Producer

Composer

Time Capsule (2021)

Winner of the 2021 Catalyst Quartet Minute Young Composer’s Competition, this short blur of a piece was written for the Catalyst Quartet to commemorate their 10 years of existence. In October, 2021, my writing of this piece and my performing with the great pianist Hiromi intersected in a beautiful way. I was inspired by her use of accents and displaced strong beats to create a sense of rhythmic clarity or confusion, and her ability to span different harmonic spectrums including bright/dark, rich/simple, and jagged/smooth, all of which were delivered in a way that I found to be accessible in real time.

The Fear (2019)

2020 finalist in the Golden Hornet String Quartet Smackdown, The Fear was part of a larger PUBLIQuartet composition project commissioned by Carnegie Hall Play USA 2019 Educators Conference. The piece was designed to accommodate various levels of string players in educational settings around the country. The Fear is not a "pretty" piece. This semi-improvised music uses many techniques that horror movie composers use including ponticello, random uncoordinated pitches, slides in dissonant intervals, and extreme dynamic changes. My inspiration for the piece came from moments in my life when I felt a fear of others, particularly in vulnerable situations, like in orchestra when I would get asked to play a solo. This piece encourages students to make their own sound choices within a set of parameters allowing each student to have a unique voice within the security of an ensemble. This studio recording was made following the Golden Hornet String Quartet Smackdown 2020, performed by Invoke.

FlyTrap (2018)

Winner of the fivebyfive 2020 Call for Scores, this was my first experiment in Ableton Live Auto-Looping. I owe a great deal of thanks to Ramon Castillo and his ensemble, Art of The Loop, for showing me how to use this powerful composing and performing technology. This was the piece that convinced me I could turn my album of original works, made from overdubbing viola sounds, into a live concert. This piece requires precise rhythmic execution for the layers to fall into place. Once they do, it's a big party and a huge crowd-pleaser!

A Dream Within A Dream (2018)

Featured on recording legend Doug Fearn’s My Take on Music Recording podcast, This piece is a reaction against this particular sensation of anxiety I often experience while writing music, which arises from insecurities about my music not being“exciting enough”. This piece is slow and feels like a meditation. It uses only natural and false harmonics for the duration of the live-sampling, which is nearly the entire piece. Each loop is a different length causing the stacks of pitches to never repeat in the same way giving way unique harmonies at every moment in the piece.

Megablip (2017)

Elements of this piece are based off the soundtrack of one of my favorite Super Nintendo video games from my childhood. Gradius III was a auto-scrolling space shooter and the music was so convincing for the technology available at the time, that I decided to turn it into a viola layer piece. This live version makes use of a Vocoder, which expands the note possibilities while retaining the shape of the live viola sound. Combined with the low bass and kick drum, and the digital playback sounds, this piece is sure to transport you to an unknown galaxy.

Viola Cake (2017)

This piece came out of an experiment in multi-tracking my viola sound. I called it Viola Cake because each new section adds a layer of sound. The A sections are generally groovy and happy, while the B sections, made from extended noise techniques, can and probably should be as terrifying or disorienting as possible.

In Daydream (2017)

Winner of the 52nd Annual Indiana State University Music Now Call for Scores and the 2022 21st Century Guitar conference, In DayDream was commissioned by David Veslocki; guitarist, improviser, and producer, with the world premiere at his Carnegie Weill Hall Debut on April 10, 2017. The tone of the classical guitar always inspires me to daydream. In this programatic piece, the viola and the guitar visit many different places, interacting as two facets of the same creature/thought, often times soaring, laughing, jumping, or arguing with each other. In DayDream appears on my debut solo album Letters to My Future Self released January 4th, 2019 on Centaur Records.

DotDash (2017) for string quartet

In early 2017 I had a strong emotional reaction to the Trump Administration's attempt to limit free press. I wanted to create a piece sprinkled with secret messages that could be decoded as a form of retaliation. Morse Code came to mind, so I started transcribing sharp, cutting phrases about Trump into rhythms and embedding them into the music. DotDash appears on my debut solo album Letters to My Future Self released January 4th, 2019 on Centaur Records.

Pulse Noise (2016)

As a kid learning how to play viola, I often heard from my teachers to use “good tone” and “beautiful sound”. Well...after having tried my hardest to do those things, I decided I wanted to make a piece that allowed for all the screeches, scratches, and non-pitched notes. When I play this piece, I question in a curious and friendly way, what makes “good playing”. This piece is also available for violin!

Static Link (2015)

Static Link was commissioned by the Talent Education Suzuki School in 2015. I wanted to write a piece that would allow students to explore sounds on their instruments that would not normally be covered in their lessons or group classes, essentially creating a brand new musical experience for them. These extended techniques, inspired by nature sounds, combine to create unique atmospheres. At the time of writing, I was deeply concerned (and still am) about the state of the environment on our tiny planet and only home.

Savannah Starlight (2014)

Savannah Starlight was commissioned for the 10th Anniversary of the founding of the Talent Education Suzuki School in 2014. It was premiered at Norwalk City Hall for the Mayor, other notable community members, and a full house in the annual play-down Celebration Concert on Saturday March 14, 2015.

The "Savannah" of the title references physically irresistible African polyrhythmic grooves. If done right, the music makes you dance! The “Starlight” refers to the keystone of the Suzuki songbook, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” which is the basis for the melodic and harmonic content.

Vatapá (2013)

Vatapá is a signature Brazilian dish made from bread, shrimp, coconut milk, ground peanuts, and palm oil, mashed into a creamy delicious paste and usually served over white rice. This short piece, commissioned by the Talent Education Suzuki School in 2013, borrows rhythms and harmonies from Bossa Nova and Samba, the musical flavor of Brazil.

Energy (2013) for 2 violas

Originally for violin and viola, Energy was arranged for my contemporary viola duo, Folie à Deux, for 2 violas. This piece has been performed at the Stone, Fat Cat, Wilton Library's "CT's Own" in the Brubeck Room, numerous house concerts, and Turtle Bay Music School's Artist Series.

Broken lines (2010) for viola quartet

Broken Lines (2010) for viola quartet was commissioned by the New York Viola Society and was premiered on May 2, 2010 at the annual Collegiate Concert at Christ and St. Stevens on 59th Street in New York City. The sound of the viola is so distinctive and curious that four together can have a rich tonal palette or blend perfectly together. I later arranged it for string quartet and received many performances with PUBLIQuartet.