MUSIC
Orchestral
A Call To Honor2019
Duration ca. 3 minutes
Instrumentation 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (Snare Drum, Bass Drum), Strings
Notes A Call To Honor is inspired by my belief in the majesty and truth of our Constitution and our democracy. Our entire system of government is based on the fundamental idea that we are all created equal.It is that goal, and the noble ideas that naturally flow from it, that animate this music.
Variations for Orchestra2016
Duration13 minutes
Instrumentation 3 Flutes (3: Piccolo), 3 Oboes (3: English Horn), 3 Clarinets (3: Bass Clarinet), 3 Bassoons (3:Contrabassoon), 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (Bass Drum, Large Suspended Cymbal, Triangle, Finger Cymbals, Bell Tree, Glockenspiel), Harp, Strings
Notes For me, the orchestra has always been a thrilling machine. There have been moments in my life when that thrill was particularly memorable, among them: hearing Mahler 1 for the first time at 12 years old, playing the Rite of Spring at 18 with the Curtis Orchestra and working on the recording of Elliot Goldenthal's score to the movie Heat.
In this, my first orchestral piece, I tried to tap those exciting memories.
The theme of this piece started as the verse of an unnamed, unrecorded pop song I wrote. I kept the melody of the song and some of harmony and surrounded that material with a soundscape based on the interval of the seventh. There are so many sevenths in this piece thatI considered naming it "7."
In the end, I decided to call the piece "Variations" because I think that title gives the listener an idea of what to expect. The piece begins with a big statement of the theme and then runs through a series of differing looks at that material. Later, the theme comes back as a horn solo which leads to an ending that uses material that was the chorus of the song.
Variations was premiered on June 17, 2018 at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York. Martim Sousa Tavares conducted the American Modern Orchestra at the Zankel Music Center on the campus of Skidmore College.
That performance is captured in the video below. Video by Ian Blau.
Brass Quintet
Song Lines2020
Duration5:04
InstrumentationBrass Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba)
Notes The indigenous peoples of Australia have a tradition that they call song lines. Bruce Chatwin, in his book, "The Songlines", described their practice: “The melodic contour of the song describes the land over which the song passes ... certain phrases, certain combinations of musical notes, are thought to describe the actions of the ancestors’ feet. An expert song man … would count how many times he has crossed a river or scaled a ridge – and be able to calculate where, and how far along, the songline he was ... A musical phrase is a map reference. Music is a memory bank for finding one’s way about the world.” In this work, I use parts of several songs. They grew out of my inner world. This piece is a journey through that uncharted wilderness.
Song Lines was premiered by the Modern Brass Quintet in Pasadena, California on March 14, 2020.
Members of the quintet were:
Dan Rosenboom and Rob Schaer, trumpets
Dylan Hart, horn
Steven Suminski, trombone
Doug Tornquist, tuba.
Coruscate2017
“After intermission they opened with Steven Juliani’s “Coruscate” which wandered to dissonant edges, but pulled back into melody and even satisfactory harmony in the wonderful and memorable finale; Seth Orgel on French horn excelled here.” - Millbrook Independent Visit link
Duration5:04
InstrumentationBrass Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba)
Notes My idea with this piece was to write something exciting that showed off the broad expressive range of brass instruments.
Coruscate is a word that seemed to fit that idea. The sound of it suggests its meaning, which is: to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes.
The work was premiered on June 13, 2018 by the Atlantic Brass Quintet at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The Atlantic Brass performed Coruscate on their midwest tour in September and October of 2018 and recorded it on October 2, 2018 in the Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa. That recording is above.
Recorded 10/2/18
Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa
Recording engineer: James Edel
Mixed by: Judy Kirschner
Edited by: Andre Zweers
The members of the Atlantic Brass Quintet are (from left to right):
Tim Albright, Trombone
Tim Leopold, Trumpet
Seth Orgel, Horn
Thomas Bergeron, Trumpet
John Manning, Tuba
Photo by Kate Hopkins Allen
A Change of Worlds2017
DurationAbout 4 minutes
InstrumentationBrass Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba)
NotesI thought A Change of Worlds would work well with brass sonorities. This quintet version loses some of the voices that are present in the choral version but gains in dynamic range and power.
The Atlantic Brass Quintet made the recording below on October 2, 2018 at the University of Iowa.
Atlantic Brass Quintet
Thomas Bergeron, trumpet
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Seth Orgel, horn
Tim Albright, trombone
John Manning, tuba
Recorded 10/2/18
Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa
Recording engineer: James Edel
Mixed by: Judy Kirschner
Edited by: Andre Zweers
Taps2016
Duration1:30 mins.
