Commissioned and premiered by the Edina High School Band Program
Conducted by Paul Kyle

Illustrated Fantastical - III. Rocket Circus

Illustrated Fantastical - II. Time Magic

Illustrated Fantastical - I. Kaleidoscope Sky

pre-recorded audio and synthesized sound
inspired by the intersection of primary colors and emotions
recorded and produced by TJ Cole, 2022
vocalists: Gavin Hawk, Julia Wallis, TJ Cole

Color Theory

Traditional folk song cover for double bass, live vocals, and pre-recorded audio
Co-written by TJ Cole and Catrin Dowd 
Live Performance at McGill University, Montreal, 2018

Double Bass and vocals performed by Catrin Dowd
Audio produced by TJ Cole

House Of The Rising Sun (Cover)

for violin and cello (2021)
composed by TJ Cole

commissioned and performed by the Bakken Trio (Stephanie Arado, violin ; Pitnarry Shin, cello), Minneapolis 
recorded and engineered by Reid Kruger

Fly Away Moon

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VI. Overcoming

Can you hear my voice?
Let me have my harmony
I'll be here
I'll be singing

I'm telling you who I am
And when you try to push me down,
I become more determined
To build up spaces for us all

Hear my voice
Hear my harmony 
I remember

I have strength beyond your sight
I will keep fighting for my needs
My song grows even stronger
The more you try to silence me
I won't let you silence me

I can keep expressing and discovering who I can be
I persist on asking questions, searching far within me
I continue finding space, my own sense of belonging
I can shelter, I can listen, 
And you can't stop me from singing

I remember
Hear my voice
Hear my harmony 

I will use my voice
I will sing my harmonies
Who I am is enough
Open up your heart to see

Those Moments - VI. Overcoming

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
V. Sheltering

Speak
Listen
Shelter
Home

Shelter comes from space that's given
Home is more than just a haven
Speak with gentle understanding
Listen to me patiently

Speak gently
Speak gently, with me
Speak words given freely
Listen, patiently
Listen, patience, listen to me
With mind and heart, please listen to me
Shelter fully
Shelter fully, shelter within me
Fully give, shelter all within me
Home
More is in me

Home
Speak
Listen

More is in me
Home is with me
Find within me

Speak gently, softly, to me, with me
Listen, patience, more is in me
Shelter, fully, what you find within me

Home is with me
Find within me
Speaking gently
Listen to me
Shelter fully
Love is freeing

Speak
Listen

Those Moments - V. Sheltering

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV. Belonging

Caught in between

Where do I belong? 
If there is no mold that fits me, 
Can you create spaces for me?

I have been here all along,
And I want to know where to belong

Caught

Where can I find space? 
If you try to organize me, 
I won't fit your categories

I have been here all along, 
But I need to know where to belong

Caught in between

Floating adrift, feeling lost
Pressure to be someone I'm not
Surrounded by noise 
won't send me away
Wanting a home
A quiet space

I have been here all along, 
So I will find a space to belong

Those Moments - IV. Belonging

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III. Questioning

What is wrong with me? 
Why do I not fit in? 
Am I so complicated? 
What did I do to upset them?

{Questions circling through my head}

Am I not enough?
Why am I not like them? 
What do they want me to be?
Who creates these expectations?

What is trapping me?
What will help me break free?
Do I fit into a mold?
Would I let go of who I am?

Am I alone in my feelings?
What if others share my thoughts?

Circling through my head 
Are so many questions
Am I asking the right ones? 
Do I need all of the answers?

{Questions circling through my head}

Searching for myself
Trying to see others
Where is love for who I am?
Is there space I haven't found yet? 
I keep on searching

{I keep searching for myself}

There is nothing wrong
With who I want to be
Or with my identity
There is no mold that can fit me

Those Moments - III. Questioning

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II. Expressing

Today, I am
I am expressing myself
I can show how I want to be seen

I will explore within myself, 
Discovering new possibilities
I am going to wear_________

Today, I feel like me

Today, I want
I want to express myself
I am told to try to be myself

I want to show you who I am,
But have not worn it much before
I want to wear_________

Today, would that be okay?

Today, should I?
Should I express myself?
I'm warned "Be careful as you are"

If I show how I want to be, 
What would they think or say to me?
Should I wear_________?

What about tomorrow?

Those Moments - II. Expressing

for SATB choir, mixed chamber ensemble, and pre-recorded audio (2019)
commissioned and performed by Nashville in Harmony and Intersection, Nashville, TN

inspired by the members of Nashville in Harmony who shared their stories and perspectives on the topic of gender

composed by TJ Cole
pre-recorded audio includes stories provided by members of Nashville in Harmony, recorded and produced by TJ Cole
libretto by Aiv Rubino and TJ Cole

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I. Remembering

Can you hear my voice? 
Can you hear my harmony? 
Is this music? 
Is this me? 

