I think there’s something in American pop-culture that will always romanticize the time of the cowboys. Maybe that’s because we’ve all grown up watching different depictions of what it’s like to live as a cowboy - from John Wayne to Kevin Costner guiding us through their interpretations of what things were like out on the range. With Prairie Wind Sketches, I set out to portray my own picture-esque envisioning of the old west, as well as write a very different work from my previous wind ensemble piece, (and all the lights that guide the way are blinding.) 

When describing the piece to others, I usually summed it up as my “love letter to Copland.” The piece takes major cues and influence from Billy The Kid, Appalachian Spring, (the main theme of the piece is derived from a short chord progression following the “Simple Gifts” section of that piece,) and even a nod to the end of his Third Symphony. The piece attempts to depict 48 hours in the life of our fictional cowboy - an old west sunrise, hijinks at the saloon, sleeping under the stars, and even a “10 paces and draw” duel. It’s more glimmer than true grit, and probably not as dirty or grimy as the real thing, but nostalgia and idyllic memories of the past always shine more in the far distance than they did on their way out of town, riding the horse they came in on.


Prairie Wind Sketches was premiered on December 11th, 2022 by the Prairie Wind Ensemble, with the composer conducting.

Prairie Wind Sketches

Sabertooth is a short, fast, and loud piece for two pianos that was a bit of a departure from my previous methods of sketching out and planning my compositions. I focused on motivic gestures and syncopations, and used a series of 12-note all-interval vertical sonorities, (specifically, I used 'Link chords,' or chords that contain the all-trichord-hexachord as a discrete hexachord and were discovered by theorist John Link,) to guide my pitch content and orchestrations.

This premier performance was given by John Orfe and Chee Hyeon Choi for Bradley University's new music concert Peoria Lunaire, on April 22nd, 2015.

Sabertooth

and all the lights that guide the way are blinding

Jazz Combo Concert Fall 2009

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Midi realization of music for classroom instruments ensemble. Boomwhackers, (marimbas here on the recording,) ukes, hand drums, classroom bells and desk bells.

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