Written for unaccompanied tenor in 2020.
Performed November 2020 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX. Originally premiered with mixed media visuals, available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/eVXp3hz_HWw
Performer: Randy Westmoreland.

Text: Robert Frost's poem "Blue-Butterfly Wing"

It is blue-butterfly day here in spring,
And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.
But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

Blue-Butterfly Day

Written for tuba and piano in 2019.
Performed November 7th 2022 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
Performers: Julien Aaron (tuba) and Hope A Starr (piano)

Premiered by Garrett Kelly (tuba) and Hope A Starr (piano) on November 13th 2019 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX

I wrote this duet with a particular set of memories in mind. While I was growing up, I would regularly go with my grandparents in the fall to their deer lease in East Texas. Though I often hunted with them, this piece focuses on what I did the rest of my time there. When I was not hunting I would run off alone into the forest where I could explore and enjoy nature. I remember the sound of the wind flowing through the trees and the crunch of fall leaves fresh under my feet. Even the smell of this forest was gorgeous as the scent of pine pervaded the entire lease. The sound of flowing water and small animals could always be heard nearby. I dedicated the name of this piece, Falling in Fall, to those memories because the trips often felt like being thrust into fall. And, from time to time, we all have to fall into... Well, fall!

Falling in Fall

Written for a cappella SATB choir in 2018.
Performed at Brazos Starr's senior recital on April 2nd 2023 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX.
Performers: David W Brewer (conductor), Analise Murphy (soprano 1), Ray Guajardo (soprano 2), Fatima Rodriguez (alto 1), Emily Confair (alto 2), Danièle Perez (tenor 1), Grey Billingsly (tenor 1), Ritvik Bhattacharjee (tenor 1), Gabriel Clements (tenor 2), Chase Willis (bass 1), Josh Barnes (bass 1), Luke Mosqueda (bass 1), Fabian Garza (bass 2), and Jose Villalta (bass 2).

Premiered on November 16th 2021 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX by Harrison Grigg (conductor), Estefania Rivera and Monica Chavez (sopranos), Jessica Reid and Alexandra Saldaña (altos), Cameron Phillips and Grey Billingsly (tenors), and Joshua Roubieu and Graham Bacak (basses).

Program Notes

Plea started while speaking with my previous mentor and close friend Dr. Chad Robinson about what I would write next. He asked me to think about "what is worth composing for?" The question kept me up for many sleepless nights. Rage, depression, and wild mood swings are all a regular part of my compositional process, so this was nothing new. Eventually, the idea for Plea struck me like a bolt of lightning. It was 3am and my wife was asleep in our bed. I had been up pacing in our home for hours, trying ideas at the piano and failing repeatedly. At this point in my life, I was praying and asking God why I had gone through so many things that all felt meaningless. When I realized that was a question that soldiers often asked, I began surfing YouTube for videos that could spark my thoughts.

I eventually found videos that soldiers sent to their families before passing away. Some of them were filmed in their final bed inside infirmaries, others in non-disclosed locations near war zones. Regardless of where the videos were recorded, they all contained the same things: one soldier, one camera, and honesty. These soldiers knew that what they said in these videos could be the last words their families ever heard from them. Since these videos were labeled "final words", they truly were the last things they said. Men told their wives that they loved them, told their kids they had never seen that they cared for them, and told their parents that they missed them. They even thanked God for the opportunity they had been given to fight and die not only for their country but for their families. And for me. These soldiers had gone overseas to fight not just for the people they knew and loved but also for the people that they had never even met. People like me. So, I wrote Plea in honor of them, their sacrifice, and to help them not be forgotten. Even if only for this moment, they matter.

Text by Brazos Starr

The nightmares are finally, finally over.
Remember, the nightmares are finally over.
The missions, finally over.
The nightmares are finally over.

My long nights last so long, they never leave. Finally alone.
Remember when we fell, finally alone.
The long nights, so long, when will they leave us alone?
The nightmares are final. Alone.

All we wanted was to say, goodbye.

Father, help us. We beg, will you please save us now?
Blessed son, the one and only King.
All we wanted was to say, goodbye.
Save us Father. Goodbye.

Plea

Written for alto saxophone, cello, and piano in 2019.
Premiered at Brazos Starr's senior recital on April 2nd 2023 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX.
Performers: Carter Vernon (alto sax), John Velez (cello), and Justin Legel (piano).

