Chivalry dates back to the medieval institution of knighthood.  While its meaning has changed over time, Of Chivalry and Valor celebrates some of the central tenets deeply rooted in the original chivalric code.

The militaristic beginning of the composition depicts a courageous battle during war time, where knights would demonstrate their loyalty, bravery, and valor.  Following the battle, the music portrays the softer values of generosity and selflessness.  The inspiration for this middle section, full of honor and gallantry, was my dear friend Melany Felsen.  The main thematic material for this middle section pulls heavily from one of her favorite themes as a clarinetist, found in the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.  For the finale, we return to the battlefield to witness the heroic triumph for the chivalrous warriors.

Of Chivalry and Valor was commissioned and premiered by Anthony Rivera (Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore County Public Schools) in 2013.

Of Chivalry and Valor || Wind Ensemble/Band

"Wadi el Natrun, Egypt, January 1936. Renowned investigators Lucius Goldzweig and Benjamin Howe have been sent down to look for French writer/aviator Saint-Exupéry and his flight mechanic, reported missing after their plane crashed in the remote Scetis desert right before New Year’s Eve. Upon arrival at the accident site, the investigators follow the aviators’ traces, but will soon get lost in the dunes themselves, where they wander for three days and nights, and extreme heat and water deprivation make them experience mirages and hallucinations. One night, a horrendous, mischievous creature appears before them, so they fear they have completely lost their minds and the end is near. But an old Bedouin caring for a herd of camels finds them the next morning and gives them shelter in his tent. There, he will reveal Lucius and Benjamin an ancient, well-kept desert secret: the evil creature they saw the night before wasn't a sensorial deception…"

Wadi El Natrun || Woodwind Quartet

Watch this scene at https://vimeo.com/84095984

Re-scoring of a scene from Gran Hotel
Instrumentation:  1/1/2/1 - 3/0/0/0 - strings (8.6.4.4.2)
Conducted by Peter Pejtsik
Recorded by the Budapest Art Orchestra, East Connection Music Recording Corporation
December 16, 2013

The Kiss

"New York, 1983. Violet is an emerging Brooklyn-born artist of French descent to whom success has arrived in her thirties. Her father André was a flight navigator who spent much of his early years in search of adventure, until he finally settled after WWII and married Marguerite, a captivating yet melancholic young widow who didn’t like to talk about her past. Violet still remembers when, as a child, her mother used to tell her stories about her youth in central France. She never understood why those stories would always cut off abruptly, with tears in mom´s eyes… then she would resume talking about marrying papa and emigrating to the US. On a cold afternoon in February, Violet is exhibiting her latest works at Cesario’s, the most important art gallery in Manhattan. All people of the arts and letters are there for the opening. But Violet feels strangely attracted to Sebastian, a bit older man with a curious patch of white hair who introduces himself as a struggling writer. He was adopted by a wealthy family of the Upper East Side, the Orsinos, after he arrived in America in 1945 aboard a ship full of French orphans. As days go by, Violet and Sebastian fall deeply in love with each other, but noone is taking the plunge. One day, Violet takes Sebastian to her parents’ home. There, an unbelievable fact is about to be revealed in front of a petrified Marguerite. Violet and Sebastian´s love is impossible…"

A love that can never be...

This is a midi produced one-minute opening titles sequence for a space documentary television series.

In Hubble's Eyes (main titles)

This two-minute work celebrates Boston College, weaving in thematic material from both "For Boston" and "Hail! Alma Mater!", the school's fight song and alma mater, respectively.

Instrumentation: 2(II=picc)/2/2/2 - 3/2/3/1 - timp, perc - hp, pno - strings (10.8.6.6.3)
Composed and Conducted by David Faleris
Mixing and Mastering by Pablo G. Schuller and David Faleris
Recorded at AIR Studios Lyndhurst Hall
May 20, 2014
Recording Engineer: Jake Jackson
Assistant Engineer: Fiona Cruickshank
Orchestra Contractor: Hilary Skewes
Special Thanks to Lucio Godoy, Alfons Conde, Vanessa Garde, Maggie Rodford

On a personal note, it brought great joy to record this just a few days before my 10-year college reunion.  Go Eagles!

'Til the echoes ring again...

