Projects
This is a compilation of almost all of the pieces that I have completed from 2017 to the present! I will be editing and releasing new pieces, as well as updating the ones that I have posted here. Each piece has a link to a video or audio file for you to listen. Each of my officially published pieces has a button that will take you directly to the score and sheet music on J.W. Pepper for your purchasing pleasure!
All of the funds will be donated to the Fowlerville Community Schools music programs as a way to say thank you, and eventually other school district music programs. Without Mr. G, Ms. DeLacy, Mr. Vliek, and Mr. Roltsch, I wouldn't be where I am today.
© All pieces are copyrighted and registered under ASCAP.
Originally premiered by Sō Percussion. A fun, Latin groove-based piece that involves extended percussion techniques with playing cards and a competitive atmosphere!
*Score and sheet music coming soon to J.W. Pepper!*
In the Cards (2022)
for non-melodic percussion quartet
Odd Times (2021)
for brass quintet (2 trpts, horn, trbn, tuba)
Premiered in the 2022 Premieres IV concert at the MSU College of Music. Performed by Connor Johnson (trpt.), Shawn Nichols (trpt.), Elliot Mihelic (horn), Jared Jarvis (trmbn.), and Ian Graves (tuba). The changing asymmetrical time signatures and unresolved chromatic melodies are meant to represent the uncertain (dare I say "unprecedented") collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Score and sheet music coming soon to J.W. Pepper!*
Confessions (2022)
for fixed electronics and solo instruments
I'm struggling to find the right words for this piece because this story still isn't over for me. What I can say is this: Our worth is not in what the world says about us or what lies are running through our minds. (Inspired by the work of Becky Brown, Mark Applebaum, Jason Treuting, and the composers of the Sō Percussion Summer Institute).
Layers (2023)
for "found sounds" and live recording/looping in Max MSP
An electroacoustic piece that explores different "layers" of sound using Max MSP! Each of the three performers records themselves using a patch that records, stores data, and loops in real time. The players are allowed to improvise rhythms/textures and use whatever instruments or "found sounds" they would like, all playing at different tempos [100, 125, and 150]. Premiered by members of Ensemble Decipher during their residency at Michigan State University!
Song for the World (from Masked, 2021)
3 sop., 2 altos, 3 ten., piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass
From an original musical in the works that takes place during the pandemic called Masked. Premiered in the 2021 MSU Premieres I concert and currently displayed in the 221 CREATE! Microgrant online exhibit. Performed by Kim Sergent (sop.), Anna Zanin (sop.), Sierra Tennyson (sop.), Denise Carlson (alto), Maura Drinkert (alto), Carson Lampert (ten.), Noah Mallet (piano), and Ursula Glasmacher (viola), with special credits to Daijana Wallace (cello recording), Sam Thomas (lighting design), and the Alverson Center for Performing Arts.
SFTW is an anthem of peace and coming together, despite our differences. This song is inspired by the messages and overall sound of change anthems that I grew up listening to, like "All You Need is Love" by the Beatles, "Imagine" by John Lennon, and "Man in the Mirror"/"Heal the World" by Michael Jackson.
Click the button to view the 2021 MSU CREATE! Microgrant Exhibit!
Waltz of Uncertainty (2020)
for string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello, bass)
Waltz of Uncertainty is a string quintet piece that was written towards the beginning of the quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Written within the first two days of quarantine, it reflects on the feeling of uncertainty for what was just around the corner in March of 2020. *This piece has not been premiered yet.
Speak to Me (2019)
for SATB+piano
Speak to Me is a choral piece for SATB voicing (and piano). It was written for the 2019 NAfME Composition competition. The lyrics are meant to be a reminder to treat one another with respect and kindness, written in a time when I needed it the most. Speak to Me was officially premiered by the Fowlerville High School Choir.
You may listen to the poor smartphone quality live recording from Soundcloud or the MIDI recording from the J.W. Pepper Link :)
The Ticking Clock (2017) and The End (2018)
for mallet percussion ensemble
The Ticking Clock was inspired by the concept of time and an unchangeable past. The variations of the melody and the time signature changes are meant to show that although we can’t change the fragments of our past, we can use them as guidance into the future.This piece is special to me because it was my first piece to have ever been finished and performed.
The Ticking Clock was originally performed by the Fowlerville High School Percussion Ensemble for the 2018 MMEA Honors Composition Concert. It was performed for a second time by the percussionists from the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony in 2019, and for a third time, along with The End, by percussionists from the MSU Percussion Studio in April of 2022.
The End is a continuation of The Ticking Clock. Using variations of the "ticking clock" melody, it takes listeners further along the journey of life's challenges and questions; it is a representation of life's end and the worries of whether we have accomplished all that we wanted to. The End was officially premiered by percussionists from the MSU Percussion Studio in April of 2022. Premiered by Erin Widman, Peyton Stramel, Kayla Yingling, Lacy Jewell, and Trevor Else.
Both pieces will eventually be part of a collective of percussion movements that reflect on different themes of life, from birth/beginning, relatedness/bond, regret/time, acceptance/death, and peace/remembrance (and more). The collective piece will be entitled Life Songs.
Instrumentation: marimba (two players on one), vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone+snare (only for The End)
Revolution of the Robots (2021)
real time performance in Max8
A fun and Huxley/Orwell-esque piece created out of a series of patches using granular synthesis, jit.file functions, and live vocal looping/frequency distortion that is controlled by changes in lighting. This was my final project for MUS 387 at MSU, which is a junior/senior level class that I took as a freshman!