My own take on creating a baroque invention.

Invention in D minor (2021)

The “Waltz No. 2” (the first Waltz being my 2020 “Waltz of the Nine” for brass quintet) was a piece that took me about a week to compose and orchestrate. It is a pretty straightforward waltz that takes influence from Romantic idioms. This piece came to my head in a dream back in December, and I was fortunate enough to remember it enough to write it down.

Waltz No. 2 (2021)

“Ella’s Lullaby” is a piece written in memoriam for my dog, Ella, who passed away at the beginning of 2021. This put me into a severe depression and influenced me to write this piece for her. One month later when I was near completion of this piece, my other dog, Chloe, passed away. I decided to dedicate this piece to them both. The melody for this piece comes from a song my mom sang to Ella as she passed. The lyrics (played by alto saxophone) are written below.

It’s alright
It’s okay
Just close your eyes
And go to sleep, baby
It’s alright
It’s okay
Hush now, Ella
Time to go to sleep

Ella's Lullaby (2021)

With few repertoire composed for the tenor saxophone, my brother, Josh, approached me asking for a piece that features it. With that, I created “Rosh,” which is obviously named after my brother. A majority of the piece consists of quartal harmony, and takes influence from djent in metal music. I would also consider this piece a parody of alto saxophone repertoire, because of the spontaneous notes and rhythms present in both tenor sax and piano.

Rosh (2020)

At first composed for baritone sax and piano, “Fat Lip” became a piece featuring dueling baritone saxes. This piece pays homage to the group Too Many Zooz, who defines their music as “Brass House.” The name “Fat Lip” comes from the guttural low notes that occur throughout the piece, as well as the slap tonguing and growling that is heard.

Fat Lip (2021)

"Saxophone Quartet No. 1" is an experiment of minimalism. The entirety of the piece is structured around the first four measures played by the alto saxophone, and then progressively altered throughout different polyrhythmic and tonal ideas. This was my first piece composed for saxophones.

Saxophone Quartet No. 1 (2019)

Originally created for the UW Oshkosh athletic department as a collaboration with the composition studio.

Titan March (2019)

II. Allegro molto

The livelier movement of my second string quartet. 

*Tested with new sound packs.

String Quartet No. 2, II. Allegro molto (2018)

"Chorale and Composite" was written for the 2018 UW Oshkosh Trumpet Studio. The piece displays both the soft and powerful timbres that the trumpet is capable of.

Chorale and Composite (2018)

Ignominious is a piece that I wrote to reflect my coming of age while dealing with anxiety/depression. The main melody was first sketched when I discovered music composition, and I finally brought it to life during my college career as a music major. The title "Ignominious" describes the negative thoughts in my head that I've dealt with over the years.

Gavin Roberts Composer