a world for each moment
for saxophone, electric guitar, piano, percussion, and fixed media

Performed by Hypercube
Erin Rogers, saxophone
Jay Sorce, electric guitar
Chris Graham, percussion
Andrea Lodge, piano

a world for each moment (for sax., e. guitar, perc., piano, and fixed media)

Circular Reasoning for String Quartet
Performed by the Bergamot Quartet at the DiMenna Center on April 21st. 
Recorded and mixed Tyler Neidermayer.

Circular Reasoning (for string quartet)

dances and prayers in isolation (2020)
for various instrumentations
i. dance no. 1 for flute and marimba "fidget"

Paul Novak, flute
John Corkill, marimba

dances and prayers in isolation is a set of short pieces written for and performed remotely from quarantine by friends and colleagues during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Each miniature is scored for a different solo or duo instrumentation, and the work is structured with fast, rhythmic movements alternating with somber, reflective ones.

Image: Treatise on the Veil, Cy Twombly

dances and prayers in isolation (2020): i. dance no. 1 for flute and marimba "fidget"

Completed September 11, 2023
Premiered by JACK Quartet in Taplin Auditorium, November 29, 2023

Written for JACK Quartet

The grisaille technique has always interested me for the challenges posed to its practitioners: the technique limits painters to monochromatic palettes. Beginning as underpainting for stained glass, grisaille eventually flourished as an entire form of its own in the 16th century. Today, art historians depict it as a singularly rigorous exercise that forced artists to more carefully consider their brushstrokes and composition in the absence of color. 

Many of my teachers spoke similarly about writing for string quartet: a practice that forced artists to write with economy and intention within a limited color palette. This piece, Panes of Grisaille, is a study in timbre, seeking to pull as much depth and energy from its homogeneous instrumentation as possible. The music leans heavily into sounds and tunings that are only possible on strings, ricocheting through as many techniques as possible while barreling forward with incessant momentum. 

I owe much thanks to the astounding musicians of JACK Quartet, to whom this piece is dedicated. I only dared write something so frankly demanding knowing it would be in their hands.

Panes of Grisaille, for string quartet

Second Nature: Concerto for Saxophone Quartet

world premiere
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players
Eric Dudley, conductor
Recorded June 12, 2024
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Cole Reyes - "Snap"

Completed July 29, 2024
Premiered December 4, 2024 by the Attacca Quartet

Dedicated to the Attacca Quartet, whose omnivorous enthusiasm for music was as infectious as it was inspiring

When preparing to write a new piece for the incredible Attacca Quartet, I had to reformulate my attitudes toward music. Where other ensembles would specialize, Attacca approached a stunningly wide repertoire with wit, joy, and open-mindedness. For them, there could be no music too high or too low, too silly or serious, too old or new. Instead, any music could serve as its own justification. 

Loosely inspired by William Blake’s parallel poetry collections ‘Songs of Innocence & Experience,’ this piece is structured in two halves that correspond roughly to the titular themes. Blake completed Songs of Experience six years after Songs of Innocence, and he originally intended the former to be exclusively centered on adulthood while the latter concentrated on youth. By the time he finished the collections, however, neither half was purely innocent nor experienced. The two contained poems of the same subject matter, the same titles, and in some cases, the same content - Blake actually moved some of the poems in 'Innocence' to 'Experience' upon completion, suggesting a complex relationship between the halves. 

I reflected on the soundworld I had developed over the six years or so since I started composing: a music of rushing motion, extended techniques, and mischievous self-awareness. This style stood in stark contrast to the first few pieces I had written: pop-like chord progressions, simple melodies, emotional transparency to the point of embarrassment. I decided I would set these old, ‘naive’ ideas in conversation with my current musical language. 

I hope that by juxtaposing and interweaving these musics that I can cast some doubt upon the linear narratives of growth we often feed ourselves. Sometimes, perhaps, one must double back to go forward.

