I'm Still Here for piano solo. An Original Composition performed by the composer.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/6wjEfWL_0uw

This composition combines Romantic era emotiveness with jazz-inspired harmony. As such, three of the main influences for this piece—among many others—were Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Bill Evans. “I’m Still Here” was born from a combination of peace and pain following a loss. Extended harmony is used throughout, reminiscent of a jazz ballad. Uniquely, these rich chords are often “spelled” from the top down, so that each additional note changes the listener’s perception of the chord’s quality and bass note. The form is basically ternary (intro-A-B-A), with a certain chord progression repeated multiple times in both A sections. There is a melody, an inverted version of the tune from the song “Greensleeves,” that appears towards the end of the piece. The main chord progression was developed to compliment this melody. The A sections and the introduction are in Ab major, while the B section moves to C minor, focusing mostly on a C minor-major 11 chord.

I'm Still Here

Journey With Me, an original composition for orchestra.

YouTube:  https://youtu.be/ve8qeoTmFfc

Performed by the Whitworth University Symphony Orchestra
Philip Baldwin, conductor

As the title suggests, Journey With Me is based on the general theme of traveling from one place to another. The piece may stay in a certain location for a while, but one never knows when a new vista might open up. The journey itself is not programmatic, so the members of the audience are welcome to interpret each component as they would like. The composition reflects the influence of Debussy, especially in its use of chordal planing as well as extended harmonies, intervallic movement (often by a minor third, but sometimes by a major second or a major third), church modes, whole tone scales, subversive and unexpected resolutions, use of timbres, and one instance of split thirds. There is a single rhythmic “groove” in the percussion that often propels the piece forward. Primarily though, the entire work is based on one central four-note idea introduced at the beginning. From there, this main theme goes through various iterations while maintaining a connection to its initial shape.

Journey With Me

Uranium-235, an original composition using a computer algorithm.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/l3X2uX9rS0g 

For this work, I designed a computer algorithm that creates sounds and visuals through a programmed code. To create this code, I used Java language in an open-source software named “Processing.” At the beginning, the durational components of the algorithm are modeled off the decay rate of uranium-235. The algorithm spews notes at a fast pace, but this slows down in stages, the lengths of which are derived from the value of uranium-235’s half-life. As uranium-235 decays, it changes into various other elements and isotopes, each with their own decay rates, through a series called a decay chain. The remaining portion of this piece uses some of these other decay rates in a similar manner as before. The composition eventually concludes in a stable resting place where the algorithm stops slowing down its output, just as radioactive uranium-235 eventually settles into a stable isotope—lead-207.

Uranium-235

3 Bagatelles: III. Finale, a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. An original composition.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4dW3EsLIAsC9bWJse-7F3b8Tvl26YpdW 

Performers:
Collin Iedema, alto saxophone
Jason Schilling, trombone

A “bagatelle” is defined as a “trifle” or even “a little nothing.” The term was popularized by Beethoven and his Bagatelles, of which Für Elise is the most famous. The three bagatelles here are active, somewhat angular in content, and slightly tongue-in-cheek while maintaining their composure. The ensemble is unusual—a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. The rhythmic content is derived from Latin-American rhythmic ideas. Two primary scales, Spanish eight-tone and octatonic, provide the harmonic and melodic basis. Through the three movements, the piece modulates a step up through each note in the Spanish eight-tone scale until it reaches the original tonic. Each modulation is unique, but each is constructed with the same transposable set of pitches that signal the change.

III. Finale
In this movement the Spanish eight-tone scale is divided into two parts to create arpeggiated quartal melodies. These melodies are interspersed with other uses of the scale and hemiola—that is, three against two—rhythms.

3 Bagatelles: III. Finale

Entropy for chamber orchestra. An original composition. 
YouTube: https://youtu.be/RqFje0NAQaM 

Performers:
Payten Weisenhaus, flute
Anthony Bithell, clarinet
Collin Iedema, clarinet
Jesse Yi, bassoon
Michael Girsberger, horn
Maria Straight, trumpet
Jason Schilling, trombone
Ben Hills, percussion
Brenden Archer, percussion
Grace Nagy, violin
Sam Thackston, viola
Alex Hjermstad, cello
Kai Wagner, bass

