Open Works

I composed this work in January of 2013 for the Mars Hill College Saxophone Quartet. The MHC Sax Quartet premiered it April 20, 2013 during the Mars Hill New Music Festival. 
The hall was in complete darkness. Each performer began playing in a different corner of the concert hall surrounding the audience.  Slowly each performer began moving to the front of the hall. When they played the last chord the lights quickly filled the hall.

Quartet for El Anatsui was inspired by the artwork of the Ghanaian artist, El Anatsui. He creates wonderful sheets of metal, wood and cloth that are hung on walls or stand alone on the floor. Each time one of his sculptures are presented at a museum they are presented differently. Which inspired me to write this piece which can be played differently at every performance.

Mars Hill College Saxophone Quartet
Alan Theisen - Alto
Andrew Jenkins - Alto
Dalton Woody - Tenor
Bradley Smith - Baritone

Quartet For El Anatsui (Open Piece No. 3)

A piece written and performed at Oberlin Conservatory in 1994.  Robert Gross, piano, Marty Regan conducting, and a slew of Oberlin student performers.  This piece was written (before I met my wife) as a love paean to a woman I had met on a new-fangled contraption called the internet.  Her handle was "abuster," hence, moonbeams for abuster.  The piece is neo-Romantic and tonal but was one of the first pieces I ever wrote that I regarded as reasonably well crafted.

moonbeams for abuster

Americana (2013) 
by Buck McDaniel

Workshop Recording
JACK Quartet
September 15, 2013
Drinko Hall
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, Ohio

Americana (2013) - string quartet

An excerpt from Ponderings on Life, the Universe, and Everything
1. Prelude: Search
2. Constellation

Lyrics:
The starry night sky constellations/windows into explorations  
lead me to search for unknowns/guided by stars
Rain is falling steadily/a melencholy vail
clouds obstruct the veiw/rain is falling steadily
Clouds part away/the moonlight peaks through
giants finally appear/to impart wisdom
The starry night sky/windows open
illuminate/illuminate us
specks of dust

Voice - Jessica Peterson
Electric Piano - Julia Hrenchuk
Vibraphone - Ryan Chapman
Electric Bass - Kade Bush

Recorded on 3/5/14 at Western Oregon University
© 2014 Aural Composting All Rights Reserved

Cover Image:
“To celebrate its 24th year in orbit, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has released this beautiful new image of part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula.” Credit for the image includes NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). 

Ponderings on Life, the Universe, and Everything- 1. Prelude: Search and 2. Constellation

Open Piece no 5 for organ was composed for Carson Cooman. 

This work is the latest in my Open Series in which the duration of the work is indeterminate and also the piece can be performed by any grouping of instruments. This work can be performed by organ solo, organ plus other instruments or a chamber ensemble.

Learn more about the performer/composer Carson Cooman here: http://carsoncooman.com/

Open Piece No. 5 For Organ

On of a set of seven O Antiphons, to be sung in the lead up to Christmas.

Recorded by Westminster Kantorei, conducted by Amanda Quist.

O Oriens

The CMU NME performed my Open Piece No 4 on 7 December 2014. 
The piece is composed for solo violin (or viola or cello) and an ensemble of open instrumentation.

They did a fine job. The ensemble is a student run group  of very sensitive musicians and i'm lucky to have had them perform two of my works over the past few years.

CMU New Music Ensemble members:
Evan	Boegehold,	conductor/trumpet
Nathan	Brown,	trombone
Evan	Harris,	tenor	saxophone
Kai	Johnson,	percussion
Kosta	Kapellas,	double	bass
Aurther	Kimmons,	tuba
Stephen	Lounsbrough,	violin
Frank	Nawrot,	guitar
Rachael	Rule,	piano
Jenna	Veldboom,	alto	saxophone

Open Piece No. 4 "Birthday Music for Carolyn O'Brien" for violin and ensemble

Title: dredge i
Year: 2024
Performers: Versipel New Music + Byron Asher, Alexandria Smith, Chris Alford

dredge i [violin, cello, clarinet, piano + b. clarinet, trumpet, e. guitar]

Title track from the new Cavalier King Ep, Star Alarm.

Buy on iTunes

Cavalier King - Star Alarm

"Deimos" explores the eerie stillness and distant beauty of Mars’ smaller moon. Written for saxophone quartet, the piece blends cold atmospheric textures with sudden bursts of energy, evoking the quiet orbit of a rocky moon suspended in space. Subtle dissonances and shifting rhythms mirror the unease behind its name—Deimos, the Greek god of terror—while moments of lyricism suggest the haunting isolation of the Martian sky.

Deimos and Phobos- Deimos (Sax Quartet)

"Phobos" captures the chaotic and oppressive presence of Mars’ innermost moon through the dynamic voice of a saxophone quartet. Marked by rapid meter changes and dense harmonic textures, the piece reflects the moon’s unstable orbit and the mythic fear embedded in its name—Phobos, the Greek god of panic and terror. Uneasy rhythms lurch forward unpredictably, while brief lyrical fragments struggle to emerge, evoking the relentless descent of a moon doomed to crash into its planet. 

Deimos and Phobos- Phobos (Sax Quartet)

"Scherzo (Krispy Krunchy)" is a rhythmically unstable, tonally confused snack-fueled spiral into saxophonic mayhem. Think: four saxophones arguing over who finished the last bag of chips—each in a different time signature—while free-falling down a staircase made of tritones. It’s crunchy, it’s crispy, it’s chaotic, and it has zero regard for your tonal expectations. Listener discretion is advised: contains sudden outbursts, irreverent rhythms, and absolutely no nutritional value.

Scherzo for Sax Quartet (aka Krispy Krunchy)

Adagio

Central Michigan University New Music Ensemble performed my Open Piece No 6 for solo bassoon and open instrumentation ensemble on 12 December 2015. 

I've been very fortunate to have this ensemble premiere three of my works. They are extremely talented and sensitive musicians. 

CMU Ensemble Members:
Storm Benjamin, percussion
Matthew Henry, saxophone
Bradley Johnson, bassoon
Nathan Kistler, voice
Nicholas LaForge, percussion
Frank Nawrot, guitar
Rachael Rule, piano


Open Piece 6 for solo bassoon and open instrumentation ensemble

I composed this piece in the summer of 2012. I had heard a few open instrumentation works by different composers and I felt i should give it at try.

Open Piece No. 1 was premiered by the Central Michigan University New Music Ensemble December 9, 2012 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. 

I will post the names of each performer when I receive them.  They did a fine job.  

CMU New Music Ensemble:

Mike Romaniak - Electronics
Kevin Keith - Piano
Jennifer Blackwell - Soprano Saxophone
Jenna Veldboom - Alto Saxophone
Nathan Brown - Trombone
Melissa Bialecki - Cello
Kevin Wilson - Double Bass
David Abraham - Percussion
Steve Bott - Percussion

Open Piece No. 1 for any instruments performed by the CMU New Music Ensemble

I am a composer of new music or contemporary classical music whatever name you like or whichever carries the least amount of baggage in your mind. I don't care which term you use but please take a moment to listen to my works.

I currently reside in Gateswood, Alabama with my wife , Cheryl, and our son, Asa. 

I love chamber music. I write lots of it. In fact that is the only music I have written so far. Mainly it's because I've known so many great performers and I've had the opportunity to compose for them.

If you want any scores or have any questions just let me know. 
Hopefully soon I will have more recent works on the site.

Open Piece No. 4 "Birthday Music for Carolyn O'Brien" for violin and ensemble

Everette Minchew

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Philip Schuessler

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