Hammer & Nail is a fast and furious duo inspired by heavy metal and progressive rock.  It features hard hitting, razor sharp contrapuntal lines between the two instruments, creating a brazen and percussive sound with the sophistication of Bach and the rebelliousness of Sid Vicious.

Performance by the Soli Chamber Ensemble - https://www.solichamberensemble.com/

D.J. Sparr - Electric Guitar
Carolyn True - Piano

See the entire concert! - https://youtu.be/0yFTLHPEF2o

More Info

Hammer And Nail, for Electric Guitar and Piano

D.J. SPARR: The Glam Seduction

Instrumentation: fl, ob, cl, 2gtr, 2 perc, vln*, vla*, cello*
*Amplified single strings or a section

DACCA:DECCA:GaFfA is a nine-minute long perpetual motion work that was premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit on September 5th 2008 in conjunction with my composer-in-residence position at New Music Detroit’s “Strange Beautiful Music II” marathon concert. My long-awaited idea of using steel-string acoustic guitars in a chamber music setting proved fortuitous for this group as there was already a guitarist in their ensemble. I decided to include myself in the piece in order to exploit the effect of guitar doublings in opposite stereo fields—a technique used in many recordings. In direct relation to this orchestrational concept, the title/structure is based on common chords, and the music that surrounds it in the other instrumental groups is inherently related to the order of chords as described in the title. But most importantly, my goal was to use these musical materials and instruments to engage bright and energetic sonorities. The work has been performed by the Orchestra of the League of Composers with Louis Karchin conducting as well as the California Symphony with Nicholas McGegan conducting. 

DACCA:DECCA:GaFfA

Oxygen by Randall West

Midterm projects from MUSI464/591 at Yale School of Music

Meretzky // Vyolinen Round

"Only a beginning" was inspired by words and music I interacted with during the Summer of 2015.  The title comes from Indira Ghandi's quote: "Martyrdom does not end something, it is only a beginning."  I happen to stumble upon this quote after a week of performing Poulenc's "Dialogues of the Carmelites" at Caramoor and a chance encounter of hearing a friend sing the "In Paradisum" of the standard Catholic Funeral mass.  With all of these events coinciding, I could not help but reflect on what sacrifice means - what we think it means, and how it actually plays out in everyday life. We may sacrifice things for God, our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, sometimes even for people we don't even know. This piece explores what can happen to us emotionally in this act of giving, and what we ultimately learn about ourselves in the process.

Recorded live in Scarsdale, NY in February 2016
Ani Gregorian, violin
Jessica Meyer, viola

"Only a Beginning" for Violin and Viola

for violin, alto sax, electric guitar, double bass, piano, and percussion
Written for decibel, recorded at Real World Studios in Bath, England on January 20th, 2017. 

in the desperate din of 
this uncharted conversation
a quiet realization

there is no manual for this moment

there is only your 
unceasing, senseless chatter
and I find I have less to say

Cresswell: I find I have less to say

I find I have less to say (2017)

for orchestra

2 fl, picc,  3 ob, 2 clar, bass clar, 2 bsn, cbsn

4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 tbn, bass tbn

harp, piano, timpani, 3 perc

strings

Program notes:

We use the same word for a windowed room and the chambers of our hearts. Light—like blood—must pass through the atrium to fill us with breath and life.

Recorded in a reading session by Michael Lewanski and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra on November 7, 2017 in Kobacker Hall (Bowling Green State University).

Atrium

https://www.innova.mu/albums/d-j-sparr/electric-bands
innova 013

ELECTRIC BANDS

D. J. Sparr: I Can Hear  Her Through The Thin Wall Singing - 5. Heaven

Caitlin Vincent, Libretto

Lindsay Kesselman, Soprano
Kevin Geraldi, Conductor
UNCG Chamber Wind Ensemble

DACCA:DECCA:GaFfA

D. J. Sparr

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