I wrote this piece to capture the journey that I have been on in dealing with my grandmother’s slow decent further into dementia. Over time, I have come to realize that although the woman I see is not the woman I may have known growing up, and that she may not know who I am, that my grandmother is still in there somewhere, and that she still loves me as I do her. It’s a tough thing to deal with often and there is not a lack of pain, but with time comes understanding. That is the message I wish to portray through the poetry and the piece in honor of the woman I knew and the struggles her and my family have all had to deal with as a result of this debilitating disease.

I am so grateful to the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Chorale and their director Liz Braden for this premiere/recording. Recording done by engineer Jesse Kudler.

Y2021M04D02 - Penn Chorale -  St. Mary's Church

Beverlie (Penn Chorale Apr. 02, 2022 Premiere)

Live performance of the world premiere of this setting of Christina Rossetti's poem "When I Am Dead, My Dearest," by the group Ping on April 7, 2014. Check out their website to learn more about this wonderful group: http://www.pingvoices.com/. Hope you Enjoy!

When I Am Dead, My Dearest: SATB A Cappella (Ping, live)

This is a live recording of the second ever performance of my Essence of War String Quartet, performed on May 7, 2014 by Mimi Jung, Frances Tso (Violins), Armin Mariano (Viola), and Mari Wank (Cello). Hope you Enjoy.

Essence Of War(live)

This is the recording of the premiere of the collaboration piece written by Andrew Dewey, Samir Gangwani, and myself. Andrew Dewey wrote the first movement; I wrote the second, and Samir Gangwanui wrote the third. This piece was written for a freshman showcase at Carnegie Mellon's School of Music and was performed by an ensemble comprised entirely of freshman. At the time of composition, all three composers were freshman as well. Hope you enjoy this nature-inspired piece. Disclaimer: I do not own the image and it was retrieved from http://ibackpackcanada.com/things-to-do-in-rocky-mountains/.

The Sons Of Gaia II. Over the Blue Expanse/III. The Woods (by myself and Samir Gangwani, respectively)

The Sons of Gaia I. Summit Fever (by Andrew Dewey)

This piece was read by the CMU Wind Ensemble on 4/23/15 and this is the recording of them after only 40 minutes with the piece. I thanks them for not only offering me the opportunity for a reading but I want to thank them for doing so well with the piece. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the image and it was retrieved from:
http://pixdaus.com/snow-moon-static1-free-wallpaper-blue-moon-snow/items/view/271832/

Waltz Over A Mystical Winter Evening (Wind Ensemble Reading)

I. Introduction / Birth and Denial
II. Futility
III. Overcoming

This string quartet is the second string quartet that I have written and I am so thankful to the Carpe Diem String Quartet for having participated with me in the process of bringing this piece to life.

This piece looks to follow the story of the mythological creature, the Phoenix, as it comes to terms with and finds beauty in its self-immolation cycle. The Introduction acts to set up the past trajectories of the Phoenix's lives and the Birth and Denial is the start of the new life for the Phoenix as it remembers its suicidal destiny and begins to grapple with and stave off the pain without resolving it. The second movement, Futility, looks to represent the Phoenix realizing it can't break the cycle and struggling with its inevitable demise. The third movement, Overcoming, is the conflict coming to a head and the Phoenix ultimately finding that its self-immolation is what gives it new life.

Thank you for giving this a listen. Hope you enjoy.

Thumbnail Image retrieved from:
http://fleetingember.deviantart.com/art/Phoenix-Rebirth-113222947
Credit to FleetingEmber

Rebirth Of The Phoenix String Quartet (Carpe Diem Recording)

This piece, titled "Les Sanglots Longs," is a setting of Paul Verlaine's "Chant d'Automne" (sometimes seen as "Chanson d'Automne"). The poem is a lament of aging and I try and capture that weighted feeling in this work for solo soprano, bassoon, and piano. 

This piece was premiered on my senior composition recital at Carnegie Mellon University on April 29, 2017. This recording was performed on May 10, 2017 on CMU's campus with the performers from the live premiere: Sophie Thompson, soprano; Derek Hamersly, piano; Tyler Harper, bassoon.

A big thanks to them for their efforts on this piece and I hope you enjoy.

Thumbnail PC: Dianna Li

Les Sanglots Longs

This piece was inspired by my personal approaches to problem solving in the other concentration of my academic studies, physics. I personally approach problem solving two different ways: isolating specific parts of the problem, and submerging myself in the “world” of the problem. Thus, this work is in two movements titled “Isolation” and “Submersion.” To allow for this concept to come through the music experientially, I have the four isolated groups around the audience such that the sound will generally feel isolated and locational for the first movement, and I surround the audience with the ensemble for the second movement only utilizing groups of performers that are as close to evenly spaced as possible to keep the sensation of being surrounded by sound continuous throughout the movement.

This piece was written as part of my senior BXA Capstone Project, and was performed on my senior composition recital on April 29, 2017.

Big thanks to the conductor, Andrew Dewey, and all of the performers that were a part of this performance.

Solutions Live 04 29 17

Chorus Austin Chamber Ensemble
Ryan Heller, Conductor
Recorded live, December 2019

Nighttime has always carried with it, for me, a sense of mysterious wonder. The length of night in winter only prolongs and amplifies this perception. George Meredith’s text resonated with an image I hold of a solitary, reflective walk during a night in December. As the character wanders through the evening, the various tangible aspects of a winter’s night each individually present themselves and are observed and processed. These various strains of experience interact and contradict each other. The character finds themselves in an overwhelming mass of confusing and entangled ideas. But, the dominant undercurrent of beauty in a winter’s night is the stream from which each of these different experiences are born, a point the character realizes at the heights of this piece. This realization in turn frees the character to experience the true wonder of a winter’s night: its warmth. It is an enveloping and global warmth even though, as Meredith puts it, “Sharp is the night.”

OAWE 2019

Winter Heavens

Hello. I am David R. Last and I am a currently a graduate student pursuing a PhD in physics, living and working in Philadelphia. I studied composition during my tenure as an undergraduate in the Carnegie Mellon School of Music, and graduated with a Bachelor's of Science and Arts in Physics and Music Composition, and continue to work on creating new music. It is my pleasure to share my works with you and hope you enjoy my pieces as I have so much enjoyed writing them. Thank you.

Contact Info: lastd44@gmail.com

David R. Last

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