Rainbow Shoal Road

Written for flute and marimba in 2020.
Performed at Brazos Starr's senior recital on April 2nd 2023 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX.
Performers: Nathalie De La Cruz (flute) and Jason House (marimba).

Premiered on November 16th 2021 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX by Elizabeth Esquivel Mondragon (flute) and pre-recorded marimba.

Program Notes
The Isle is a piece dedicated to deep diving into my own mind. During the coronavirus quarantine, I spent most of my time alone meditating on my balcony. It acted as my own personal island. I spent many hours reading my wife's favorite book series and stepping away from social media. Most importantly, I listened. I listened to the birds near my third-story apartment. Some mornings they would greet me on my balcony and join me for breakfast. I listened to them and I learned. The flute’s melody lines are those birds’ songs while the marimba embodies the island I sat on listening to them. The Isle is a reflection of who I've become in my 25 years of life and, more importantly, an experience to learn who I want to become.

The Isle

Written for piano in 2020.
Premiered at Brazos Starr's senior recital on April 2nd 2023 at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX.
Performer: Justin Legel.

The Death of a King captures the final motives and musical emotions of an anonymous performer, playing on a keyboard hidden deep inside the king’s castle.

The Death of a King

Written for piano in 2017
Performer: Mary Katherine Schober.

Purchase sheet music at https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/cycles-of-life-digital-sheet-music/21565058

Cycles of Life

Drudging Through Exhaustion

Cycles of Life - II. Drudging Through Exhaustion

I. Experiences & Evolutions

Cycles of Life - I. Experiences & Evolutions

Written for string quartet in 2018.
Performers: Westheimer String Quartet featuring Sean O'Neal (violin I), Zachary Montasser (violin II), Alexa Thomson (viola), and Daron Kirsch (cello).

Purchase sheet music at https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/remembering-the-lost-digital-sheet-music/21566491

Remembering the Lost

Written for flute and piano in 2018.
Performers: Jillian Francis (flute) and Mary Katherine Schober (piano).

Purchase sheet music at https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/the-moon-and-her-harvest-digital-sheet-music/21566557

The Moon and Her Harvest

Poor, but faithful till I die.

Brazos Starr has composed for ensembles ranging from solo and chamber to band and choir, including a solo tenor multimedia work Blue-Butterfly Day. His solo cello work, They Came as the Collage, was recorded by Voices of Change in 2020. Starr is currently studying composition at Stephen F. Austin State University under Dr. Stephen Lias. Starr's former instructors include Robert J Coe (SFASU) and Dr. Chad Robinson (private lessons). Starr has also worked for Dr. Robinson's non-profit Texas New Music Ensemble. With an A.A. in Vocal Performance, Starr enjoys performing and for many years had been singing in the Stone Fort Chorale. In recent years his voice professor Dr Moody has a community choir that he has been considering rejoining in 2025.

Starr has since graduated from SFA and has been composing a suite on his own while also beginning to practice multiple piano pieces to continue pushing with music in his life. A masters program in composition is still his goal but currently the projects seem to be on hold. 

He has been moving into solo piano work and writing for the fun of it. Some say that composition isn’t cool anymore, that it is stuck in the past but he has argued that is a lie, it is worth it if you love it. The orchestral field still dominates not only film but also the gaming world. 

Regardless of how the future pans out, if you’re breathing, you should be spending time on what you love and most importantly, who you love.

Brazos has been known by his nickname for a long time “Atlas” although in recent years this name has fallen by the wayside it is still a prominent figure in his life. The website that hosts his music still features the name in the title.

After having an extensive vocal rep that includes many German, Italian, a few French and English rep in both classical and jazz styles, the hardest pieces to perform is most certainly “Gretchenn Am Spinnrade” by the wonderful Franz Schubert. 

The music of Takashi Yoshimatsu has been a huge inspiring factor in his life, the tender toys album volumes 1-3 has exceptionally stood out as a part of his drive post university life. To this day he still listens to and has been practicing Yoshimatsu’s Pleiades dances albums.

None of this was ever to be possible without Gods influence. 

Atlasandco.webnode.page

Even now, I have appreciated & continued to support the genuine one person that over the last ten years has put in more effort carrying me through life than anyone else ever has & shall ever do again. I just pray they understand & see my commitment to them.

Brazos Starr

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