- Solstice (1997)
-
Linda Dusman
for wind ensemble
ca. 7'15"
Solstice was commissioned by the Hanover, Pennsylvania Southwestern High School Symphonic Band, Carey Crumling, director, in 1997. The title refers to my inspiration for the piece, which I found in the often turbulent weather changes that characterize the change from season to season. As a larger metaphor this reflects the emotional turbulence that characterizes the change from childhood to adulthood, which I expressed in the often bi-tonal language of the piece.
A recording of the piece was performed by New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, with William Drury, Director.
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.
- Vides yia stravoxyla ("Cranky Pasta Recipe") (2006)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for soprano, saxophone, tuba, cello, piano, and actress
ca. 10'30"
This piece is actually a cooking recipe, but one whose instructions are fantastical rather than realistic. It aims to trigger the listener’s imagination and alternative outlook through humor. The score is a graphic one with many ‘open’ elements that invite experiment and interpretation. This score was studied and realized cooperatively by the composer and the specific ensemble involved. The Storytelling Project was an eclectic mixture of contemporary music and narration – a musical performance featuring elements of theatre mixed with instruments, vocals, electronics, improvisation, original texts and movement.
Storytelling Project, Spiza Patras, European Capital of Culture, 9 Μay 2006
Sofia Kamayianni: composition, piano, percussion
Rania Kelaiditi: actress
Dina Mantzari: soprano
Irina Dimaki: violoncello
Dora Panagopoulou: composition, piano, percussion,
Joe Tornabene: composition, saxophone, actor
Tim Ward: composition, tuba, live electronics.
Click here to watch a video of the performance.
- A Fantasy Journey into the Mind of a Machine (1985)
-
Ruth Lomon
for soprano and alto saxophone
ca. 14'30"
For soprano and alto saxophone with extended techniques. Settings of six poems drawn from the first book created by the Racter computer program. Fantasy Journey was commissioned for the University of Kansas Opus Three ‘Women in Music’ conference. Fantasy Journey was choreographed by Peggy Brightman and has also been performed as a theatre piece. The songs may be sung in any order and may be programmed individually.
- Silk and Steel (2010, rev. 2019, 2022)
-
Anna Rubin
for alto saxophone and harp
ca. 8'44"
Silk and Steel was commissioned in 2010 by the duo Pictures on Silence, comprised of Jacqueline Pollauf, harp and Noah Getz, alto saxophone. The opening section is very romantic, featuring melismatic alto sax melodies over intricate harp accompaniment. A more whimsical rhythmic section follows where figures are tossed back and forth between the instruments. This leads into more dramatic material emphasizing extreme ranges between the instruments and a rocking low figure in the harp. Eventually the piece makes its way back to a reprise of the opening material. While exploiting a variety of textures between the two instruments, I explore various quasi-tonal harmonic structures and scales, sliding from suggestions of whole tone collections to Middle Eastern and atonal scales.
Silk and Steel premiered Jan. 19, 2010 at the American University in Washington, DC (Jaqueline Pollauf, harp and Noah Getz, alto sax). It was also performed on at Catholic University in Washington, DC (Nov. 12, 2010), Lilypad, Boston (Apr. 19, 2011), and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Oct. 26, 2018).
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.
A version was composed for flute and piano in 2019, based on the original version written for alto saxophone and harp.
Silk and Steel for flute and harp (2022) evokes qualities of both the delicacy and power that the flute and harp can project. The piece is also a version of the original work for alto sax and harp.
Click here to download all performance materials.
- Chiaroscuro (2016)
-
Anna Rubin
for concert wind ensemble
ca. 9'28"
Chiaroscuro was commissioned by Dr. Brian Kaufman, director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Wind Ensemble in 2016. The term 'chiaroscuro' is a term used in painting to refer to the dramatic treatment of light and shade. I exploit the many colors of wind, brass, percussion and piano to contrast and blend with each other. The piano in particular adds a brilliant coloristic component. The piece is highly rhythmic and builds to a rollicking climax where the full power of the brass section holds sway. The surprise ending is gentle, highlighting the upper winds.
The piece is recorded on Albany Records entitled Filtering, published in 2020.
Click here to view the score and listen to the recording.
Click here to download all performance materials.
- Iridium Gone Gold (2015)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone saxophones, and digital accompaniment
1 iridium flare: a surge of light
marking the revolution in satellite telecommunication
(wire shattered and adrenals gone mad)
launching us forward to do it faster, spread it further, say it louder, push it harder,
leaving us dark in the night and cold on the ground
like the hard, dense, silvery-white metallic sheen of iridium.
2 iridium flare: a surge of light
marking the call to remember
(even if in the midst of desolation)
the overwhelming vulnerability of clouds reconfiguring, kisses colliding,
and human hearts floundering in the space between life and death
like the deep lustrous yellow of iridium gone gold.
Thanks to Willie Johnson for ‘Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground’, one of the 27 samples of music included on the Voyager Golden Record launched into space in 1977.
Click here to view the performance notes.
Click here to view a performance (YouTube).
- (out) (in) . . . the OPEN (1992)
-
Patricia Ann Repar
for flute, oboe, alto saxophone, vibraphone, violoncello
ca. 10'15"
(out)(in)...the OPEN is written in honor of the legendary jazz singer/songwriter Billie Holiday. On the liner notes of Billie's 1956 recording The Essential Billie Holliday–Carnegie Hall Concert, Gilbert Millstein wrote that "Billie was the victim of a world which really could not have cared much less–either for her or for any artist whose talent might be grudgingly acknowledged or eagerly exploited, but who made society uncomfortable or uneasy." Billie's way of singing defiantly exposed herself and her listeners–an experience they yearned for and resented all at the same time. As a way of highlighting Billie's courage to be open, to say it and sing it how it is (not how we might want to hear it), (out)(in)...the OPEN is structured entirely around breath sounds. It is hoped that concentration on breath, by both performers and audience, will evoke some of this vulnerability that Billie and her listeners longed to experience.
- The Sea (1997)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for two pianos and saxophones
ca. 14'00"
Deniz (the Sea) originally was written for two pianos and two Saxophones. A year later I made the second version and revised this composition for two pianos and bass clarinet that was recorded in 1998. This composition is dedicated to the most mysterious sea in the world - the Caspian Sea.
Performers:
Farida Ahmadbayova, piano
Maya Sadigzade, piano
Nizami Zeynalov, bass clarinet
Click here to hear a recording of the version for pianos and bass clarinet on SoundCloud.
- Zilli (2013)
-
Rahilia Hasanova
for woodwind reed quintet
ca. 8'28"