"To One Shortly to Die" from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, for medium-high voice and SATB div.
Dedicated to my father and anyone you have lost over the years.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10EeAvYg5ANPWSBoWymB1VNINAHmFDoQA/view?usp=sharing

Michael Blackburn, conductor
Brett Crockett, soloist

Sopranos: Lauren Bumgarner, Rubina Hovhannisyan, Karimeh Berrios
Altos: Lari Rojas, Vanessa Gottlieb, olivia Adolph
Tenors: David Kronenberg, Jackson Brivic, Christian Bernal, Ike Alexander
Basses: Blake Danner, Michael Aoun, Josh Cosbey, Josiah Bartel, Spencer Greene, Zade Dardari

Text:

TO ONE SHORTLY TO DIE.

FROM all the rest I single out you, having a message for you,
You are to die—let others tell you what they please, I cannot 
prevaricate,
I am exact and merciless, but I love you—there is no escape for 
you.

Softly I lay my right hand upon you, you just feel it,
I do not argue, I bend my head close and half envelop it,
I sit quietly by, I remain faithful,
I am more than nurse, more than parent or neighbor,
I absolve you from all except yourself spiritual bodily, that is eter-
nal, you yourself will surely escape,
The corpse you will leave will be but excrementitious.

The sun bursts through in unlooked-for directions,
Strong thoughts fill you and confidence, you smile,
You forget you are sick, as I forget you are sick,
You do not see the medicines, you do not mind the weeping 
friends, I am with you,
I exclude others from you, there is nothing to be commiserated,
I do not commiserate, I congratulate you.

To One Shortly to Die

I was given an old choral piece and was told to turn it into a new work, so I did. The piece was "Chester" by the first American choral composer, William Billings.

I first set this piece for string quartet, and then modified harmony until I was pleased with the result. Then it turned into a variations piece.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bhGujbU28mCBqjqn5qtoJW8f37uUy_vP/view?usp=sharing

Kathryn Nunnally, Violin I
Elizabeth Chen, Violin II
Silvio Rocha, Viola
Julian Sommer, Cello

Top Billings

This is a short collection of Samuel Beckett's poetry set to medium-high voice and piano.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JoXekGnEYCjtX79c0eoYA4MJNZiY_cXw/view?usp=sharing

Lauren Bumgarner, Soprano
Irene Herrmann, Piano

Texts:

Roundelay

on all that strand
at end of day
steps sole sound
long sole sound
until unbidden stay
then no sound
on all that strand
long no sound
until unbidden go
steps sole sound
long sole sound
on all that strand
at end of day

something there

something there
where
out there
out where
outside
what
the head what else
something there somewhere outside
the head

at the faint sound so brief
it is gone and the whole globe
not yet bare
the eye
opens wide
wide
till in the end
nothing more
shutters it again

so the odd time
out there
somewhere out there
like as if
as if
something
not life
necessarily


thither

thither
a far cry
for one
so little
fair daffodils
march then

then there
then there

then thence
daffodils
again
march then
again
a far cry
again 
for one
so little

Compression - Three Beckett Songs

This is the skeleton of a piece I am working on for wind trio (fl,cl,bn). Enjoy the best MIDI 10.95/mo can buy while I put together a reading in the near future! :D

It was originally written for oboe instead of clarinet, but it would seem there are more clarinets around town than oboes!

Wind Trio No. 1, Mvmt. I (working title)

My first ever orchestration for String Orchestra. I'm sure there are a lot of things I did wrong but I love the sound of it, at least!

Claude Debussy wrote The Girl with the Flaxen Hair as part of his first book of preludes for piano. This is an orchestration (meaning I tried to maintain the integrity of the original work by Debussy) for string orchestra.

The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (String Orchestra)

Latest orchestration from my class at CSU. I did my best not to change anything about the piece this time, including register. This is the first 50ish measures.

Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgQoaO1PMqyg2JF3_n1AmBwMRAvm1tGL/view?usp=sharing

Beethoven Piano Sonata 4 in E-flat, Op. 7, Mvmt. II for Classical Orchestra

Latest and greatest from Dr. David's Advanced Orchestration class at CSU. This is an orchestration of the first movement of Debussy's incredible Suite Bergamasque for piano. I set it to reed quintet, which is the new hotness in chamber consorts, consisting of: Oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon.

PDF Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JOnYnCod0Qb_Z8LAeLXhWZBUGJGLNs5O/view?usp=sharing

Scrolling video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GN7aBxP06KWZkesYAU4R-kBMhqLq1OX0/view?usp=sharing

Prelude, Mvmt. I from Suite Bergamasque for Reed Quintet

Here's the score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I-1mYm92nF_H9uoSomLFCmfqC7IZX99w/view?usp=sharing
Scrolling score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/153ii47HMu00zqXbvFGX_Fe6PnRkx4pQs/view?usp=sharing

This is the outline of a new piece I want to someday get performed and hopefully published. It's a level 4 choir piece, meaning an advanced high school group could handle it. It starts out silent because whispered pitches are not sounded by NotePerformer. Also you'll hear it read by 2 violins and 2 cellos because choral MIDI is bad.

Well it's 2020 and Robert Frost's 1920 work is in the public domain. Here's his poem Fire and Ice for SATB (div.). Since the world is ending and all I figured it would be poignant. :)

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Fire and Ice

Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XsfJ75pakDqFJNdr4HNu1DIRAlYDPJAF/view?usp=sharing
Scrolling Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JjKej-oAcwx7sskZWidDdj4M83obeOzy/view?usp=sharing
My final project for Advanced Orchestration. I think I sort of understand Wind Ensemble a little bit better. Definitely a fun instrumentation.

Instrumentation:
Picc
2 fl
2 ob
eng hrn
2 bsn
cn bsn
3 cl Bb
bs cl
cnbs cl
SATB saxes

4 horns
picc tpt
2 tpts
3 tbn
bs tbn
2 euph
tuba
str bass
harp
timp
cymbals
crotales
vibraphone

Khatchaturian Toccata For Wind Ensemble

He/His/Him
Seeking a CO public school position for 2023-24! I grew up in Socal, moved to Santa Cruz for my undergrad, and then came to CO for an MM in Music Education, with an Emphasis in Composition. Now I want to teach in public schools because I want to help create access points for the next generation of musicians.

Jake DiFebo

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