Written in the midst of the first covid wave, this quartet was meant to represent various feelings whilst being in quarantine (depression, restlessness, anxiety, anger), ending with hope for the future.
This recording was performed by the Viano String Quartet at SMU in November, 2022.

String Quartet

Written during the February freeze of 2022, this piece is about memories at the Houston park Menil.

Menil

Throughout my experience composing, different forms and ideas have captivated me. One that I have been particularly fascinated with is the tone poem. Writing a single movement, long form programmatic work has always been a goal of mine. This work is my attempt at such a form for wind ensemble. The story of this piece loosely follows the classic clichés of what might happen if aliens were to invade Earth.
    	The work can be split up roughly into 8 segments: 1, an introduction to "the aliens", as well as a few of the motifs in play, including the use of phasing effects across instrument families, and melodic lines build around quartal and quintal harmony. 2, representing the spaceship flying through a desolate space and locating Earth. 3, The spaceship landing on Earth, as represented by a percussion interlude, portraying the rumbling of the earth. 4, a dissonant fanfare announcing the aliens' arrival, which turns into an eerie soundscape as they begin to reveal themselves. 5, as the aliens start to emerge, they start tranquil and nonviolent, but begin to wreak havoc very soon after, and people retreat. 6, as things begin to subside, and people start going outside again, the repercussions of the chaos caused by the aliens becomes apparent. Dread ensues. 7, Hark! A stronger force has come to fight the aliens, represented by a grand organ entrance. Conflict thusly ensues, people retreat once more.  8, as the dust clears, it becomes apparent that the aliens have been defeated. Celebration ensues.    	 
       While a silly concept in nature, I tried to make this work as practical as possible, applying techniques such as motivic development and quotation (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) throughout. There is also a visual element to the "alien motif" of phasing. In the introduction, the phasing texture in the brass is completely symmetrical, and somewhat in the shape of a flying saucer, which is where I rooted most of the inspiration for this piece from.
    	Aliens!? On My Planet!? More Likely Thank You Think. was written for Jack Delaney and the Meadows Wind Ensemble at Southern Methodist University, and is 15 minutes in duration.

ALIENS!? ON MY PLANET!? (More Likely Than You Think.)

Outside of composition, one of my biggest hobbies has been studying and building synthesizer circuitry. This overtime has led to an endless fascination with modular synthesizers, especially those created by Bob Moog in the 70s. When I was lucky enough to get my hands on a modern replica of one of Moog’s classic synths, the Model 55, I wanted to incorporate it into my music as soon as I could. This piece is my first attempt at doing just that. Every sound in the fixed tape accompaniment of this work was created using the synth and edited in software in various ways. The final sound file has 135 unique tracks, all playing along with the synth, which uses a combination of oscillators, white noise, and modulators that, among other things, unpredictably effects the signal so that each sound produced is completely random. The form is continuous, with a small return of the beginning textures near the end.

PHONOGENESIS

gone/gone/gone beyond/gone beyond beyond
performed by wild Up @ the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's 2016 National Composers Intensive

instrumentation:
flute, bass clarinet, percussion, electric guitar, piano, 2 violins, voila, cello, double bass

gone/gone/gone beyond/gone beyond beyond

Hailed as one of the composers of all time, Max Whittaker is a percussionist, drummer, bassist, and composer from Houston. Max graduated from the Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Southern Methodist University in dallas for his B.M. In composition, and is currently studying for his masters at Rice University, and drumming in metal band Evren

PHONOGENESIS

Max Whittaker

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