The Gunslinger (2020) was inspired by Stephen King’s epic fantasy series The Dark Tower. Prelude is meant to capture the character of the world in which King’s protagonist Roland, The Gunslinger, finds himself. Roland’s world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland rife with misunderstood relics from the past. In Roland’s world the use of every-day conveniences like gas stations, automobiles, and trains have long since been forgotten. King describes it as “[...a world that] has moved on.” To capture that feeling the piece attempts to juxtapose music from two different time periods by using traditional chromatic harmonies set against modern techniques like slow creeping glissandi all above an eerie lydian ostinato. The resulting soundscape is meant to leave the listener with a sense that the music, much like The Gunslinger, is trapped in a confusing world, pushing and pulling between time periods.

The Gunslinger | Prelude

The second movement was inspired by The Gunslinger’s hunt for King’s antagonist “The Man in Black.” In the books, the reader is first introduced to this character by a long and grueling chase through the desert. The piece attempts to capture the intensity of this chase, along with the malevolence of the man in Black himself, through the use of unsettling textures, dissonances, and syncopations.

The Gunslinger | The Man In Black

Within Stephen King’s multiverse there lies an interdimensional rift which connects every King novel. This rift is called the Todash Space and it is home to some of King’s most vile creations. There are recurrent themes in all of King’s stories which connect the King multiverse to the real world through this Todash Space. One of these themes found within The Dark Tower is a popular song by The Beatles which Roland hears at various points throughout the story. In this movement we too will hear the song Roland hears. First the listener is presented with a perverted version of the melody set against the chaos of the Todash space represented by octatonic runs, and creeping glisandi. This distorted melody eventually reveals itself in its true form (or close to it), relieving the built up tension from the previous sections and ending the piece with a sense of escape and relief.

The Gunslinger | The Space Between Worlds

Singers
Jimmy Paz, Tenor
Andres Rodriguez, Baritone
Tate Ashby, Baritone

Pianist
Dr. Kyle Kindred

Program Notes: 
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Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” is about how hope can be found even in the darkest of times residing resiliently within one’s soul singing a “tune without words.” I try to emulate this idea in the piano by giving it its own melody that I intentionally never set to words. I was inspired to set this poem specifically for tenor and baritone voices because, in the traditional repertoire, songs for these voice types are often focused around themes of love or war or some combination of the two. I like the idea of tenor, baritone, and bass voices singing about emotions that are often not thought of as traditionally “masculine.” The piece was originally written for tenor bass choir but has been adapted for TBB chamber ensemble.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

This piece was written as a thank you to the heroes in labcoats for their tireless and often thankless efforts to create the vaccines that have saved so many lives during this pandemic.

Aleksandar Zlateski - Trumpet 1
Dragan Mladenovski - Trumpet 2
Antonio Kostevski - French horn
Dimche Belchovski - Trombone
Micko Damnjanovski - Tuba

Super - Pfizer | Origin Story

Written by Howard Shore, Arranged for guitar trio by Travis Redden

In Dreams (2012 SHSU Guitar Trio)

A piece I wrote Christmas Eve 2009 for my Mother

Morning Song

"...dark and interesting in the way that it blended violin and piano to form a sinister atmosphere." 
- The Houstonian 

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The Covenant Suite is a multi-movement work for violin and piano that explores the fall of mankind through the ﬁrst movement Iblis and God's compassionate reaction to man's fall through the second movement Ahavat Olam.

1. Iblis: In the Islamic culture, The Devil is known as Iblis, a jinn* who is described as having the power to whisper suggestions into the hearts of man giving them the temptation to sin.

2. Ahavat Olam: A Hebrew phrase for the popular Judeo-Christian biblical concept of unconditional love. Traditionally the idea of love brings feelings of beauty and happiness. this movement however, explores the concept of unconditional love from the perspective of God who chooses to love despite humanities propensity to sin

The Covenant - Ahavat Olam (2015)

The Covenant Suite is a multi-movement work for violin and piano that explores the fall of mankind through the ﬁrst movement Iblis and God's compassionate reaction to man's fall through the second movement Ahavat Olam.

1. Iblis: In the Islamic culture, The Devil is known as Iblis, a jinn* who is described as having the power to whisper suggestions into the hearts of man giving them the temptation to sin.

2. Ahavat Olam: A Hebrew phrase for the popular Judeo-Christian biblical concept of unconditional love. Traditionally the idea of love brings feelings of beauty and happiness. this movement however, explores the concept of unconditional love from the perspective of God who chooses to love despite humanities propensity to sin

The Covenant Suite 1 - Iblis (2013)

The Friendship Suite for woodwind trio consists of Ex Animo (2013) and In Absentia (2019) Ex Animo is the ﬁrst piece Travis Redden composed as a music composition major. It was conceived as a study in counterpoint where one instrument "asks a question" followed by another instrument which provides "the answer." This idea closely resembles the real-world phenomenon of personality mirroring where people in social settings often mimic one another’s personalities in conversation leading to a positive rapport and eventually, friendship. 
The second movement In Absentia (2019) takes this same idea of counterpoint and personality mirroring but turns it upside down by removing the tonal center and introducing unsettling textures. This piece is more personal, it was written for one of Travis’s closest friends after life got between them and the friendship fell apart. The ﬁrst movement is meant to symbolize the budding of a friendship; the second is meant to show that all relationships ultimately come to an end. This isn't meant to be entirely bad however, hidden in the midst of the uncertainty are brief tonal callbacks to movement one. These are meant to show that even though all good things must come to an end, we still have our memories and that through them the good times, our loved ones, and our happiness, exists eternally.

The Friendship Suite 2 - En Absintia (2019)

LoFi Demo

Film / Video Game Music Demo

This piece is meant to capture the feeling of various forms of anxiety, ranging from the quiet, insidious type, which often hides in plain sight, to the spontaneous terror felt by those on the spectrum of panic disorders. Anxiety (2019) attempts to capture these feelings through the use of unsettling textures, a driving tempo, and syncopated rhythms throughout. As a sufferer of anxiety, it is my hope that this work helps all those who suffer from anxiety, no matter the form, to know that in this struggle, they are not alone.

Performed by Kayla Babin, flute
Adrian Tellez, cello
Tate Ashby and Kyle Kindred, piano

Anxiety (2019)

Hi, I'm Travis 👋, a software engineer from Texas. When I'm not committing to a codebase, I like to write music.

Travis Redden

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