Premiered by Dither in Princeton, NJ on February 8th, 2022.

No Heroes (2022) for electric guitar quartet

Materia Prima was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra and was premiered on March 16, 2023 by Daniela Candillari and the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Materia Prima draws inspiration from the mythological motif of the cosmic ocean. This motif, which can be found in the creation stories of a strikingly wide variety of cultures and religions, describes a cosmic ocean of primordial, often chaotic waters from which the universe was created. The title, Materia Prima (Latin for prime, or original matter) refers to the substance viewed as the material cause of the universe.

There are two musical elements that form my piece, sustained sounds and brief impulses. The impulses act as drops of water in a still, vast sea, creating waves of activity that disrupt the stability of the sustained material. The harmonic structure of the piece is built upon a similar opposition, one between the harmonic series of a low B-flat and the open strings of the string instruments, particularly the open A – the note from which the entire piece emerges. The piece unfolds through gradual processes of transformation as it attempts to reconcile these opposing materials. At its core, Materia Prima strives to find serene spaces in a turbulent and chaotic world.

Materia Prima (2023) for orchestra

Fated Nines - Jason Eckardt (Amorsima Trio)

Premiered by Gallicantus on February 29th, 2024 in Princeton, NJ. Photo by Bolton Howes.


TEXT

Ad mortem sic vita fluit, velut ad mare flumen.
Vivere nam res est dulcis, amara mori. 

— John Owen (1564–1622)


Translation: 

So life flows to death, as a river to the sea.
For to live is a sweet thing, to die is bitter

PROGRAM NOTE

The text of this piece, a latin epigram by the Welsh poet John Owen, touches on the inherent melancholy bound up in the human experience. My setting is an attempt to evoke certain facets of this melancholy, such as the unsettling feeling of time slipping away.

Sic vita fluit (2024) for five voices [ATTBB]

Carnivalesque (2014/ revised version 2016) -Ashkan Behzadi

for Flute (Piccolo), Clarinet in Bflat (Bass Clarinet), Violin, Violoncello, Accardion, Piano, Percussion 
Conducted by: Sandro Gorli 

Revised version composed for Divertimento Ensemble
Premiered on July 17, 2016, Bobbio, Italy, as part of International Young Composers Workshop 

Program notes:
“The one sin of which a Tarahumara Indian is conscious is that of not having danced enough.”
Jessie L.Weston From Ritual to Romance


Carnivalesque (2014/2016) -Ashkan Behzadi

Jason Eckardt: Echoes' White Veil (1996)
performed live at Harris Hall, Aspen, CO
February 9, 2017

Jason Eckardt: Echoes' White Veil (1996)

"...of unnoticed charm" was commissioned by the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, and is based on a series of 7 images taken in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood in Baltimore. Each movement is a response to one of the images. 

Jesse Washburn - Guitar

"Made in Baltimore"

...of unnoticed charm

no stars - ii. lovesong || for four cellos (2018)

NY premiere of Michael Hersch's Violin Concerto featuring guest soloist Miranda Cuskson.  April 20, 2018 - Saint Peter's Church, New York, NY.

...of unnoticed charm

Gabriel Bouche Caro

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