“Entropy” is often defined as chaos, the tendency towards chaos, or a gradual descent into disorder. The latter two parts of that definition provide the framework for this piece. There is also a scientific definition of entropy, relating to energy’s tendency to disperse throughout the universe, moving from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. The equation for measuring the entropy of a system is S = KB ln Ω, where S is entropy and KB is a constant number. As part of the composition process, I analyzed the three main themes as pitch-class sets—transposable groups of pitches with a number attached to each pitch. I then substituted the resulting numbers for Ω in the equation, producing additional numbers. I found the difference between the new numbers, taking into consideration the order in which they occurred in the original themes, and scaled the results to produce rhythms. Those rhythms often correspond to their respective thematic elements in the snare drum’s part. I also assigned numbers to the letters in the word “entropy” based on their position in the alphabet, and inserted them into the entropy equation, producing more numbers. I analyzed those numbers and created a pitch-class set, which is used throughout the composition for melodic and harmonic purposes. It is also the basis for the key centers of the work, arranged in the order of the letters in the word “entropy” (C-D-G-F#-Eb-E-Bb). In this way the entire piece spells the “entropy” through the music.

Entropy opens with an arpeggiated woodwind chord containing the first four notes of the set. The set remains incomplete until the remaining notes are added one-by-one in the brass. Like the process of entropy itself, this set, while it is at times obscured, never truly leaves the musical texture. In addition, as actual physical entropy is always increasing, the entropy set tends to take on more significance as the piece progresses. After an atmospheric beginning the composition presents several thematic ideas solidly based in C minor with slow, deliberate rhythms. The texture is primarily homophonic and relatively thin. As the piece continues, the tonality breaks down and the harmonies become much more dissonant. The rhythm becomes faster with added sixteenth and thirty-second notes, meter changes, syncopations, and eventually some interspersed triplet figures. The thematic ideas become less like their original presentations as the piece moves forward, often due to the increasing influence of both the entropy set and the equation-derived rhythms on their structure. The texture also changes to polyphonic and becomes increasingly thick. The music is punctuated by accents, interspersed thematic and rhythmic fragments, and repeating musical ideas that represent the continuous processes of the universe. One such musical feature is comprised of repeating sixteenth notes that fade in and fade out. This idea often occurs against a background of repeated octaves, and the repeated notes gradually move upwards in pitch by half-steps, until at the end of the work where they are in unison with the octaves.

[See the full description on YouTube]

Entropy

Nocturne of Ire for percussion ensemble with piano. An original composition. 
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ai6ohCoh51E
Live performance version: https://youtu.be/stABdol-i5A?t=1530 

Performers:
Anthony Manoguerra, percussion
Brenden Archer, percussion
Ben Hills, percussion
Mikah Turpin, piano

A “nocturne” is a composition that evokes or describes the night, often containing a thoughtful, dreamy, or sometimes stormy atmosphere. Indeed, this piece incorporates all those elements into its content, but it does so with a twist. Instead of the often contemplative, lyrical beauty that characterizes most nocturnes, this nocturne evokes the nighttime through alternating sections of suppressed foreboding and unmasked fury. Several different unifying elements occur throughout the composition, including repeated rhythmic themes, two pitch-class sets that form chords and melodies, the interval of a major second, and a hierarchy of four key major centers: D, B, G, and F. Although the piece takes on various shapes and forms, it cannot escape these basic components. As a result, the music travels to many different places and becomes increasingly more desperate to rid itself of that which it cannot leave behind. The final third of the piece simultaneously reflects this desperation as well as a resignation to continue fighting the seemingly inevitable. 

This composition draws from four major composers as its inspiration. It is modeled off the ternary form used in many of Chopin’s famous Nocturnes. As another nod to Chopin’s Nocturnes, one section combines a lyrical melody with a Chopin-inspired left-hand accompaniment, although unlike Chopin the melody and accompaniment are in bitonality, residing in two different keys. George Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique provides most of the instrumentation framework for this piece, including the insertion of a piano part into a percussion ensemble. Junkie XL’s Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack is the basis for the work’s use of rhythmic ideas. Finally, Henryk Górecki’s Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 6 serves as the inspiration behind much of the piano part and some of the composition’s rhythms.

