Composer
Coreographer Andrea Purrenhage and I were talking about possible projects and over the course of the discussion we realized that we were both inspired by the poem: “What the Voyeur Wants” by CMU faculty poet Jeffrey Bean. The poet’s reading of his work forms the backbone of the piece. The choreography for solo dancer was …
Very often, it seems, my music takes on a life of its own. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I started this composition but it didn’t take long for the piece to decide what it wanted to be. The sources of the tape part are not important. The inspiration for the …
Another collaboration with biologist Wiline Pangle, choreographer Heather Tommer-Beardslee, and costume designer Ann Dasen with contributions from puppeteer Nicole Graziano. Clans takes inspiration from Dr. Pangle’s dissertation work studying the behaviors of hyenas. The piece is in 5 sections: Hunt, Play, Mate, Motherhood, Explore. The video is of the first performance by the Central Michigan University …
While going through airport security a few years ago, Heather Trommer-Beardslee turned to me and said “Ever since the Larry Craig scandal I’ve wanted to do a tap dance piece based in a bathroom stall.” So, of course, we made one. Rather than poke fun or mock the event, we made a work about “Public …
Based on Plato’s Cave Allegory, this work was conceived and choreographed by Andrea Purrenhage. This video is from the dress rehearsal of the Central Michigan University Dance Company in April 2017.
This work, inspired by the ecological succession found in Michigan sand dunes, was performed at the Regeneration Dance Festival in Detroit in April 2016. Choreographed by Heather Trommer-Beardslee with costumes by Ann Dasen. Inspiration and lectures were provided by biologist Wiline Pangle.
Composed in the summer of 2015 for Andrew Spencer, All Our Broken Instruments is a musical adaptation of the Robert Fanning poem “May Our Young Find Music in All Our Broken Instruments.” The percussion soloist speaks the poem’s text while playing a mixed batch of instruments and triggering the electroacoustic sounds. Download the score: All …
Abstain Red Hells takes its title from a movement of a forgotten piece of mine for flute and soprano saxophone. The basic idea of a stubborn ostinato and a tense-yet-lyrical melody was played out in the very small scale in this earlier piece and has since been liberated into a bigger and more open musical …
In August 2016, artists took to some of the empty storefronts in Mt. Pleasant, MI. My artist partner in crime, Heather Trommer-Beardslee, is always looking for ways to put music and dance into unexpected places. She asked me for a handful of pieces to choreograph and took a handful of dancers to go play in …
On July 30, 2015, Heather Trommer-Beardslee and I participated in our local Art Battle. Visual artists gathered to create new art in 2 hours and this year, we decided to throw a dance/music collaboration into the mix. We started at 6 PM and by 8 PM we had a 4 minute dance piece. While Heather …