"The Dream and Lie of Trump" for piano and live electronics was performed in Oberlin, Ohio (2017) by Thomas Rosenkranz.  Tom's incredible performance included this spectacular cadenza.

This is a work of resistance inspired by Pablo Picasso’s “The Dream and Lie of Franco.”

The Dream and Lie of Trump

cadenza from "The Dream and Lie of Trump"

"In Common Time" was inspired by Terry Riley's composition “In C.”  From the time I was a young musician, I’ve enjoyed performing and listening to Terry Riley’s seminal composition.  It is recognized as one of the first, if not the first, pieces of minimalist music.  Performances of “In C” can have any number of performers on any instrument, who all play through the same sequence of short melodic fragments.  Each player decides how many times to repeat each fragment before moving on to the next, thus creating a constantly shifting fabric of melodic interplay.

In 2014, a full fifty years after “In C” was written, I began working on a musical response.  The simple premise at the core of my piece is the exploration of rhythm, as opposed to Riley’s heterophonic exploration of pitch.  In my piece, a variable number of percussionists, on a variety of instruments, play through a sequence of rhythmic fragments.  The result is a constantly shifting fabric of timbre and rhythm.

I am very grateful for the dedication and commitment of Michael Rosen and the phenomenal performers of the Oberlin Percussion Group who presented the premiere of this work in 2017.

In C

"sfound Objects: 3 Vertices" was composed in Oberlin, Ohio (2018).  This work was created in collaboration with percussionist Justin Gunter.  This constrained improvisation articulates three stations with a variety of objects including bells, shakers, wooden blocks, and eating utensils.

sfound Objects: 3 Vertices

"Skipping Stones" was composed for the Eighth Blackbird ensemble in Oberlin, Ohio (2013).  The flat, smooth, rounded stone nestles in a cocked hand, still wet from the cool lake that gently laps just below your knees.  What magic occurs when it ricochets, again, and again, sending small splashes into the air and ripples through the water.  You track the receding gift until it suddenly disappears, dropping into the depths, to a new home.  The stone’s trajectory, if it continued across the lake, travels through the tree line, across the horizon, and into the sunrise, splashing and rippling through the clouds.  The undulating water touches your legs, and looking down, you plunge your arm in, finding another…  Special thanks to Eighth Blackbird, Tim Weiss and the CME performers for collaborating with me.

Skipping Stones

"Lament for Réjà Vu" was composed in Oberlin, Ohio (2012). “Déjà vu” is the uncanny feeling that the current moment has happened before.  But what is the feeling when the current moment seems as if it will happen again in the future?  There is no French term for this; however, I discovered that a British author, Sir Terry Pratchett, coined “reja vu” for just this meaning.

This piece is a lament for seeing where we are headed but feeling powerless to change direction.  This is what happens when we don’t learn from our mistakes and repeat our history.  This is what happens when we are reduced to wringing our hands.

A version of this piece includes live electronics and accompanies video.

Lament for Réjà Vu

Lament For Réjà Vu (acoustic)

They Hearken to Echoes was composed in Austin, Texas (1997, revised in Oberlin, Ohio 2001).  The title, which describes the performers literally and metaphorically, is from the writings of architect Louis Sullivan.  The overall design of the piece moves from distance to closeness:  with respect to the physical placement of performers; with respect to melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material; and especially with respect to echoes.  Perhaps it is a “call-response” work, where the response time gradually diminishes until the call and the response are simultaneous.  Or perhaps it is a canon modeled on a drawing by M.C. Escher, in which the second voice slowly gains ground until both voices share a moment of synchronicity.

They Hearken To Echoes

"Lorelei" was composed in Austin, Texas (1995).  The title refers to a siren, in Germanic legends, whose beautiful singing lured sailors to shipwreck.  Such evocative singing is also attributed to guiding recently-departed souls to heaven.  The music is in three movements.  The first movement is “Pure,” English for the German word, “rein.”  The second movement is “Heart,” English for the German word, “hard.”  The third movement is, “Reins,” an English word defining the part of the body which is the source of affection and passion.  Lorie Lee Reinhard (April 1, 1970—June 29, 1987) died in a car accident on the roads of rural Ohio.  The driver also died and two additional passengers were injured.

Lorelei

"The Death of the Moth" was composed in Oberlin, Ohio (2003, revised in Oberlin, 2006). It was written for chamber orchestra and electronics to accompany film by Rian Brown and Hege Røyert. “Men rush to their doom like moths flying to their death in the candle-flame”—Bhagavad Gita. The moth is drawn towards light, and like Icarus, will inevitably burn its wings and fall. "The Death of the Moth" is a meditation on mankind’s “falling from grace” and his out-of-balance relationship with nature. The title is from a short story by Virginia Woolf.

The Death Of The Moth

"Curvatures" was composed in Oberlin, Ohio (2001, revised in Oberlin, 2013). This work was created for amplified string quartet and live electronics in collaboration with dance by Nusha Martynuk, paintings by Laura Ferguson, and video by Carter McAdams. One of my compositional goals was to traverse a wide range of sonic worlds. The music navigates between fast and slow, thick and thin, chaotic and serene, minimal and maximal, cerebral and emotional, and so on. I wanted to compose a piece that would keep listeners on their toes, present occasional surprises, and provide something for the heart and the brain. I am indebted to the original performers for their dedication and persistence in helping me develop this music: Erica Dicker, violin; Gillian Rivers, violin; Amy Cimini, viola; and Robin Reynolds, ‘cello.

Curvatures

This is the "unplugged" or straight acoustic version of my piece, "Curvatures" which is also available on SoundCloud.  One of my compositional goals was to traverse a wide range of sonic worlds. The music navigates between fast and slow, thick and thin, chaotic and serene, minimal and maximal, cerebral and emotional, and so on. I wanted to compose a piece that would keep listeners on their toes, present occasional surprises, and provide something for the heart and the brain. I am indebted to the original performers for their dedication and persistence in helping me develop this music: Erica Dicker, violin; Gillian Rivers, violin; Amy Cimini, viola; and Robin Reynolds, ‘cello.

Tom_Lopez

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