Nocturne of Ire

3 Bagatelles: II. Intermezzo, a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. An original composition.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4dW3EsLIAsC9bWJse-7F3b8Tvl26YpdW 

Performers:
Collin Iedema, alto saxophone
Jason Schilling, trombone

A “bagatelle” is defined as a “trifle” or even “a little nothing.” The term was popularized by Beethoven and his Bagatelles, of which Für Elise is the most famous. The three bagatelles here are active, somewhat angular in content, and slightly tongue-in-cheek while maintaining their composure. The ensemble is unusual—a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. The rhythmic content is derived from Latin-American rhythmic ideas. Two primary scales, Spanish eight-tone and octatonic, provide the harmonic and melodic basis. Through the three movements, the piece modulates a step up through each note in the Spanish eight-tone scale until it reaches the original tonic. Each modulation is unique, but each is constructed with the same transposable set of pitches that signal the change.

II. Intermezzo
An “intermezzo” is often a movement that connects two other movements to each other. This intermezzo contrasts with the lively nature of its counterparts with less activity and heavier content. Each instrument displays a different extended technique: tapping on the back of the violin with the back of the bow, tapping fingers on the trombone bell, and slap tonguing in the saxophone. These methods replicate a few rhythmic ideas present in a typical mambo percussion ensemble. The violin copies the cencerro (cowbell), the trombone replicates the maracas, and the saxophone imitates the conga-tumbao drums.

3 Bagatelles: II. Intermezzo

3 Bagatelles: I. Scherzo, a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. An original composition.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4dW3EsLIAsC9bWJse-7F3b8Tvl26YpdW

Performers:
Collin Iedema, alto saxophone
Jason Schilling, trombone

A “bagatelle” is defined as a “trifle” or even “a little nothing.” The term was popularized by Beethoven and his Bagatelles, of which Für Elise is the most famous. The three bagatelles here are active, somewhat angular in content, and slightly tongue-in-cheek while maintaining their composure. The ensemble is unusual—a trio for violin, alto saxophone, and trombone. The rhythmic content is derived from Latin-American rhythmic ideas. Two primary scales, Spanish eight-tone and octatonic, provide the harmonic and melodic basis. Through the three movements, the piece modulates a step up through each note in the Spanish eight-tone scale until it reaches the original tonic. Each modulation is unique, but each is constructed with the same transposable set of pitches that signal the change.

I. Scherzo
A “scherzo” is usually a short, playful work. This scherzo mirrors the traditional rounded binary form, with a distinct A section, contrasting B section, and a return of some A section material that closes the movement.

3 Bagatelles: I. Scherzo

Allegory, an original musique concrète composition.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/95fUBFjq0ws 

Mikah Turpin, producer
Special Thanks to Anthony Bithell

This work is composed in a genre called musique concrète, in which musical compositions are created by manipulating and combining prerecorded sounds. Most of the sound segments used in this composition are recordings of household objects. Small snippets of Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet and Chopin’s Polonaise in C Minor, Op. 40 No. 2 also appear, extracted from recordings containing a clarinet and a MIDI synthesizer, respectively. Two other instruments, a kalimba and a pan flute, also have their own roles to play as the piece unfolds. Allegory’s form is best described as a loose arch. It starts with a mellow A section, evolves into a contrasting B section, and eventually settles back into a modified A section similar to its beginning. The climax occurs around the golden ratio, a concept that figures prominently in mathematics and art. The entire work is performed in the time it takes room temperature water to come to a boil, demonstrated by one of the background tracks, a water kettle, that becomes noticeable from time to time. This piece also applies some electronic recording techniques, known as digital signal processing, including reverb, delay, panning, equalization, flanging, and playing recordings backwards.

Allegory

It's All in the Cards, an original aleatoric composition for solo piano.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/KKQwZb7pHsE 

Performers:
Mikah Turpin, piano
Grant Bowser and Jaedon Tesarik, assistants

This work is composed for one piano, one performer, and two assistants. It has certain elements of performance that are left up to chance, a style known as aleatoric or indeterminate music. In this instance, audience participation is used to establish the order of the sections, the intervals between pitches, the amount of rests in between musical segments, and the number of times each note is repeated. The starting pitches, direction of movement, tempo, dynamics, and articulation are determined on-the-spot by the performer. In addition, the piano is not played in the customary way. Instead, various non-traditional methods of playing, called extended techniques, are used to create unique sounds. Generally, these consist of playing inside directly on the strings, muting the strings, and percussive effects. The performer and the piano alone generate all the sounds heard in this piece.