Filling hearts and souls and minds
Creating space for meditation
Colors and styles of all kinds
Born out from imagination

Hear my voice
Hear my harmony
I remember

Tell me that I'm not exclusive
I can be here for you all 
My song grows deep inclusive
I am anything but small

Hear my voice
Hear my harmony
I remember

Can you hear my voice? 
Can you hear my harmony?
I'm like music, I am gender
I'm beyond what the eye can see

Those Moments - I. Remembering

Performed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Gould Rehearsal Hall, April 6, 2013.

Megalopolis

Performed by Chase Ward at Interlochen Center for the Arts, November 4, 2011.

Miniature for Solo Violin - III

for string orchestra
inspired by the painting 'Death of the Poet Walter Rheiner' by Conrad Felixmuller
composed by TJ Cole (2014)
performed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia, PA

Death Of The Poet

Scherzo "Ach Wie Fluchtig, Ach Wie Nichtig"

for orchestra
composed by TJ Cole (2015)
premiered by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, April 2 2016 in Gould Rehearsal Hall, Philadelphia, PA

Nightscape

Selections from Childhood (2000-2003)
Dreams Gone Wild
Happy Harp
Italian Countryside 
Carousel
Solace

A selection of piano songs composed during childhood. 
Performed by TJ Cole in Field Concert Hall.

2016/04/15 78th Student Recital: T.J. Cole

Selections from Childhood: Dreams Gone Wild

One More Blue, One More Gray 
Revised in 2016
I. One Wore Blue, One Wore Gray
II. Cannonball Ain't Got No Mind
III. Man Ain't Got No Time for His Kin
IV. One Wore Blue, One Wore Black

Inspired by the civil war folk song, "Two Brothers". 

Performed by Shannon Lee (violin), Summer Hu (cello), Niles Watson (flute), Slavko Popovic (clarinet), and Michael Davidman (piano) in Field Concert Hall.

III. Man Ain't Got No Time for His Kin; IV. One Wore Blue, One Wore Black

One More Blue, One More Gray 
Revised in 2016
I. One More Blue, One More Gray
II. Cannonball Ain't Got No Mind
III. Man Ain't Got No Time for His Kin
IV. One Wore Blue, One Wore Gray

Inspired by the civil war folk song, "Two Brothers". 

Performed by Shannon Lee (violin), Summer Hu (cello), Niles Watson (flute), Slavko Popovic (clarinet), and Michael Davidman (piano) in Field Concert Hall.

I. One Wore Blue, One Wore Gray

Chandelier
Written by Sia, Covered by TJ Cole
for Scordatura Violin and Electronics
Premiered by Kitty Manning (violin) with the Nebula Ensemble, Denver CO, Jan 22 2017

Chandelier: Written by Sia, Covered by TJ Cole

Premiered by Mim - Music in May, 2017 in Samper Recital Hall.
Dan Jordan (violin), Rebecca Jackson (violin), Alexandra Leem (viola), Matt Young (viola), Jonah Kim (cello), and Danielle Cho (cello)

Music For Strings

Playtime (2019) - 10 miniatures for string sextet 
1. Rainbow Train Tag (string sextet)
2. Bubble Brite Popcorn (string sextet)
3. Spinning Top Copycat (2 violins and 2 violas)
4. Shrinking Merry-Go-Round (string sextet)
5. Fairy Wing Glitter Bees (2 violas and 2 cellos)
6. Color Gaze Cloud Change (string sextet)
7. Tik-Tok Time-Out (viola solo)
8. Wind-Up Swing Set (string sextet)
9. Ooey Gooey Nursery Rhyme (1 violin, 1 viola, and 1 cello)
10. Ping-Pong Shooting Star (string sextet)

Premiered at Music in the Vineyards in August, 2019.
Performed by Mari Lee (violin 1), Daria Adams (violin 2), Jonathan Vinocour (viola 1), Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu (viola 2), Joshua Roman (cello 1), and Nicholas Canellakis (cello 2).

Playtime  9. Ooey Gooey Nursery Rhyme

Playtime  7. Tik-Tok Time-Out

Playtime  6. Color Gaze Cloud Change

Playtime  4. Shrinking Merry-Go-Round

Playtime  3. Spinning Top Copycat

Playtime  2. Bubble Brite Popcorn

Playtime  1. Rainbow Train Tag

My name is TJ Cole (they/them). I'm a composer and producer. I love music and sounds and art among other things.

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