Dark (Shan, phase 1)

Light (Shan, phase 1)

Game Trailer created at Global Game Jam 2014 (Gandia)

What You See is Who You Are (trailer)

Insert Coin to Play (intro)

Returning Home in Bits (Kontakt design)

Waking Up (Shan, phase 2)

Enlightenment (Shan, Phase 2)

Daily Grind (in-game loop)

Ladybug Quest (main menu)

Raptagon Reveal

A love that can never be... || Harp Quintet

Trbn 1: Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal Trombone, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Trbn 2: Mark Hetzler, Professor of Trombone, University of Wisconsin-Madison (former Empire Brass and former Principal Trombone of Hartford Symphony)
Trbn 3: Dylan Chmura-Moore, Assistant Professor of Trombone, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Bass: Alan Carr, Professor of Low Brass, Concordia University Wisconsin

City of Arts and Sciences || Trombone Quartet

ACCBDA 2017

A Martyred Village || Brass Quintet

Commissioned by Jeremy Wilson, available on his album "Perspectives"

A LIMINAL SPACE:  neither here nor there, after "what was" but before passing that threshold of "what's next".  A Liminal Space can be a time and place of paralyzing unknowns, and there is no way to easily navigate such indeterminate change.  What lies past the threshold is not simply a concealed or obscured future for one's self, but rather a new version of one's self about to be defined.  Although this state of unpredictable transformation can be threateningly mysterious, there is a beauty and power to the endless possibilities of "what will be".

A Liminal Space || Trombone Solo & Piano

At the time, I was living in an apartment just a few blocks away from Lexington Market, one of Baltimore's most historic attractions.  Throughout that year, I had taken pictures of Lexington Market from my apartment window at various times of the day with various weather phenomena.  These photographs served as the inspiration for "The Skies Above Lexington Market".

The first portion of the piece is devoted to the sunrise and numerous beautiful mid-day skies.  The sunrise remained an enchanting experience despite me facing west instead of east.  While the sun was never visible, shadows advanced and retreated as light slowly filled every dark alley in the city.

The piece then advances beyond calm skies and begins to portray the more aggressive side of Mother Nature.  Moments of beauty and moments of severity are exchanged until eventually being overtaken by "the storm".  This particular event saw constant lightning strikes with thunder echoing through the high-rises of Baltimore.  As hail began to gather outside my window, people were sent dashing through the streets to seek immediate shelter.  The intense storm eventually subsided, leaving a tranquil and serene cityscape with no urban dwellers in sight.

Finally, the sun would set in the west over Lexington Market.  It was a magnificent display of beauty, the sun providing an indescribable array of color throughout the sky.  There was often no single "set" sky during these sunsets... with every second, the sun fell just a bit lower, painting a slightly different picture using a slightly altered color palette.  It was noticed with every blink of the eye and did not cease until the starless night sky of Baltimore emerged.

The Skies Above Lexington Market || Wind Ensemble/Band

This work was written in memory of a former roommate and dear friend, Ben Petty, who passed away just under three weeks before his 21st birthday.  His close friend, Michael Kelly, read a poem of his at the funeral.  As I listened to Mike read, I could not help but feel the most heartbroken I had ever felt in my own short twenty years of living.  This was due not so much to my own sense of loss, as much as to the pain that was evident in Mike’s voice.

EVEN IN THE END, by Benjamin Petty
“We wander slowly through the trees,
Each embrace brings stifled pleas,
My fingers linger on your wrist,
My thoughts are captured, bound in twist,
I miss you though you’re at my side,
I want to know that you’re my guide.
It stands to reason you’ll move on,
We’ll part so soon, and you’ll be gone,
For me the ferry stays the course,
I know my heart will miss you worse,
It’s coming down, this sorrowed day,
I need this in an ache-filled way:
Just promise me at the end of time,
We’ll say good-night, but not good-bye,”

I began working on this piece one year after Ben’s death and it was premiered in April 2004 by members of the Boston College Bands Program.  It was written not only as a tribute to Ben, but also to Mike, whose reading provided some closure to me.  While death is painful and is a part of life, "We’ll Say Goodnight, but not Goodbye" tries to focus on another truth: When someone is taken from us, they never really leave us.

Further notes about the music itself: The main ascending three-note motive is based off of composer Eric Whitacre's setting to the E.E. Cummings poem, "i thank you God for most this amazing".  At the end of We'll Say Goodnight, but not Goodbye, I went on to briefly quote the specific portion of Whitacre's work from which the motive was pulled.  This quote from Whitacre's work also has textual significance as his female voices finish singing the phrase, "and this is the birthday of wings".

We'll Say Goodnight, but not Goodbye || Brass Ensemble

Go, lovely Rose-
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Tell her that's young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.

Then died-and gone
The common fate of all things rare
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!

-- Edmund Waller

David Faleris

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