River of No Return is about the journey of the Salmon River through Central Idaho. Along its course it passes through some of the most spectacular, rugged, and scenic Wilderness in the world. This river has been designated a Wild and Scenic River and is the longest free-flowing river in the Lower 48. The five movements of this work are influenced by the locations the river flows through on its way to join the Snake River in Hell’s Canyon. They are all unified by a single two-note motive that is presented differently in each movement. Because the river is ever changing, this motive is continuously developed, reflecting the dynamic nature of the river.
Sawtooth Snowmelt – The Salmon River’s source is high in the alpine lakes of the Sawtooth Wilderness in Central Idaho. This work is influenced by the yearly cycle of melting snow that gives birth to the river. The ice breaks up and the snow melts in the sun, sending torrents of water crashing down the mountain. The streams join together to form larger and larger tributaries until they become the fully-formed River of No Return.
Pahsimeroi – This movement is about the stark landscape of the Pahsimeroi Valley in Eastern Idaho. The Salmon River runs past the north end of this valley skirting both the Lost River and Lemhi Mountains. These mountains are the highest in Idaho and dramatically surround the valley on all sides. IT is one of the most spectacularly scenic places I have been to, but it is also spectacularly empty. This movement evokes that vast emptiness and the solitude it brings.
Ashes – One of the defining characteristics of the Salmon River region is the ever-changing relationship of the land with wildfire. The river flows through some of the most heavily burned areas in the nation and it is difficult now to venture into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness without encountering the effect of fire and climate change. This movement only uses the winds to give the sense of emptiness and desolation, portraying the blackened landscape after a fire. While this movement is atonal there is a sense of hope at the end signified by the final C-Major harmony. While fires bring destruction they also generate new life and new beginnings.
Crags – One of the most spectacular places in the Frank Church Wilderness is an area known as the Bighorn Crags. Rising thousands of feet above the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, these mountains are a jumbled mess of granite spires, fins, and peaks. The grandeur and asymmetry of the angular rock features is represented by wide spacing of the instruments and many fragmented, disjunct melodies tossed between the instruments. The ever-present ostinato is a reminder of the river far below.
Canyons – The defining feature of the Salmon River is the massive canyon it flows through. Essentially dividing Idaho in half, it is one of the deepest gorges in North America. Besides the beautiful country the river flows through, the Salmon is world-renowned for its whitewater rafting. Powerful rapids are created by the river, which is now at full force. The swiftness of the current is depicted by a dancelike compound meter and playful melodies. The river motive is the driving force behind the movement and as the Salmon exits its canyon and dissipates into the mighty Snake, the river motive is likewise faded out until it is the last thing the listener hears, recalling the journey of the river. It is now transposed and transformed, but still recognizable just as the River of No Return changes throughout its course.

River of No Return

Suite for Strings was composed October 2021 – January 2022 and is set in three contrasting movements. The title of each movement reflects the nature of the music and the emotions that one might feel as they listen. Resolute is intense and driving with moments of triumph and an undercurrent of longing. Introspection is calm and yet emotionally charged with moments of both hopeful brightness and dark melancholy. Mercurial Moment is an ever-changing melting pot of meter and moods. The movement contrasts sections of driving pizzicato off-kilter rhythms with soaring moments of exquisite, bittersweet joy. My hope is that this suite will be equally enjoyable for both the listeners and performers. 
The work has not yet received a premiere.

Suite for Strings

Second Suite for Strings was composed during the winter of 2022-2023 as a follow-up and companion to my Suite for Strings composed in 2021-2022. It is set in three movements of contrasting character. 
I. Scherzo - This movement is quirky and fun, contrasting lopsided pizzicato waltz patterns with a Coplandesque main theme.
II. Passacaglia looks to the past with a somber ground bass, over which the higher strings rise with increasing urgency to an emotional climax at the end.
III. Finale - The third movement is the longest and most complex of the three. It contrasts an urgent, driving main motive with a central section of soaring grandeur. Along the way, it explores moments of layered ostinato patterns that combine to form a complex texture.

Second Suite for Strings

The first complete movement from the Suite for Strings. Resolute is intense and driving with moments of triumph and an undercurrent of longing.

I. Resolute

The second movement of the Suite for Strings. Introspection is calm and yet emotionally charged with moments of both hopeful brightness and dark melancholy.

II. Introspection

Mercurial Moment is the third movement of Suite for Strings. Mercurial Moment is an ever-changing melting pot of meter and moods. The movement contrasts sections of driving pizzicato, off-kilter rhythms with soaring moments of exquisite, bittersweet joy.

