Christie Finn and Felix Behringer perform "Tandem" for soprano and Bass Clarinet.

Tandem

In the middle of April 2021, I got a phone call from the contact tracing team that I might have been exposed to COVID-19, and that I had to isolate myself for 10 days. The self-isolation started out feeling like a vacation. I caught up on TV shows that I’ve been wanting to watch, listened to podcasts, and ordered some food without feeling bad about it. I was having a great time, until when I woke up the second day and realized that I had 9 more days to do the exact same thing.

The piece captures various emotions I experienced during the isolation. The solitude was introspective and meditative, but also made me feel stir crazy at times. I have a feeling you know exactly what I’m talking about – we all became masters of solitude, whether voluntarily or not, in this last year. I’d like you to reflect on the feelings and the thoughts you had when you were in your room by yourself, while we listen to this piece of music together.

on solitude was commissioned and premiered by flutist Meera Gudipati in July 2021.

on solitude

by Miles Walter (2022)
Aspen Chamber Symphony (majority student orchestra; some faculty alongside), Nicholas McGegan, conductor
World premiere, rec. live July 8, 2022
Commissioned by Aspen Music Festival and School, Robert Spano, Music Director

This is the first movement of a work in progress, a two-movement symphony.

[NB Other than the closing movement, I very well might never write anything that sounds like this ever again... but it was a joy to write, and I somehow feel that the way the architecture unites in the latter half of the movement justifies the borrowings and anachronisms of the whole... but I do feel a bit self-conscious about this one, it's an odd pet project!]

[Walter] Symphony (2022), I. Broad, in flexible tempo

Commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, for the Flux quartet
marcoadrianramos.com

Barro tejido para la muerte de Mario Lavista o Cuarteto II (2022)

Premiered by Samuel Hollister and the Yale Philharmonia on December 8th, 2022 in New Haven, CT.

Autumn Movement

In 4 movements (Slow, Fast, Standstill and Motion) I'm exploring different colours and characteristics in the combination of violin and accordion.

Live performed by Kaat Vanhaverbeke and Marjolein Spruit on March 17, 2023 in The Hague (NL)
Recorded and mastered by Reina Dreyhaupt

Sonata for violin and accordion (2022)

In Prayer takes its text from a moment of heightened drama in the Old Testament in which Miriam is suddenly struck with a fatal sickness. In desperation, Miriam’s brother Moses pleads to God with a humble, one-sentence prayer for healing, reciting the phrase, in Hebrew, “el na refa na la” (please God, heal her). I decided to set this text in three different ways in order to explore a myriad of approaches one might take to appeal to God at such an urgent moment. The outer movements (I. with devotion, III. with resolve) are more solemn and ritualistic, calling God forth with reverence and respect. The middle movement (II. with impatience), on the other hand, is agitated, frustrated, and cynical, riddled with desperation and disbelief.

In Prayer can be performed as a duo for singer (orig. mezzo) and violist, where the singer plays a scordatura guitar laid flat, and the violist plays a kick drum. In Prayer can also be performed as a quartet for singer, violist, guitarist, and percussionist. Contact aaron.i.levin@gmail.com for more information.

Elana Bell – voice
Brian Isaacs – viola
Matiss Cudars – guitar
Makana Medeiros – percussion

In Prayer: III. with resolve – for voice, viola, guitar, and percussion

this track is made exclusively of processed piano sounds and a xaiphoon.

Nevada Diamond

nevada diamond

Recorded by Austin Wulliman
Version for 4 violins

"dx/dt" recontextualizes music notation as a position versus time graph. Utilizing a unique Pythagorean tuning system where 4 instruments cover a full 12 note series of perfect 5ths, this piece can be performed on 4 violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, or 4 double basses. Only open strings and natural harmonics are used throughout the piece, through which delicate and pure sounds immerse the listener.

dx/dt

written for and performed by Phoebe Bognár.

close

Udi Perlman: Alila II (premiere recording)

Premiered by the Omer Quartet 

Morse Hall, New Music New Haven, CT
November 6th, 2020

ALILA II - For String Quartet (2020)

Hi there! I'm a composer/musician/whatnot, currently New York adjacent, studying at the Yale School of Music. Contact: aaron.i.levin@gmail.com

In Prayer: III. with resolve – for voice, viola, guitar, and percussion

Aaron Israel Levin

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