Index

Tree of Life (2024) 25′

for clarinet, piano, violin, cello
commissioned by Anzû Quartet
premiered by Anzû • March 9th, 2025 at Roulette NYC

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2, New Revised Standard Version

Procession (2023) 18′

for baritone voice, trumpet, trombone, bass clarinet
commissioned by Loadbang
premiered by Loadbang • December 1st, 2023 at Church of the Intercession NYC

Procession is a single movement work of about 18 minutes duration, written in June of 2023 during a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute.  It is based on a sequence of 12 chords, which cycle over the course of seven sections as a continuously varied progression of melodic tracings, rhythmic patterns, and riffs.  Notably, Procession is my first new chamber work since 2017, during which time I’ve developed my practice in live electronic music, among other pursuits. As such, I have returned to writing for acoustic instruments with a renewed focus on evoking states of continuous flow.  The title references this stylistic direction by way of Christian theology, where it describes the emanation of the Holy Spirit. 

Sacrament (2017) 13’

for flute, clarinet, marimba, and electronics
commissioned by Katarina Pistor and Carsten Bonnemann
premiered by Talea Ensemble: Alex Lipowski, Barry Crawford, Marianne Gythfeldt
February 17th, 2017 at National Sawdust, Brooklyn

Sacrament uses repetition and variation to explore connections between speed and resonance, spaciousness and overload, growth and decay. In the opening section, arpeggiating woodwinds summon a distorted synth line, leading to a series of riff-oriented sections that cycle back to a varied beginning, nine minutes later. As in many of my works, the performers in Sacrament are invited to strike a balance between fierce precision and transformational nuance. The flute creates virtuosic contrasts between rapid fire arpeggios and “distorted” breath tones, the clarinet evokes fluidity and color, while the marimba alternates between hypnotic riffs, stentorian pulses, and ecstatic gestures that dance on the threshold of syncopation and pointillism.

Score available at Project Schott New York

Mysterium (2016) 14’

for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and electronics
commissioned through ICE’s First Page Program
premiered by Claire Chase, Joshua Rubin, Rebekah Heller (ICE)
August 4th, 2016 at Time Spans Festival, Colorado

Mysterium was written for Claire Chase, Joshua Rubin, and Rebekah Heller, in celebration of a collaborative history dating back to 2006. As such, it is a synthesis of several styles I’ve explored since we began working together, thematically inspired by the evocation of supernatural phenomena and religious ritual (mysteries). These include archaic modal melody with florid ornamentation, the blending of analog synthesizers and acoustic instruments through overlapping fluctuations of pitch and noise, spectral transformations, and echoes of religious-themed modernism in the tradition of Klang-era Stockhausen. I chose the title in tribute to its myriad historical associations, which include the Eleusinian Mysteries, the liturgical chant O Magnum Mysterium, and C.G. Jung’s Mysterium Coniunctionis, a treatise on his extensive study of alchemy.

The rhythmic figure heard in the opening melody is derived from the “sat-nam” chant of kundalini yoga, which roughly translates to “truth is my name.” The long sustained tones on “nam” are ornamented with melodic flourishes inspired by Algerian gasba flute music, alongside the colorful noise of Ciat-Lonbarde and Moog synthesizers. Following this introduction, an incantatory bassoon solo emerges, summoning a primal feeling of longing. The full dynamism of the trio unfolds in response, balancing ethereal passages with tight unison gestures. The remainder of the piece carves pathways through a series of ritualistic vision states, and concludes with a transformation of the C spectrum, using graphic notation to guide performers in “sounding the beyond”.

Score available at Project Schott New York

Anima (2016) 11’

for three cellos
commissioned through ICE’s First Page Program
premiered by Kivie Cahn-Lipman, Katinka Kleijn, Michael Nicolas (ICE) • March 4th 2016 at Abrons Arts Center, NYC

“Anima” for three cellos, was written as a response to “Sumna” a work of mine for solo viola da gamba.  These form part of a group of works inspired by ancient vocal traditions of the east and west, in particular the vocal styles of Hildegard von Bingen, Sephardic music of Medieval Spain, and Tibetan Buddhist chant.  The trio uses a melodic fragment from Sumna as its basis, a kind of “lamento motif”of a descending melodic figure, expressing sadness or grief. The “lamento motif” has a long history in Western music, dating back to the “Lamento di Tristano” of the 13th century, all the way through works by Purcell, Monteverdi, and Bach.  Envisioning the trio as a kind of ecstatic consort music, I arranged the lamento motif using a heterophonic texture, where each instrument plays simultaneous variations on the same melody. This is contrasted by more the more primal sound of the introduction, a kind of chanting pattern that evokes both meditative breathing and the low bass voices of Tibetan Buddhist ritual.  The title is a latin word which has various meanings, including a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, and soul.

Altar of Two Serpents (2009) 6’

for two alto flutes
premiered by Claire Chase and Eric Lamb (ICE) • February 18th 2010 at Park Avenue Amory, NYC

Score available at Project Schott New York

Trembling Time (2009) 10’

for string trio
premiered by Talea • October 6th 2009 in Paris FR

Trembling Time II was written for members of Talea Ensemble in September of 2009, the occasion being a European concert tour in which we collaborated and shared billing with Iancu Dumitrescu and Ana-Maria Avram’s Hyperion Ensemble.  The title itself comes from a quote by Horatiu Radulescu in which he describes a feeling experienced when observing the slow movement of clouds. Although this image may suggest a work of gradually changing drone music, the music itself is brimming with mercurial energy.  Along with my two string quartets written in 2004-06, it is highly representative of my writing for strings, and explores approaches innovated by Scelsi, Dumitrescu, Avram, and Radulescu through my own particular sensibility, combining my roots in metal and noise with the mystical and perceptual poetics of Romanian spectral music.  

Score available at Project Schott New York

Prism Path (2009) 10’

for two alto flutes, percussion, and electronics
premiered by Claire Chase, Eric Lamb, and Nathan Davis (ICE) • September 25th 2009 at Roulette, NYC

Mansion (2009) 11’

for two alto flutes, percussion, and electronics
premiered by Claire Chase, Eric Lamb, and Nathan Davis (ICE)
February 9th 2009 at Musica Nova Helsinki
recording on “Enter Houses Of” (Tzadik, 2009)

Score available at Project Schott New York

The Flesh Needs Fire (2007) 9’

for flute, clarinet, and electronics
premiered by Claire Chase and Joshua Rubin (ICE) • October 2007 at Tenri Cultural Center, NYC
recording on “Enter Houses Of” (Tzadik, 2009)

Score available at Project Schott New York