Marfa Lights
for chamber wind ensemble and piano
MIDI realization
Commissioned and premiered by the Washington and Lee University Wind Ensemble.

Marfa Lights

"like sugar in coffee...everything dissolves"
[this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]

"sweet particles" explores how sugar and seemingly everything else in life begins solid and concrete and over the course of time fractures, dissolves and dissipates.

CREDITS
from Mundane (works for piano), releases March 24, 2023
sweet particles - recorded by: Yifei Xu

All tracks mixed and mastered by: Tyler Bisson

sweet particles (2021) - for solo piano

Quad is based on a geometrical figure and on permutations of regular movements. First one, then two, then three, then four figures, appear one after another to scurry along the sides and across the diagonals of a square, shuffling in strict rhythm. Each figure then departs in the order in which they appeared, leaving another to recommence the sequence … " - Samuel Beckett

Quad Studies I & II takes Samuel Beckett's TV plays "Quad I" and "Quad II", and uses Beckett's processes and proportions to create duration and pitch series'. Each hand of the piano represents one of the scurrying figures in Beckett's play and traces their incessant pathways across the stage.

Quad Studies explores both the comfort and trappings of repetition and routine.
[this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]

CREDITS
from Mundane (works for piano), releases March 24, 2023
Quad Studies I & II - recorded by: Daniel Nerger

All tracks mixed and mastered by: Tyler Bisson
license

Quad Studies I & II (2020) - for two pianos

we lose sight of the forest amongst the trees we have felled
[this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]

"every swing of the axe" is a representation of the horrors we commit to our planet with a focus on deforestation. The chorus acts as an ecology of sounds within the forest, sometimes in symbiotic relationships and at other times in competition within their niche.

every swing of the axe (2022)- for chorus in 6 parts

Arranged for euphonium tuba quartet by Jeffrey Meyer
Performed and recorded by Jeffrey Meyer
Included on the bonus CD for the album Sequel by Robert Holmes

Theme from Gabriel Knight Sins of the Fathers by Robert Holmes

Concrete is created by mixing a cement compound with aggregate mineral substances (such as sand and gravel) with water in order to bind the materials into a solid form which can be shaped.

Concrete is how we sublimate nature.
[this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]



CONCRETE was written for Kei Otake for the 2023 Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP)

Many thanks to Kei for his collaboration and dedication in bringing this piece to life.

www.stephenryanjackson.com
©2023 Stephen Ryan Jackson

CONCRETE (2023) - for solo cello

“Antrum Crepitus” composed by: Stephen Ryan Jackson performed by: Empyrean Ensemble

www.stephenryanjackson.com

antrum ('æntrǝm) n. a natural chamber or cavity within a bone or other anatomical structure.
crepitus ('krepǝdǝs) n. a grating or popping sound or sensation produced by friction between bone and cartilage.

[This piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]

Antrum Crepitus focuses on zooming microscopically into the body, treating the inner bone as a chamber in which the audience metaphorically resides. Viewed from this scale, the slightest movement in a joint is suddenly grating and earthquake-like, the walls of the chamber rubbing against adjoining caverns. 

“Antrum Crepitus” was written for Empyrean Ensemble and was performed and recorded as part of the 2024 Taproot New Music Festival hosted at UC Davis on Feb. 11, 2024.

©2024 Stephen Ryan Jackson

Antrum Crepitus (2024) - for large chamber ensemble

An arrangement of the voice and piano solo "A Chloris" by Reynaldo Hahn for vocal soloist and wind ensemble, originally to be included on a concert of French music for band. That concert was cancelled due to COVID-19 and this version was only rehearsed. Later performed by the St. Martin's University Wind Ensemble, David Wacyk, conductor, Crystal Zimmerman, soloist.

A Chloris by Reynaldo Hahn for voice and wind ensemble MIDI

"You once told me that memory is a choice. But if you were god, you'd know it's a flood."
for viola + live electronics

composer + electronics: Stephen Ryan Jackson
performer: Elsie Bae Han

www.stephenryanjackson.com

This piece takes inspiration from the novel "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong. A confessional letter to his mother, whose understanding of the English language is limited, "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" is about processing and articulating difficult memories rather than about directly communicating them. This piece is my own version of that concept.

Many thanks to my good friend and collaborator, Elsie for bringing this piece to life.

©2025 Stephen Ryan Jackson

You once told me that memory is a choice. But if you were god, you'd know it's a flood. (2025)

DREDGE (dredʒ) v. 1. clean out the bed of (a harbor, river, or other area of water) by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish using a boat or special device.

v. 2. bring to attention unpleasant facts or memories that had been forgotten.

DREDGE takes two separate definitions, one physical and the other emotional. DREDGE is private, it's voyeuristic, it's ritual. 

[this piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]


DREDGE was written for Miriam Liske-Doorandish, Adam Buttimer & Maya Stone for the 2025 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MassMoCA

www.stephenryanjackson.com
©2025 Stephen Ryan Jackson

DREDGE (2025) - for chamber ensemble [Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival]

WRITHE ('rīth) v. to make continuous twisting, twitching, squirming movements or contortions of the body.

In WRITHE, the ensemble functions as a single large convulsing body, its collective mass and motion crushed under the weight of its own momentum. WRITHE is a study in the violent mechanics of spasm, labor, and repetition.

[This piece is meant to recreate that distinct sensation]

Written for the fellows of the 2025 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival.
Commissioned with generous support from Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting.

www.stephenryanjackson.com
©2025 Stephen Ryan Jackson

Marfa Lights

Jeffrey Meyer

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