist’s songs: M.I.A.’s 20 Dollar.

#PUSH!!!

for string trio

#PUSH!!! performed in Russia on July 4, 2017 by the Cantando String Quartet.

No, I didn’t know what a hashtag was when I titled this piece. The year was 2013, and I had never been on Twitter (and as of 2020, I still have barely been - and deleted my account). Regardless, I was trying to channel some sort of universal aggressive energy. The word PUSH has had an important meaning in my life (not least because it’s also tattooed on my forearm), and the musical intensity of this work tied to harness that. It was commissioned by a longtime supporter as a surprise performance for his wife’s birthday, and we chose to incorporate a favorite song of hers into the composition.  I couldn't have been more thrilled that one of her favorite songs contains perhaps the most anthemic synthesized riff in all of 1980s New Wave music. Thus the entirety of #PUSH!!! is derived from this one 2-bar phrase, fractured, layered, and re-purposed to create a wholly new work. 

This is one of my most performed compositions. It was premiered at W4’s annual End of Summer Festival in 2013, and most recently performed in Russia in 2017 as a call-for-scores winner by the Cantando String Quartet (above).

Excerpt of BODYART Dance Company and PUBLIQuartet performing Loft in October 2012, with music by West 4th New Music.

loft

dance collaboration for string quartet

I am fascinated by dance and movement (probably because I myself am the least coordinated person I know - what dancers would call a “bad mover”). Any chance to work with dancers and choreographers is something I look forward to eagerly - so when an old friend (Leslie Scott) suggested we pair my composers collective W4 with her dance company BODYART, we lept (ha…) at the chance. The result was a new score performed live by PUBLIQuartet for a run at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. The theme was loft — as in flight and the feeling of being aloft.

sums of parts

for woodwind quintet

During the initial stages of writing “Sums of Parts,” I saw an opera featuring a gamelan orchestra performing side-by-side with contemporary instruments.  I was fascinated with the complex interlocking elements and evolving patterns, as well as the sudden unexpected moments when everything would coalesce.  I became transfixed with the idea of creating music that was somehow greater as a whole than the sum of its parts.

This piece has had the fortune of being performed often, especially by Washington Square Winds, who made an excellent recording of it for their 2014 album They’re Alive!

The West Point Woodwind Quintet at the Composer's Voice concert series at the Jan Hus Church, New York City, January 29th, 2012.

andPlay debuts Pulling Anchor on February 24th, 2013 on the Composer’s Voice concert series in New York.

pulling anchor

for violin and viola

andPlay duo: Maya Bennardo, violin; Hannah Levinson, viola

When dear friends and talented artists form their own musical ensemble and ask YOU to write their first commission… duh. (You do it.) I loved writing this piece for Maya and Hannah and loved that they played it often. I’m so proud of what they’ve done in the years since; check out their website for current activities and listen to their new album!

Manhattan Wind Ensemble Spring 2011 Concert at Speyer Hall, University Settlement. Chris Baum, Conductor.

sample music for wind instruments

for wind ensemble

One process I’ve been obsessed with on and off over the years is creating something grand from very small pieces. The idea that served as inspiration for the composition of Sample Music  is the way samples of sound are used—often by repeating, reusing, and rearranging music in various ways—in the construction of popular music. The entirety of this piece is derived from the repetition of a few very tiny fragments of music continually recombined in new ways to create a large-scale work. Originally written for the Brooklyn College wind ensemble during my undergraduate studies, it was later performed by the Manhattan Wind Ensemble in a revised version.