III. Mercurial Moment

This is the recording of the world premiere of my Sonata for Flute and Piano that took place on January 20, 2022 at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX.
This wonderful performance was done by Christina Guenther on the Flute and Ron Petti on the Piano.

I. Maestoso

Terram Inter Lunas was written in 2021-2022 as part of the Artist in Residence program at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Each of the five movements is tied to a location or natural feature of the monument. I chose to write for brass quintet because brass instruments are great in the outdoors and very portable. This work will be premiered in the Monument and each movement will be performed in the location for which it was written. This will take place over Labor Day Weekend 2022.

V - Blue Dragon

IV - Moon Caves

III - Devil's Dance

II - Nox Arbore (In Memoriam John Platt)

This set was originally written for Bass Flute and Cello. This version was slightly altered to be played on a standard flute. Each movement is a stylized dance taken from various countries around the world.
I. Tango - Argentina/South America
II. Minuet - France/Western Eurpoe
III. Baladi - Egypt/Middle East
IV. Jig - Ireland/North America

III. Baladi

I. Tango

III. Finale

II. Passacaglia

I. Scherzo

The waters of the Great Salt Lake have been diminishing for many years now due to drought and poor water conservation efforts. Arsenic Requiem tells the story of the lake and how it has been altered and disrupted by humanity. 
At first the lake is heard calm and serene, with every member of its web of life intact. This is represented by a string orchestra playing rich and beautiful harmonies while the wind blows and birds sing. But soon the pioneer wagons arrive, and the artificial sounds of mankind begin to take over. As more and more people flood into the area the web of life and natural flow of water is disrupted. As this happens, tension enters the orchestra in the form of dissonance. One voice has been impacted, changing the whole. Eventually,  the transcontinental railroad is complete,  bringing ever more people and industry. A train whistle and the message “The last rail laid. The last spike is driven. The Pacific railroad is completed” in Morse code announces this feat. (This is the message telegraphed to the associated press at the completion of the railroad in 1869.) After a while, the Morse code changes to say "Industry". With the completion of the railroad, technological advancement increases at a dizzying rate requiring ever more water and putting more and more pressure on the fragile ecosystem of the lake until the web of life is thrown into chaos. This is represented by the orchestra's loss of cohesion and stability where it collapses into a heap of harsh dissonance. It will only ever be heard again, agonizingly, and sickeningly distorted, without life even as humanity continues on, unaware of, or unwilling to understand the damage we have caused. As the lake’s ecosystem collapses a quote from Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament is heard amongst the sounds of trains, traffic, and heavy industry, “Death is now a welcome guest…. remember me but ah, forget my fate!”. Finally, the distorted orchestra gives up and is swallowed by sampled sounds of I-15 traffic, Frontrunner, factories, airplanes, and radio and television. Without water, the lakebed dries and becomes a source of toxic, arsenic-laden dust which can be heard blowing in the wind to close the work in a similar manner to the way it began, all while the public and political response amounts to crickets chirping.

The Purcell Sample is performed by Elin Manahan Thomas and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment from the album "Eternal Light".

Arsenic Requiem

This is the third movement of my Concerto for Trombone. The concerto is currently a work in progress as I am still working on completing the other two movements, but I thought I'd at least post the one complete movement. This began several years ago as a second sonata for trombone but it grew into a concerto.

Concerto for Trombone - III. Allegro con moto

I wrote this set of three pieces for the Boise State University Trombone Choir. "Fanfare" was written specifically to be played at the All Northwest Music Educators Conference in Seattle, Washington. It was premiered on February 18, 2011. "Motives" is based on a simple three note motive that is present throughout. It was the last one completed. "Achievement"  was the first completed. It is called "Achievement" because we played "Achieved is the Glorious Work" by Haydn so many times that everyone was sick of it and I thought it was time to add something new to the Trombone Choir repertoire.

Fanfare

Motives

A short project that I completed to demo a possible opening/closing credits soundtrack to a spy thriller.

SpyMusic Demo

The Land of Standing Rocks refers to the area of Southern Utah centered around Canyonlands National Park and known for its incredible sandstone features. This work was written as a collaborative film/music project with Icelandic photographer Svavar Jonatansson called Inland/Outland Utah. The film features the landscapes of Utah as you might see them through a car window but in more of a stop motion way. I wrote the music for the portion of the film that depicts Arches National Park, Oljato Mesa in Monument Valley, and the Area around Capitol Reef National Park.  It has been performed by the TEMPO Ensemble in Los Angeles, North/South Consonance, in New York, and by groups in Montana and Salt Lake City. This performance was recorded at the University of Utah in August of 2014 with Christine Tavolacci on Flute, Eric Clark on Violin, Ivan Fantini on Clarinet, Andy Speirs on Cello, and Jared Oaks on Piano.

