Written in the style of J.S. Bach, this piece is a two part invention with an avian twist.  The two part invention was written by Yours Truly at Manhattanville College in Spring 2002.  I exported the score as a midi sequence and imported it into Acid Pro where I could change the sounds of the voices.  I ran Sunny and Nikki's squawks through a sampler and created two "new instruments".  

The two voices of the invention that would normally be played by the left and right hands at the piano are now being "sung" by Sunny and Nikki.  Nikki sings the lower voice (left hand part) while Sunny sings the higher voice (right hand).

Invention In Squawk (2014)

In this sound composition, I recorded myself playing the strings inside a piano. The specific techniques used were plucking the strings, scraping the strings with fingernails, hitting the strings, and string glissandos. These taped sounds were then arranged to form a musical composition.

Beneath the Strings (2014)

Revelations was completed in May 2010 and was written for and the North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra conducted by Max Lifchitz.  It had its world premiere performance on October 30, 2011 at Christ & St Stephen's Church in New York City. 

The piece was inspired by the music of Alan Hovhaness and infused with excerpts from a lost piano fantasy that I had written many years before. The work carries the title Revelations since the themes came to me prior to falling asleep.

Revelations was written for and performed by the North/South Consonance Chamber Orchestra conducted by Max Lifchitz

Revelations (2011)

Brass Ring was written in Fall 2006 during my graduate studies at Purchase College.  It was performed at the college in the Spring of 2007 by the Purchase College Brass Ensemble conducted by Graham Ashton.

Grabbing the brass ring or reaching for the brass ring is an expression commonly used today which refers to striving toward a goal or prize.  This expression originated from the carousel game.  Typically rings were hung off to the side of the carousel and the object was for everyone to stretch out as far as they could and grab one.  Some of the rings were steel and some were brass.  If one were fortunate to grab one of the brass rings, he/she won a prize: another ride on the carousel for free!

This work was for me, a golden opportunity since I had never written a work for a brass group like this.  Once I was offered the chance, I immediately began working toward my goal of composing a piece for this exceptional brass group.  Brass Ring consists of three sections.  The first section is based on a rhythmic theme while the second section is based on a theme slightly mellower.  The third and final section is a return to the first section with some ideas varied.  Thus, this brass work is “round” in structure as well.

Brass Ring (2007

For the birds was written for oboist Susan Vought Findleyin summer 2009.  Not only do we both love music, but we also love birds.  We each have the wonderful experience of living with parrots.  

The expression  "for the birds" is often used to criticize something as being worthless or pointless.  However, in this case "for the birds is a literal statement.  This piece was written to honor and pay homage to all birds that touch our lives by adding beauty, music and much needed comic relief.

For The Birds (2010)

Composed in Summer of 2014, Time is written on a poem I wrote the previous year, which carries the same title.  

Time
Unseen enemy  
Most needed friend
Do not run out on me

Time
One step ahead
I fall behind
Please, slow down  

Time
Wait for me
Do not leave me 
Oh how your magic deceives me

I feel you moving
Faster and faster
Where are you going?

You slip through my fingers
Hold still for a moment
All I have is just this one moment! 

Time
Unseen enemy  
Most needed friend
Do not run out on me

Time was performed by baritone, Chai-Lun Yueh and pianist Annette J. Shapiro on Friday, November 14th, 2014 at the  Dimenna Center for Classical Music.

Time (2014)

Copland's Scherzo Humoristique, "The Cat and the Mouse" was inspired by the poem entitled Le Chat et La Souris by the French poet, Jean de La Fontaine.  This piece was composed in March 1920 in Brooklyn, NY, during his theory and composition studies with Rubin Goldmark.
	The piece is very playful and fun to listen to as it depicts what its titles suggests.  It is easy to visualize a cat chasing a mouse.  The agitated and quick passages of the piece represent the skittish, scampering mouse while the slower and relaxed passages suggest the image of the sly, sneaky cat.  Toward the end of the piece, a funeral march is presented in which the listener initially believes the mousse's days are over.  However, at the very end, it takes an unexpected turn as a soft, timid limping melody is heard.  From this, it is clear that the mouse, in fact, survived its unpleasant encounter with the cat

Copland - The Cat And The Mouse

The prelude during the 19th century was a short independent piece that expressed a particular mood.  Such works were written by Frederic Chopin (Scriabin's early music influence as well as later composers, such as Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff.  

Scriabin's  Prelude, Op. 67 No. 1 was written between 1912 and 1913 and is a good example of Scriabin's late period style.  Toward the final years of his life, Scriabin's works possessed a vague and mysterious quality and lacked forward motion.  Also, Scriabin had already abandoned the influence of Chopin, as well as the traditional major-minor key systems.  He began to develop his own harmonic language, using fourth-based chords structures rather than those based on thirds.

http://pianosociety.com

Scriabin - Prelude Op.67 Nr.1

The percussion instruments used in this work are all everyday objects that can be found anywhere.  These “instruments” include glass jars, tine cans, a plastic bucket, and a large wooden block.  They were chosen for their varied timbres and individual sounds.

Snapshots is a collection of five short piece. In this work, each percussion instrument is given the opportunity to shine.  The first four pieces have a featured soloist in which on of the four instruments gets to show its personality, while the others provide commentary and rhythmic support.  The first piece features the sound of the tin cans; the second, the plastic bucket; the third, the wooden bucket; and the fourth, the glass jars.  After each instrument has had its say, they all come together for the final piece, which is constructed like a fugue.  It is based on a rhythmic theme that is stated and answered by all four instruments, allowing them to become equal in importance.

The work was performed by percussionists Cesare Papetti, Christopher Bonacorsa, Robert Kistler and Justin Wolf.

"Flight" from Snapshots (2006)

View of the Rocky Mountains
Performed by the Calliope Brass Quintet
 on February 24, 2018 at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in New York City

Composed in 2017 for brass quintet, View of the Rocky Mountains was inspired by a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in early June of that same year.  Some colleagues and I were in Denver for a few days on business, and when we had some free time, we viewed  the snow-capped mountains from about 10 thousand feet above sea level and it was truly a magnificent sight.

Jennifer Mary Castellano