Composer
PDFs of my work
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 …
Used Illusions is a short concerto for glissando flute and concert band. The whole work follows a traditional three movements structure of fast-slow-fast and each movement is built from motives as gestures found in Guns n’ Roses albums. The first movement, “Loco,” draws inspiration from the driving and propulsive “Locomotive” off of Use Your Illusion …
All My Thoughts are the Same started as four miniatures for solo cello. As I worked on these miniatures, I started to notice certain similarities and connections between the material in each one. For fun, I started to weave back and forth through these short fragments and much to my surprise, it worked. And somehow …
In early 2017 I was experiencing some of the worst burnout I’ve ever had. Stress from all sides of my life was my only companion. I could only focus on what I needed to do an hour at a time, a minute at a time, a moment at a time. I was struggling with just …
This song cycle was composed in 2017 for soprano LaToya Lain and pianist Casey Robards. The text is drawn from the poetry of Elizabeth Browning and was adapted and edited by Aiden Kim Feltkamp. Insufficiency I Inclusions The Lady’s Yes A Musical Instrument A Reed Life and Love Insufficiency II Download the score: A Dream of …
I started composing this song for my friend and colleague Keith Clifton in late 2017. I finally finished the setting in early 2018. The text is taken from a letter written by Alec Guinness while he was on the set of Star Wars. Download the score: Draft of Guinness
I read a lot of comic books and Superman remains one of my favorite characters. Alan Moore and Curt Swan’s Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is, I think, one of the best Superman stories of all time. The opening prolog of the book (which is one of the stories portraying Superman’s death) establishes …
I have a problem. As a composer, I’m supposed to write Extremely Serious Music (ESPECIALLY for orchestra). My problem is that, as a man of my age, I listened to a lot of music from the ‘80s. And I still do. I have several pieces in my catalog which draw on ‘80s hits and abstract …
This piece was composed for Tracy Watson and the Crescent Duo (Joanna and Kennen White). Based on the poem “Orbs (Word of the Day)” by Joanna White. Download the score (original flute + bass clarinet version): Word of the Day Download the score (voice + piano version): Word of the Day A recording can be …
Stalker is based on the book Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and was composed for Aaron Ragsdale. In this book, aliens have visited Earth and left strange objects behind in certain “zones” around the globe. Stalkers are black market dealers who enter these zones and procure these rare and often dangerous objects. In …