1. Pale Facsimile of the Self

Performed at the Peabody Conservatory.

I've chosen to refrain from uploading the 2nd movement for space reasons, but it can be viewed on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8GgMYDfBzE . It's a manic composition that admittedly doesn't hold up in any logical way, but it sure was a lot of fun to write, and I hope it's fun to listen to. 

Earthshine - Reflections For Clarinet and Piano - Movement 1 (2011)

The live electronics were created in Max MSP. 

Performed by Sean Meyers at the Peabody Conservatory, 2014. 

Heartrush, for alto saxophone and live electronics (2014)

This is a large setting of the last section of T.S. Eliot's epic poem "The Waste Land" (V. What The Thunder Said). I composed it at Brevard Music Center, where it was premiered in August 2013. This recording was made at Peabody in Spring 2014, led by Frances Pollock, soprano, and Blair Skinner, conductor. The instrumentation is as follows: Soprano soloist, violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, bass clarinet, percussion, piano.  The text used is in the public domain only in the United States. 

What The Thunder Said, for soprano and large chamber ensemble (2013)

This is a mini-chamber opera composed as part of Peabody's Opera Etudes program in early 2014. I will tell you that it is set during the American Civil War, first in a civilian home and then in a field hospital, but without the video (which I don't have yet but will link to when I do) I'm not sure whether or not the plot will make sense... so I'll leave it at that. The libretto was written by the extraordinary Elizabeth Reeves, and it is scored for soprano, mezzo, bass-baritone, and piano (and a secret backstage bass drum).

Now We Are Met (2014)

"Catalysis" is a piece for full orchestra that I composed from September to December 2014. This recording is a reading by the Peabody Symphony Orchestra from April 2015. I thank Hajime Teri Murai and the PSO for their outstanding work, Kevin Puts, Joel Puckett, and Judah Adashi for their guidance and advice, and Edwin Huet for fixing up the recording. 
Fair warning: The ending gets a bit loud. 

Catalysis (2014)

I wrote this piece for the SONAR New Music Ensemble (http://www.sonarnewmusic.org); the recording is from their April 2015 concert, conducted by Robert Baker. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with SONAR before leaving Baltimore. This recording was edited and mastered by Matthew Sullivan.

Saudade (2015)

Composed for a mezzo-soprano and two cellists at the University of Michigan, El Doble is a setting of poetry by the Mexican poet Homero Aridjis (specifically, poems 1, 7, 8, and 9 of his set "Los Poemas Del Doble" from the collection "Ojos de Otro Mirar"). The original Spanish text was used with the permission of the author, and the English translation is reprinted below with the permission of New Directions Publishing (please read it).  I am tremendously grateful to the performers, professors, and recording engineer for their work and time in helping me bring this project to fruition.


     I grabbed my face
and brought it to the mirror

searched my eyes 
but did not know them

observed my gestures
weak from terror

he was frightened 
of my self


     I opened his eyes 
saw
my living darkness

is there a boatman anywhere
able to shift the light
from limit unto limit?

yes 
or 
no?


     Beyond you 
I do not exist not even I
there is no definite horizon
nor hands to touch the light

all being is a surface
a place 
a stone 
that’s all

Beyond me
you do not exist not even you


      To give up the ghost
is the task of the living

to drink memories
from eyes
is the role of the dead

in my mouth today
we break
the bread of illusion


El Doble (2015)

Originally composed for the New Music on the Point Festival, Your Tidal Breath was inspired by a line from the poet David Whyte’s “The Sea In You”, in which a man compares the aspects of his sleeping wife to those of the sea. 

For flute, violin, viola, and cello. Recorded in January 2017 by students at the University of Michigan.

Your Tidal Breath (2016)

Performed by Jonathan Harris and the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra (Niklas Tamm, conductor).

Program Notes:
The following text is my adaptation of poetry by the 18th century Zen Buddhist monk Ryōkan, translated from the original Japanese. Ryōkan describes the conflict he feels between the tranquility of his life as a secluded hermit and the suffering that abounds in this impermanent, contingent, “floating” world. He struggles to reconcile this conflict, but he cannot come to terms with it nor soothe the aches of other living beings. All he can do is offer compassion. 
	

Sometimes I sit quietly,
Listening to falling leaves.
A monk’s life is so peaceful,
Far from the world.
Then why do I still cry?

I know that nothing is real.
One by one, all things fade.
But why do I still grieve?

When I see the misery,
All the pain of the world,
The sadness becomes mine.

If only the sleeves of this robe 
Could shelter the poor!

If only this torn monk’s robe 
Were wide enough 
To gather up all the suffering souls
In this floating world.

This Floating World (2017)

Performed by the Adamas Saxophone Quartet

Program Notes: My usual route from my apartment to classes at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance crosses the Huron River three times. I have spent countless hours paused by its banks, studying its currents and depths, watching it flow past the many bends and obstacles in its course, and observing the gradual coming and going of the seasons. The ease and spontaneity with which the river flows has been a source of great comfort and wisdom during the more uneasy and constricted periods of my time here in Ann Arbor. Don’t Push The River is about how we can emulate the river’s naturalness and grace in the ways that we approach the difficult bends and obstacles in the course of our lives.

Headphones or earbuds are recommended, and the beginning should be very soft.

Commissioned for "The River In Our City" festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and recorded by Solid Sound Recording Company.

Don't Push The River (2017)

Composer, currently living on meditation retreat.

Andrew Posner, Composer

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