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In the Name of the Bee

In the Name of the Bee, for baritone, oboe, viola, and piano, is a song cycle comprising four poems of Emily Dickinson, each centered around one of her favorite symbols: the bee. In these texts, Dickinson expresses her profound reverence for nature, as the bee is cast...

Filles, Failles, Faux Femmes

Filles, Failles, Faux Femmes, for clarinet quartet, is admittedly a shameless pun: spoken aloud, the title sounds like the phrase “Fee-fi-fo-fum,” famously bellowed by the giant in the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk. As a collection of (somewhat unrelated)...

Pettibone

Pettibone, for piano quartet, is named after a road not far from where I grew up. As far as I know, the name is pronounced “PET-ti-bone”—emphasis on the first syllable—however, one day many years ago, it came to light that a certain friend of mine, having only seen...

Skyrocket

Skyrocket, for string quartet, is based on a simple, five-note motive spanning a colossal leap. Throughout the piece, the leaping motive acts as a portal of sorts, allowing each player to transfer between two worlds: the earthly realm of low notes and the stratosphere...

Euclid Avenue Songs

Euclid Avenue Songs, for SATB chorus, contains settings of three texts by three different authors, and while each pertains in some way to the history of Cleveland, Ohio (my hometown)—specifically to its most famous street—the three texts tell a story that will...