Orchestral Music

Letter to Hungary

String orchestra ・15’

The commission to write Letter To Hungary, for string orchestra, came in 2005, just as I was going through a period of nostalgia for my three years as a student in Budapest. The Hungarian Chamber Symphony Orchestra premiered the 15-minute piece in Budapest in November, 2005. The U.S. premiere took place in January, 2007 with the Mission Chamber Orchestra in San Jose, California.

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“...exceptionally beautiful on many counts.”
— Chestnut Hill Local, Philadelphia

Cycle of Friends

Soprano solo, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra ・25’

Cycle of Friends is a lush, emotional journey through five texts taken from such diverse sources as Tang Dynasty poets Li Po & Meng Haoran, Sappho and Emily Dickinson, each dealing in its own way with the universal theme of friendship.

Instrumentation: Soprano solo; SATB Chorus (sometimes SATB + SATB); Chamber Orchestra (1,1,1,1 1 hn, 1 tpt, hp, perc, strings)

Movements:

  1. “Tell Everyone”・Sappho (c.630-c.670 BC)

  2. ”My old friend prepared a chicken with millet”・Meng Haoran (c.690-740)

  3. ”Are friends delight or pain?”・Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

  4. ”Blue hills over the north wall”・Li Po (701-762)

  5. ”Like a quetzal plume”
    Nezahualcoyotl (Aztec – King of Texcoco, 15th century)

Project : Encore™ has found this work to be of exceptional merit. Its panel of internationally known conductors has selected the work for inclusion in its database of recommended choral music.

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“a neatly constructed work … with good clarity and variety of sound”
— San Francisco Classical Voice

Misterium Tremendum

SATB choir, two pianos, and percussion ・11’ 45”

Misterium Tremendum was the winner of the SF Conservatory’s 2000 Highsmith Composition Prize, and premiered by the Oakland East Bay Symphony in 2003.

Inspired by a passage in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact,  Misterium Tremendum pulls the listener on a journey through space and time, from nearly imperceptible lows to earth-shattering highs. Chromatic, atmospheric and aggressive gestures are contrasted with lyrical passages and moments of soaring exhilaration.

The emotional subtext of the piece draws on the awe one feels when contemplating the scope of the universe or the history of time. For some this is a feeling of joy or exhilaration, and for others perhaps, dread. This piece explores those conflicting emotions.

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