Music for Woodwinds
Music for String Orchestra
Grade 1-2
of Perceval, Parsifal, a Pair of Peculiar, Propitious, and Pleasantly Playful Penguins
Commissioned by the Omaha Conservatory of Music
Narrator and String Orchestra / Grade 2 / ca. 6:00 / (2022) / I. q=140, II. q=80, III. q=150
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The Peculiar and Preposterous Quest of Perceval and Parsifal, a Pair of Propitious, and Pleasantly Playful Penguins, for Narrator and String Orchestra, is a work intended for young musicians and written in the keys of D Major and G Major. The Narration contains light-hearted references to 19th Century Composer Richard Wagner and the Legendary Story of Perceval/Parsifal and the Search for the Holy Grail. (See more...)​
Short Symphony No. 1 (SCSBOA Festival List)
for Chipmunks, Prairie Dogs, Two-year Olds, and Other Cute Little Critters
Commissioned by the Omaha Conservatory of Music
String Orchestra / Grade 2 / ca. 5:00 / (2022) / I. q=108, II. q=78, III. q=130
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Short Symphony No. 1 (for Chipmunks, Prairie Dogs, Two-Year-Old, and Other Cute Little Critters) is an intentionally playful work written with the young musician in mind. The melodic and accompanying material stays with the keys of D and G Major.
Three short movements depicting "A Day in the Life" (See more...)
Short Symphony No. 2
String Orchestra / Grade 2 / ca. 6:30 / (2025) / I. q=120, II. q=65, III. q=120
​​Short Symphony No. 2 “Impressions” was composed for my orchestra students at California High School, Whittier, CA. Each movement is a simple “Impression” of three influential composers from my school days. Each movement is intended to be pedagogical and was composed with intentional bowings, articulations, tempos, styles and interpretations for the exposure of my students.
Movement 1 - Cheerful Youth - Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Movement II - Musique de Nuit - Muarice Ravel (1875-1937)
Movement III - Heart-rending - Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) (See more...)
Page Under Construction
Grade 3-4
Alabama Hills (SCSBOA Festival List)
(For Matt Rohrs - Friend, Colleague, Outdoorsman)
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 3:10 / (2024) / I. Reflective q=120, II. With Adventure q=140
​​The Alabama Hills, located off Highway 395 in the Owens Valley of Central California near Lone Pine, are known for their hills and unique rock formations. Situated along the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountain range, this area has been the site of many Western films. The Alabama Hills are a historic place for camping and fishing along the Owens River. This work for String Orchestra was composed to capture the moods of the scenic beauty and the rough, rugged landscape of the Old West. (See more...)
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 3:20 / (2019) / With Energy q=134
​​Divergent Pulsations was written for the simple joy of it. The title Divergent points to the contrasting pulsating rhythms with the sentimental lyrical melodic lines and the contemporary harmonic elements with the lighter harmonic material. (See more...)
Five Scenes From The Kitchen Window
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 4:30 / (2022) / 5 Movements
Five Scenes From "The Kitchen Window" Short impressions of the birds who visit my front yard.
Scene 1 - The Day Begins
Scene 2 - The Hummingbirds
Scene 3 - The Green Finch
Scene 4 - The Rowdy Green Parrots of Whittier
Scene 5 - The Hawk​​ (See more...)
Flute, Clarinet, Piano, Harp, String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 3:00 / (2015)
Fishing with a Friend was composed between June 12-18, 2015, during a fly fishing and camping trip at Indian Creek Campground in Yellowstone National Park in my little composing studio (tent) at campsite #73. I spent the early mornings and late evenings composing and the afternoons and early evenings fly fishing.
A musical impression, of an old Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, Arkansas) memory, of a lazy Saturday morning, spent fishing with a friend down on the river bank running behind the music building.
"I will both lie down and sleep in peace..."
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 5:55 / (2022) / Con Sentimento q=65
A reflection on faith and hope that brings comfort, restfulness, and peace of mind. The music is intentionally sentimental in both melodic and harmonic material. A special thank you to the musical influence of Ralph Vaughn Williams and Howard Hanson.
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“I will both lie down and sleep in peace for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 4:30 / (2022) / With Excitement q=112
“Mustangs” is an intentionally western-themed work intended to depict a herd of Mustangs running wildly through the plains, grazing calmly by a stream, and then running off again on a wild adventure.
“Mustangs” is one of four commissioned works by the Omaha Conservatory of Music for their 2022 Soundwaves Summer Music Camp.
String Orchestra / Grade 3 / ca. 3:00 / (2019) / With youthful passion, energy q=144
"Run in such a way..." is a reflection on Joy. I was thinking of the quote by the 1924 Scottish Olympic runner, Eric Liddell: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel His pleasure.”​ The phrase, “Run in such a way…” is borrowed from a passage in the New Testament Book of I Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24. This setting work for Band is a musical impression of the passage I learned during my childhood days at Sunday School.
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(I Corinthians 9:24-27 CBV) “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize." ​ (See more...)
String Orchestra / Grade 4 / ca. 4:35 / (2021) / With a gentle flow q=128
“…along a sunlit path” was composed as a gift for the Omaha Conservatory of Music. “…along a sunlit path” is an impression of a picture of a path with rays of sunlight breaking through the trees.
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The gently flowing music opens with Violin 2 and Viola pulsing back and forth between a bi-tonal passage of C and D. The cello enters with a simple pedal C followed by a lightly chirping Violin 1.
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The music is intentionally gentle, optimistic, and punctuated with lyrical melodic lines. The composition passes the themes back and forth between each instrument and reaches a full tutti at measure 82. (See more...)