I just want to express how much I appreciated the beautiful and seamlessly executed composition. It truly resonated with me, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

A highly original instrumentation that stimulates the imagination.

This is magical stuff. It just so happens that I'm deeply interested in the way "ethnic" textures enrich classical voices. But even if I wasn't, after listening to this piece, I would be!

Nice to see you back. Thanks for sharing!

a very precious ride...love the dynamics...and played by a brilliant quintet

In Hephaestus' ancient forge,
where the demiurge now emerges,
we step on forgotten ground,
where we're healed of our wounds.

A strange brew in our veins,
through archaic, mystic chains,
used by the ancient shamans,
to break the mind's domains.

Slender origami leaves dance,
the wind plays a sweet romance.
Feeble chants from the tree of life
Awaken my soul to bright new life.

In Kamaloka, desires are felt,
shedding the existential veil.
Through voids separating stars,
I glimpse the pyramids of Mars.

A strange brew in our veins,
through ancient, mystic chains,
to break the mind's domains,
and drift through cosmic plains.

Slender origami leaves dance,
the wind plays a sweet romance.
Feeble chants from the tree of life
Awaken my soul to bright new life.

Slender Origami

Obsidian Reflections for Small Orchestra - Marco Polo Orchestra (Live World Premiere)

Clouds of the Night

Velvet Reverie

This is our track for the September moon, the Corn Moon. The lyrics and spoken words are by me and the music and the cover art is by @APi_ZZ.

Corn Moon

Wound Up/Unwind - Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan
Written: 2025
Total Duration: 10'
for string quartet and percussion (cajón with pedal and handpan—D Kurd 10: D) A, B-flat, C, D, E, F, G, A, C )
Commissioned by FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
World Premiere: FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival | The Netherlands, Oostkerk, Middelburg, Middelburg, Zeeland, The Netherlands, May 2, 2025
US Premiere: Mostly Modern Festival. FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 18, 2026
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/wound-up-unwind
VIdeo: https://youtu.be/RPyXPYx-nuo


PROGRAM NOTE
For many years, my wife Victoria and her FAB5 quintet (string quartet and percussion), have entertained thousands of people at numerous performance spaces and travel hubs in New York City, including Moynihan Train Hall, Oculus World Trade Center, Javits Center, and Chelsea Market. Having seen many of their shows, especially those at travel hubs, there's a certain tension and release you experience watching people wait anxiously for their trains, and then the release they feel when they are finally on their way. I've had these experiences myself, so I wanted to create two pieces that emulate these feelings.

Wound Up/Unwind consists of two contrasting pieces for string quartet and percussion. The first, Wound Up, for string quartet and cajón, imitates the feeling of being worried, anxious, and frustrated, especially while waiting to board a train. The second, Unwind, for string quartet and handpan, is calm and soothing, perhaps emulating the satisfying feeling of relaxing in a quiet seat as the train leaves the station. Both pieces can be performed independently and in any order.

Wound Up/Unwind is written for and commissioned by the FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan

“A cinematic composition filled with emotions and atmospheric orchestral sounds. Perfect for trailers, films, games, or as background for creative projects.”

Agnieszka Solska - Celestial Envoy

Sweet Life

Deep knocks and airy tones swirl together, as if you’re listening to the memory of a forest

Hollow Bark

Inspired by the poem "The Peace of Wild Things" by the American poet Wendall Berry.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

The Peace of Wild Things

Flowing

American composer Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker—born and bred in Buffalo, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces a wide variety of themes, everything from goddesses and online dating to mathematics and the environment. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poem, Dark Mountains, regularly airs on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with Nashville Opera, then BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and across the United States. Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, The Oratorio Society of New York, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his works. Paterson gives masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. He is the Artistic Director and house composer for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and advocates for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with ground-breaking works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.

Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan

Robert Paterson Composer

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