Adoration-arr. Cheldon Williams

dream of ember, dream of star-David Biedenbender

Twirling Aimlessly -Jack Frerer

Music for Stones is a percussion quartet written for differently sized rocks in glass bowls. Premiered by Simon Herron, Will Hopkins, Oliver Xu, and Parker Meek.

Music for Stones

Performed by Eighth Blackbird and the U.S. Navy Band, Capt. Kenneth Collins, conductor.

Full performance video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHMabYCLKrI

Eighth Blackbird + US Navy Band, Kenneth Collins, conductor

Vital Sines

Sheet music available from Tapspace at https://www.tapspace.com.

Tapspace Concert Literature

The Stars Began to Burn (Matthew Gillott)

Jäger March-arr. Cheldon Williams

Celtic music is a paradox; in a minor key such as this piece, it tends to be melancholy, yet in its melancholia it can lift the spirit to heavenly realms where noble and reflective thoughts reside.  It is Debbie's and mine fondest hope this Lament lifts your spirits:) A huge thank you to Debbie for gracing this piece with her playing. Hear more of her beautiful music @debra_buesking.

Celtic Lament (Debra Buesking; Piano and Synths, David; Guitar)

Performance by the Pittsburgh Creators Project Symphonic Winds May 2018

A Fleeting Moment for Wind Band
Written in December 2015, this piece came to fruition in pondering what beauty is. I found myself referencing short moments in my own life... the simple things. It is easy for me to feel there is not enough time in the given day, often feeling like I am running onto the next big thing. I think it is this way for most people. We pass by some of the beauty in our lives and recognize it only when we reflect at the end of a fast-paced day. I think we all encounter these fleeting moments in different forms which only need us to stop and appreciate them.
Expressive, impressionistic figures are first deployed in a small chamber ensemble.  As the ensemble grows, new textures woven from simultaneous instrument patterns evolve. A thematic seed is planted here that appears in various forms throughout. The body of the piece features a series of short episodes with increasingly more intense arrival points.  After several of these episodes-leading-to-climaxes, the piece draws back to a limited instrumentation to close.  Not content to simply recycle conventional devices, but yet still not abandoning the tonal context of the last 100 years, the piece aims to find beauty in the place of tension between tradition and invention.

Live at Moon Area HS

A Fleeting Moment - Pittsburgh Creators Project Symphonic Winds

Harry Connick Jr. discusses his primary influences and shares tips which would be useful to vocalists and composers. 

Harry Connick Jr. - Advice for Composers

I have always been a fan of Philip Glass.  He was one of the first composers that really spoke to me when I heard his music in middle school.  Fast-forward to 2019, when Boardman MS directors, Tim Tuite & Michael Shevock asked me to write a piece for their middle school band to perform in 2020.  I came back to a thought I had while listening to Glass’s music.  The harmonic language lends itself well to a spy-themed composition.  So I set off on the process of writing a grade 2-3 spy-themed work, drawing inspiration from Philip Glass.  The result is Code:Glass.

A Fleeting Moment - Pittsburgh Creators Project Symphonic Winds

Robert Traugh - Composer

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