Below is a sampling of my compositions over recent years. Please contact me for a complete list of works!
Solo
for solo piano
“Theme and Variations” (2020) is built on a quiet, pensive original theme, simply presented through unembellished two-part counterpoint. The twelve variations that ensue reveal a colourful range of textures, characters, and compositional approaches to variance, with a constant attention toward the careful management of contrast.
for solo piano
“Directions” (2018) is a work for solo piano that explores questions of contrast and unity in the context of motive-based writing. In this work, I attempt to preserve a recognizable unity from start to finish through the use of motives, in the midst of dramatic progressions and shifts in mood, activity, and character.
for solo piano
“Urban Movement” (2016) is a short, virtuosic work that makes extensive use of strong, rhythmic ostinatos. Listening to these short, driving patterns, I would often imagine scenes of a noisy metropolis bustling with activity.
Chamber
for string quartet
“The Mockingbird” (2024)
bouncing crystals point the air | insist, shimmer again
skating jagged, I feel my distance | into the pressure over, sound, saturate, colour
trembling, falling | I fade into dissociation
another space | and hear the mockingbird once again
for two pianos
“A Wood Thrush on Maple Hill” (2024) guides us through a sonic world of transcribed and imagined birdsongs, layering and fragmenting the materials over time. Musical motives are inspired by birds I have observed while birdwatching in my hometown, Ottawa, including the Song Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Eastern Wood- Pewee, Northern Cardinal, Hermit Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, and Wood Thrush (in order of appearance).
for saxophone quartet
“A Flickering Glow” (2024)
a flickering glow | distant, cold, alone
a burst of energy ~ another ~
jumping, spinning, freeing, playing, burning, screaming bright ——
blurring, fading,
slowly once again to the fondly known
for flute, bass clarinet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, and cello
“To A Lullaby” (2022) was inspired by a traditional folk melody that was sung to me as a child. This melody lies at the core of every part of this composition, but it only emerges unobscured in the final section of the work. Up until that point, textural elements and motivic transformations work together to hide its original form. In writing To A Lullaby, I sought to create and address orchestrational "problems" in this group of seven instruments, including continual questions of blend and the orchestrational partial to near-complete shrouding of the primary melody.
for piano and two violins
“Incongruous” (2021) is an exploration of variable degrees of congruity between an individual’s inner state of mind and their outward demeanour. I examine these ideas through the lens of my lived experience of mental illness, highlighting the specific scenario of attempting to hide “abnormal” mental states behind a “normal” exterior. I have sought to create incongruity through the use of specific instrumental roles and functions, as well as the juxtaposition of highly variable musical language. Through this pluralism of musical language, I have aimed to create a multi-layered representation of the complexity within an individual struggling to conceal their internal mental state.
for cello and piano
“Escape” (2018) is a cello sonata in four movements, inspired by elements of my own experience with mental illness. The movements are linked by their related emotional states, as well as musical devices such as ostinatos, polytonality, and frequent pedal points.
Ensemble | Mixed
2(afl)+picc.0.2(bcl).0 / 0.0.0.0 / perc(2) / hp.pf / 1.1.2.2.
“The Voices that Pull Me from the Darkness” (2023)
This work is a love letter to the people that fight for me
When I can’t fight for myself
The messages that push me forward | When I try to give up
The love that I know is there | When I feel completely numb
This work is for the voices that pull me from the darkness
1+picc.2.3+bcl.2, sax(3) / 3.2.2.1, euph / timp.perc(3)
In “Bright Distance Blurring” (2022), I have explored the concept of an interrupted journey, imagined in musical terms. The formal design of the work is based on the establishment of a forward- driving, goal-oriented musical texture which is interrupted by a blurred, fading section. After this thinning out, there is a short interlude which features an instrumental reimagining of the Great Horned Owl’s song. This use of birdsong is inspired by the many owling and birding trips I have participated in under the guidance of my father, a birdwatcher. I have included the Great Horned Owl’s song in this interlude because it recalls for me an atmosphere of utmost stillness and calm, which contrasts greatly with the subsequent return of the initial musical character.
for cello and live electronics
“I Learn to Breathe” (2023)
A flash of hard light with my eyes closed | Anxiety filling my chest
Moving but not knowing | Where | Every sound so present
Hard edges | Clicks | Breaking
Present for each breath | Painful to be present
I learn to breathe