I. Navajo Walls

This is my first attempt at a work for electronics and acoustic instrument. It was made with Finale, Max/MSP, and Logic 9.

Throb for Bass Clarinet and Electronics

Sonata for Flute and Piano - Completed Jan 10, 2020. This work has not yet received a live premiere.

I - Maestoso

River of No Return is about the journey of the Salmon River through Central Idaho. Along its course it passes through some of the most spectacular, rugged, and scenic Wilderness in the world. This river has been designated a Wild and Scenic River and is the longest free-flowing river in the Lower 48. The five movements of this work are influenced by the locations the river flows through on its way to join the Snake River in Hell’s Canyon. They are all unified by a single two-note motive that is presented differently in each movement. Because the river is ever changing, this motive is continuously developed, reflecting the dynamic nature of the river.
Sawtooth Snowmelt – The Salmon River’s source is high in the alpine lakes of the Sawtooth Wilderness in Central Idaho. This work is influenced by the yearly cycle of melting snow that gives birth to the river. The ice breaks up and the snow melts in the sun, sending torrents of water crashing down the mountain. The streams join together to form larger and larger tributaries until they become the fully-formed River of No Return.
Pahsimeroi – This movement is about the stark landscape of the Pahsimeroi Valley in Eastern Idaho. The Salmon River runs past the north end of this valley skirting both the Lost River and Lemhi Mountains. These mountains are the highest in Idaho and dramatically surround the valley on all sides. IT is one of the most spectacularly scenic places I have been to, but it is also spectacularly empty. This movement evokes that vast emptiness and the solitude it brings.
Ashes – One of the defining characteristics of the Salmon River region is the ever-changing relationship of the land with wildfire. The river flows through some of the most heavily burned areas in the nation and it is difficult now to venture into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness without encountering the effect of fire and climate change. This movement only uses the winds to give the sense of emptiness and desolation, portraying the blackened landscape after a fire. While this movement is atonal there is a sense of hope at the end signified by the final C-Major harmony. While fires bring destruction they also generate new life and new beginnings.
Crags – One of the most spectacular places in the Frank Church Wilderness in as area know as the Bighorn Crags. Rising thousands of feet above the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, these mountains are a jumbled mess of granite spires, fins, and peaks. The grandeur and asymmetry of the angular rock features is represented by wide spacing of the instruments and many fragmented, disjunct melodies tossed between the instruments. The ever-present ostinato is a reminder of the river far below.
Canyons – The defining feature of the Salmon River is the massive canyon it flows through. Essentially dividing Idaho in half, it is one of the deepest gorges in North America. Besides the beautiful country the river flows through, the Salmon is world-renowned for is white water rafting. Powerful rapids are created by the river, which is now at full force. The swiftness of the current is depicted by a dancelike compound meter and playful melodies. The river motive is the driving force behind the movement and as the Salmon exits its canyon and dissipates into the might Snake, the river motive is likewise faded out until it is the last thing the listener hears, recalling the journey of the river. It is now transposed and transformed, but still recognizable just as the River of No Return changes throughout its course.

V-Canyons

IV-Crags

III-Ashes

II-Pahsimeroi

I-Sawtooth Snowmelt

This track is the 2021 sound category winner for the 8th annual Alfred Lambourne Prize sponsored by the Friends of Great Salt Lake.
Gunnison Island is a small island in the Great Salt Lake of Utah. This track is inspired by the attached photo of the island reflected in the glass-like surface of the lake. Like the photo, the music is minimal. The symmetry and linear nature of the photo directly inspired the structure and form of the music. This area is also very close to the site of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. My own great-great grandfather was a telegraph operator on the railroad at Corinne, UT and was present when the Golden Spike was driven to complete the railroad. As an homage to this history, "Gunnison Island" can be heard in morse code at several points throughout the piece.

Gunnison Island

PhD in Music Composition from the University of Utah. Currently serving as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the music theory area at the University of Utah School of Music, an Adjunct Instructor of Humanities at Utah Valley University and IvyTech Community College, and a theory faculty member at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Matthew R. Durrant

Pinned to spotlight

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