Yumiko Matsuyama, violin
Performed in the Great Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, November 16, 2021

I. Schneeglöckchen (Snowdrops)
II. Tulpe (Tulips)
III. Krokusse (Crocuses)
IV. Sonnenblumen (Sunflowers)
V. Astern (Asters)
VI. Pfingstrosen (Peonies)
VII. Flieder (Lilacs)
VIII. Rosen (Roses)

Blumen (German for “Flowers”) is a suite for solo violin consisting of eight miniatures, each depicting a type of flower that grows in both the US and in Germany. Beyond the particular qualities of the flowers, the movements were inspired by my mother’s garden at home in Illinois, where many of these flowers grow, as well as hikes throughout Baden-Württemberg and in the Bavarian town of Mittenwald three years ago.

Blumen for solo violin

Premiered 14 May 2023, Great Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn, Estonia
Peeter Margus, violin
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Toomas Vavilov

"Gathering Dew", my first completed concerto, searches for a unison between the pure tone of the violin and the beautiful, often mournful simplicity of Lithuanian folk music. The harmonics and open strings of the violin are gradually transformed into fragments and variations of two folk songs – “Už ežero ugnys dega” ("Behind the lake, fires are burning", about a sorrowful orphan girl) and “Laidos saulalė” ("The sun was setting", depicting a personified sun speaking to villagers harvesting rye) – after which the soloist plays both songs in their full splendor.

The meaning of the title is twofold. Inspired by the delicate qualities of morning dew, I imagined the opening of the concerto as a gradual accumulation or “gathering”, beginning from the “dewdrops” of violin harmonics and extending to the loudest point. In addition, dew (“Rasa” in Lithuanian) is a common female name in Lithuania, exemplifying the very close connection between Lithuanian culture and nature.

"Gathering Dew" is dedicated to the Lithuanian people, in appreciation of the kindness, generosity, and hospitality they have often showed during my travels in Lithuania and abroad.

"Gathering Dew", concerto for violin and orchestra

Carson Cooman, piano

There are no program notes; the meaning of the title is up to your own interpretation.

Valley of Fading Memories for piano

Carson Cooman, organ

There are no program notes; the meaning of the title is up to your own interpretation.

Valley of Fading Memories (Organ version)

Pilvine Öö (Cloudy Night) for piano

Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 06 September 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Echoes from a Distant Land for piano

Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 16 September 2023

Image credit: Getty Images

Threads That Glisten In Evening Light for piano

Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 19 September 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

Sweetness Of Eternity for piano

Carson Cooman, piano
Completed 01 October 2023

This is one of a series of pieces where most expressive aspects are decided by the performer. Likewise, there are no program notes; based on the title and the music, it is up to you what you wish to imagine.

A Whimsical Tune for piano

Premiered 13 October 2023, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Multimedia Center, Tallinn, Estonia as part of the EAMT Acousmonium (speaker orchestra) Workshop

Lithuania is a country very close to my heart, both because of its people and due to its rich variety of musical and cultural traditions. The recordings forming "The Heart of Lithuania" are influenced by several of these traditions - a carillon tune played in Telšiai, the capital of the Samogitian cultural region; the traditional multipart songs known as "sutartinės" from northeastern Lithuania (quasi-imitated by an imprecise canon created from my own voice); and the Catholic introitus "Pulkim ant kelių" ("Fall on your knees"), harmonized by late 19th- and early 20th-century composer Juozas Naujalis with words by Antanas Strazdas, recorded outside the Church of St. Theresa in Vilnius's old town.

In a sense, this work follows the ideas of the composer Bronius Kutavičius in his oratorio "Last Pagan Rites"; however, while Kutavičius illustrates the arrival of Christianity and displacement of paganism, my piece highlights the coexistence of multiple traditions as strong parts of Lithuanian identity. This is truly, for me, "the heart of Lithuania" - what makes me constantly drawn to the country as a source of inspiration for both acoustic and electroacoustic music.

The Heart of Lithuania (stereo version)

Premiered at the inaugural concert of the Cumnock Tryst International Summer-School for Composers, 10 August 2024, Dumfries House, Ayrshire, Scotland

Scott Lygate, contrabass clarinet
Gordon Bragg, violin
Ruth Gibson, viola
Christian Elliott, cello

Recording provided by The Cumnock Tryst
Many thanks to Björn Heile, Helina Sommer, and Sarah Watts for the pictures they provided me before my own visit to the Highlands. I am indebted to the composition faculty of the course - James MacMillan, the artistic director of the Cumnock Tryst festival, and Oscar Bettison - for their invaluable advice and mentorship, which helped my exploration of space and silence in this piece to reach its full potential.

Many abstract paintings deliberately eschew clear detail, exciting the mind through mere artistic suggestions of an object or person, Likewise, "Highlandscapes" seeks to depict the vastness, beauty and ruggedness of the Scottish Highlands through a variety of isolated sounds and the emotions and perceptions associated with them, constructing a fragmentary narrative that seeks to engage the imagination. In writing this piece, I not only visited and hiked in the Highlands myself but also gathered a variety of photos depicting the region from friends and acquaintances prior to visiting, seeking abstract associations through the literal lenses of others.

Highlandscapes for (contra)bass clarinet and string trio

My first public improvisation, performed at the Magnetic Resonator Piano workshop concert at Iceland University of the Arts, 06/06/2025

The Magnetic Resonator Piano is an electronic modification for the piano where dynamics and timbre are affected by the amount of pressure on a key. Gestures such as pitch bends and harmonic glissandi are also available, and I use them in this improvisation.

Pranav Ranjit - free improvisation on Magnetic Resonator Piano

Kyle Bruckmann, English horn

Written for Music 155, March 2019

Poème mécanique for solo English horn

Julie Michael, viola

Performed in Morrison Hall, 3-21-19

Lamentations for solo viola

Sarah Brady, alto flute
Premiered at the Cortona Sessions Virtual Premiere Concert, August 19, 2020

Whether it be the tides of the Pacific Ocean, the roar of the waterfall Dettifoss in Iceland, or the serenity of the Amazon River, large bodies of water are treasured in every culture. Yet there is also beauty in water in its smaller forms – a small stream, a tiny trickle, or even simply a drop - which help create these aquatic wonders of the world. "The whispering voice of water" is a celebration of these smaller forms; beginning from a single note bordered by silence, the piece evolves into a stream of pitches spanning the full range of the alto flute.

The whispering voice of water for alto flute

This soundscape, composed of several natural and manmade sounds from my neighborhood, serves as a sonic memory of the environment I live in and depicts the uneasy coexistence of humanity and the natural world.

Untitled soundscape (fixed media)

Pranav Ranjit (they/them) is a composer of new music currently based in Reykjavik, Iceland, with prior studies in the United States, Estonia and Finland. Ranjit’s works explore themes of space and texture, incorporating sounds from the natural world, influences from the Carnatic music of southern India and Lithuanian folk music, and the contrasting extremes of fullness and silence.

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