Music of Innocence & Experience, for string quartet

a dance is a kind of wish (2023) was commissioned by the University of Nevada, Reno for the faculty of the School of Music in honor of the University’s 150th anniversary. It is dedicated, with admiration and gratitude, to Dmitri, Aaron, Joshua, Eric, Natalie, Hyeyeon, Andy, and Reed.

Performed February 2023 by the faculty of University of Nevada
Dmitri Atapine, cello
Aaron Hill, oboe
Joshua Anderon, clarinet
Eric Fassbender, bassoon
Natalie Higgins, horn
Hyeyeon Park, piano
Andrew Heglund, percussion
Reed Chamberlin, conductor

Image: The Three Dancers (1925) by Pablo Picasso

a dance is a kind of wish (2023) for cello and chamber ensemble

Commotion (2024)
for flute, bass clarinet, percussion, violin, cello, and double bass
Composed by Sofia Jen Ouyang

Wet Ink Ensemble:
Erin Lesser, flute
Emmalie Tello, bass clarinet
Josh Perry, percussion
Josh Modney, violin
Ari Evan, cello
Tristan Kasten-Krause, bass

Recorded live at Zürcher Gallery, New York
Presented by Columbia Composers, April 2025

Commotion (2024) Wet Ink Ensemble

AMEN! (2017) was commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band and is a homage to my family's four generational affiliation with the Pentecostal church. My intent is to re-create the musical experience of an African American Pentecostal church service that I enjoyed being apart of while growing up in this denomination.
Pentecostal denominations, such as: Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.IC.), Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Apostolic, Holiness Church, among many others, are known for their exuberant outward expressions of worship.
The worship services in these churches will often have joyous dancing, spontaneous shouting, and soulful singing. The music in these worship services is a vital vehicle in fostering a genuine spiritual experience for the congregation.
The three movements in AMEN! are performed without break to depict how the different parts of a worship services flows into the next. In the first movement, I’ve imagined the sound of an exuberant choir and congregation singing harmoniously together in a call and response fashion. The soulful second movement quotes a gospel song, "I'll Take Jesus For Mine” that I frequently heard in many services. The title, AMEN!, refers to the plagal cadence or “Amen" cadence (IV-I), which is the focal point of the climax in the final movement. Along with heavily syncopated rhythms and interjecting contrapuntal lines, this cadence modulates up by half step until we reach a frenzied state, emulating a spiritually heighten state of worship.
CSJr. Music © 2017
www.coliversimon.com

Amen! (2017) University of Michigan Symphony Band

Completed August 30, 2020
Premiered May 6, 2022 by Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra as part of the 2022 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute

Remember to Have Fun began its life as a mixed quintet written for conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. Started in the midst of an existential funk early 2020, the piece was intended to remind myself that I should, in all things musical, have fun. After all, the reason I had taken to music in the first place was because I had discovered in composing a wholly unique kind of fun that I could not find anywhere else. 

Cast in three continuous movements, Remember to Have Fun is best understood as a triptych recontextualizing a handful of simple motifs into three different kinds of fun: I. ‘Master of None’ is overly excitable, interrupting and tripping over itself as it tries to decide where to go with its cellular, half-step dominated main idea. II. ‘Think About What You’ve Done’ picks up the pieces after its exhausted predecessor, initially introspective but growing, with a twinkle in its eye, increasingly quirky and mischievous. III. ‘Remember to Have Fun,’ spurred on by the music’s increased confidence, takes the first movement’s main idea and sprints at breakneck tempo toward a rip-roaring, frenetic finish. 

The majority of the work on this piece was completed during a particularly dour and sedentary year. With all the loneliness, anxiety, and pessimism floating about, I wanted to create a piece that would be characterized by the exact opposite of all those emotions. The piece’s prosaic title ends up being many things: a title, yes, but also a word of advice to the conductor, an expression marking for musicians, a reminder to myself as an artist, a small instruction for listeners, and maybe even a bit of hopeful inspiration for you, the reader.

Random Stuff

Remember to Have Fun, for symphony orchestra

I am a composer currently based in Ann Arbor pursuing my doctoral studies in composition at the University of Michigan.

For more information: colereyesmusic.com