One is soaring through vast rainbow landscapes of pure light and energy, taking in the strange natural formations and vistas. Storms and electric surges come and go, and the endless terrains remain still and unscathed.

Recorded in performance by the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra
UNO Recital Hall, New Orleans LA, November 13, 2021

Maxim Samarov, Conductor
Phillip Larroque, co-music director

Violins:
Hannah Yim
Xiao Fu
Kurt Munstedt
Sarah Yen
Yuki Tanaka
Janeta Mavrova
Hannah Urdea
Moises Bonella Cunha
 
Violas:
Kenny Wang
Tyler Sieh
Peter Dutilly
 
Cellos:
Rachel Hsieh
David Rosen
Joshua Delgado
 
Bass:
Doug Therrien

Recorded by Dennis Lindwall

2021, November 13

Colorfields, for string ensemble

Square

Sunleaf, the spacecraft upon which we will musically quest the universe.
Strap in for a funky ride, my friends

Sunleaf

If we are in fact alone...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis

Rare Earth

Performed at St. Olaf Fresh Ink,  December 2015
Flute-Noah Livingston
Vibraphone-Tim O'Grady
Piano-Jared Miller
Violin-Elise Steichen 

Vessels

Flight And Drop

Older song written under the previous alias "Jim Limbo". 

Labyrinthine is about the complexity of falling in love with strangers...

Enjoy!

2015

Labyrinthine

For four electric guitars

Recorded by Nuntempe Cuarteto de Guitarras

Discipline for four electric guitars

Elise Steichen-violin

Lyrics:
I don't sleep anymore,
the nightmares are strong,
playing vivid arrays
of unending song.
Awake in my dreams
or somewhere above,
don't make any sound,
they're singing to us.
I don't sleep anymore,
my dreams aren't vivid enough.

Dreams...

I've had dreams in the past
of hearing their song,
a river of sound
and knowledge for all.

Can you hear what I feel?
Can you taste what I dream?
Can you see what they see?
Can they be what I dream?
Can we be where they are?
Time and space fall apart

Dmitri's Quest

Our Heartbeats Would Kill Us - Demo

This piece is based off of the gate-keeping and invalidation that has historically occurred in the academy. When Conrad Tao and I first began talking about this idea, it became clear that we were both lucky in that we made it into academic music and have had relatively progressive experiences and environments. However, we still hold beliefs and support movements that are against the institution. Despite constantly creating hip-hop in the contemporary world, the genre still is invalidated in front of me every day. This cognitive dissonance is what I explored when writing the piece.

Colorfields, for string ensemble

samkohlermusic