compositions for wind band

CCM Wind Ensemble, Terence Milligan, conductor

Composed in 2008, shortly before the beginning of my second year of doctoral studies in music, this piece was inspired by my feelings of returning to school after summer vacation.

September Fanfare (2008)

Etude No. 1 for Baritone Ukulele (2014)

Suzanne Snizek, flute; Joanna Hood, viola; Michelle Mares, piano


In 2011, I was unexpectedly reunited with someone who was very dear to me.  Although we had promised to keep in touch after graduating from university in 2005, life got in the way until a chance encounter at our alma mater brought us back together.  This composition is my reaction to that event and its impact on my life.

Six-Year Interlude for flute, viola, and piano (2011)

Thomas Ravenscroft was an English composer active during the first half of the 17th century, known today mainly for his collections of folk and popular songs of his time.  Mr. Ravenscroft's Haunting was inspired by "Donec aboire," a three-voice canon from one such collection, the Pammelia.  The text and translation are given below:

Donec aboire alle bon companion, alleluia.
[Give drink to the good companion, alleluia.]

"Donec aboire" is presented in its original form in the final section of this piece.

Mr. Ravenscroft's Haunting

Mr. Ravenscroft's Haunting (2009)

Awea Duo - Jennifer Brimson Cooper, flute; Masahito Sugihara, alto saxophone

The idea for this piece came about in late 2012, when the Awea Duo's Jennifer Brimson Cooper, a former classmate at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, expressed interest in performing new repertoire.  I decided to write a work that would be accessible to a wide variety of audiences while allowing the performers to show off their skills.  The piece also reflects my ongoing interest in the musical heritage of my native Serbia and other countries in the Balkan region of southeast Europe.

Rondo Alla Balcanica for flute and alto saxophone (2013)

Nazareth College Wind Symphony, Jared Chase, conductor

Summer Night (2012)

Middleton Community Orchestra
Christopher Ramaekers, conductor
Live performance, March 4, 2023

2023 Young Artist Competition Winners Concert

An Unquiet Overture (2019)

Commissioned by the 2013-2014 Central Connecticut State University Wind Ensemble, Lauren Reynolds, conductor

live recording of the premiere, April 30, 2014
Welte Auditorium
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT

Tableaux d'hiver (2013)

Ancia Saxophone Quartet, live performance
Wisconsin Alliance for Composers New Music Festival, April 16, 2023

The biblical Book of Lamentations, which documents the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 586 BCE, is a text of both religious and historical significance. It was the latter aspect that I had in mind when I wrote this piece in the year 2022 CE while watching, from half a world away and nearly in real time, the destruction of cities now achieving a historical significance of their own: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol...

Movements:
I. With Anxiety
II. With Sorrow
III. With Rage
IV. With Despair

2023 Wisconsin Alliance for Composers New Music Festival

Book of Lamentations (2022)

composed for and performed by the Elysian Trombone Consort

Timothy Anderson, Brett Shuster, Nathan Siler, trombones
Chad Arnow, bass trombone

live recording, American Trombone Workshop, March 11, 2016

live recording, 2016 American Trombone Workshop

Until Peace, The Storm (2015)

2006-III

Improvisation No. 2 (2006)

Iva Ugrčić - flute, alto flute, piccolo
Dave Alcorn - marimba, vibes

live performance, Unitarian Meeting House, Madison, WI
November 13, 2015

live performance, November 13, 2015

Rondo Alla Balcanica for flutes and percussion (2013/2015)

University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra
Nebojsa Macura, conductor
live performance, Mills Hall, Madison, WI
April 8, 2017

Composed for the orchestra's 20th anniversary and dedicated to the orchestra and its Founder/Music Director, Victor Gorodinsky.

20th Anniversary Concert, April 8, 2017

Polar Night (2016)

2nd movement of Sonata for Flutes

Commissioned and performed by the University of Victoria Flute Choir, Suzanne Snizek, director/soloist
David Gagnon, conductor

Chaconne for solo flute and flute choir (2016)

Commissioned by a consortium of 15 high school, college, and university ensembles organized by Jared Chase, Director of Wind Studies, Nazareth College

performed here by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wind Ensemble, Scott Teeple, conductor

live performance, April 26, 2016

Symphony No. 1 - 2nd movement (2015)

commissioned by the Xavier University Symphonic Winds, Matthew Westgate, conductor

performed here by CCM Wind Ensemble, Terence Milligan, conductor

In several countries of southeastern Europe, the term "chochek" refers to a type of folk dance, as well as the associated musical genre, both of which developed under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Characterized by syncopated rhythms and energetic melodies, the music is traditionally performed by an ensemble of brass instruments and drums, sometimes also including clarinets or saxophones.

 While this musical heritage was the main source of inspiration, the creation of Chochek Rhapsody was also shaped by the study of wind music from the “classical” tradition of North America and western Europe, particularly the rich variety of tone colors found in the wind band.

Chochek Rhapsody (2010)

University of South Carolina Symphonic Winds, Rebecca Phillips, conductor

“Rascia” is the Latin name for Raška, a medieval state in southeastern Europe populated by the Serbian people, and a predecessor to the modern-day Republic of Serbia. While the rich history of its liturgical chant is well documented, little is known about other types of Serbian music from the Middle Ages.

Echoes of Rascia draws upon the musical traditions, both real and imagined, of this bygone era. Except for a quote from a Serbian Orthodox (Christian) hymn, first played by the flugelhorn at the beginning of the piece, all the thematic material is original.

This work is dedicated to Rodney Winther, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, in gratitude for his guidance and support.


Echoes of Rascia (2008)

Middleton Community Orchestra
Steve Kurr, conductor
live performance, Middleton (WI) Performing Arts Center
February 27, 2019

Winter 2019

Polar Night for symphony orchestra (2017)

Nick Naegele and Jennifer Van Eenam, violins
Galit Gertsenzon and Cully Bell, piano

Canzoni di Primavera (2008)

Brigit Knecht, violin
Joan Harrison, cello

Scampering Creatures (2011)

Serbian-American classical composer, folk performer, and occasional conductor. DMA in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. My works have been performed on four continents.

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