Instrumentation2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba
NotesToday, Taps is most often associated with military funerals, however it was originally used to signal the end of a soldier’s day. It was in that sense that Taps was played at Cazadero Music Camp when I was a camper there in the 1970’s. Every night, Taps sounded as the night came on, each night a different arrangement. Those sounds echoed throughout the camp, nestled in the quiet redwoods on both sides of the Russian River in Northern California.
The most interesting versions of Taps were those that were less straightforward. My arrangement seems to disguise the purely triadic Taps call, but those notes are all there - just surrounded by others.
The Atlantic Brass Quintet recorded this arrangement on October 2, 2018 at the University of Iowa. For the recording, I added a traditional statement of Taps before my arrangement.
Atlantic Brass Quintet
Thomas Bergeron, trumpet
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Seth Orgel, horn
Tim Albright, trombone
John Manning, tuba
Recorded 10/2/18
Voxman Music Building, Concert Hall at the University of Iowa
Recording engineer: James Edel
Mixed by: Judy Kirschner
Edited by: Andre Zweers
Campane, a low brass quintet2017horn, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba
Duration
Movement 1: ca. 6:30
Movement 2: ca. 4:00
Movement 3: ca. 3:30
Players
Michael Gast, Horn
Douglas Wright and Kari Sundström, Trombones
Andrew Chappell, Bass Trombone
Steven Campbell, Tuba
Recording
Recorded October 18, 2018 at Creation Audio, Minneapolis, MN.
Doug Carlsen, recording supervisor. Steven Wiese, recording engineer. Edited, mixed and mastered by Andre Zweers and Judy Kirschner. Video by Cavitt Productions
NotesI composed Campane (Bells in Italian) in the Autumn of 2016, after a summer trip to Europe. The sound of pealing church bells heard in France and Italy was on my mind. Those bells triggered different feelings. I heard mourning bells, bells that sounded celebratory and bells that seemed to signal danger. Those sounds seemed to fit with brass instruments whose tone emits from another form of bell.
The first movement,“Toll,” suggests the tolling of bells – something usually associated with death. But, I also meant the toll that death takes on those left behind. While working on this movement I took walks on the beach and listened to the sounds made by the rough northern California surf. I heard dissonance in the crash of the waves against each other, it reminded me of a number of bells ringing at once – chaotic and with jumbled meaning. The sound reminded me of my own grief.
Movement two evokes the ringing of the heart when touched by love. A love found, felt or lost.
The final movement is inspired by the bell that rings to warn of danger. This music suggests the enhanced focus and sense of panic that comes with that bell (or more commonly, a siren). There is with that feeling a sense of anger, confusion, denial and sometimes surrender.
Campane will be premiered by the players above on February 2, 2020 at a Minnesota Orchestra chamber music concert.
AwardCampane (Bells) received an Honorable Mention in the Bay Colony Brass’ 1st Annual Call for Scores.
Horn
Allegro, Adagio and Allegro2018horn and piano
DurationAbout 9 minutes
InstrumentationHorn and Piano
NotesInitially my thought was to write something like Adagio and Allegro, the piece for horn and piano by Robert Schumann. Schumann wrote a piece that shows off the beauty and power of the horn using a slow section followed by a flashy fast one. I stayed with that model but ended up starting instead with a fast section, which explains my title.
My music incorporates sounds I grew up with. The fast sections of my piece remind me of the horn parts to the 1st Brandenburg Concerto only here played on a heavier, modern horn. The runs throughout the piece remind me of similar passages in the Mozart horn concertos and the Mozart horn quintet. Some spots near the end remind me of the trumpet solo in Paul McCartney's, Penny Lane. The horn passages in the slow movement remind me of many of the movie soundtrack horn solos written for my teacher - Vincent DeRosa.
Allegro, Adagio and Allegro was commissioned by Kevin Rivard and is dedicated to him.
Mr. Rivard is principal horn of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet Orchestras.
Mr. Rivard premiered Allegro, Adagio and Allegro on his recital at the 50th International Horn Society Symposium at Ball State University, August 2, 2018. Tomoko Kanamura played piano.
Recording
This recording was made 9/7/18 at Skywalker Sound, Marin County.
Kevin Rivard, horn
Mongo Buriad, piano
Leslie Ann Jones, recording engineer
Judy Kirschner, assistant engineer
Andre Zweers, protools editor
Calling20182 horns
Durationca. 3:00
InstrumentationTwo Horns
NotesCalling was composed during the inaugural Mostly Modern Festival.
The work is dedicated to the hornists who read my sketch and first performed the piece at a composer presentation symposium during the festival - Nick Fife and Evan McAleer. Those hornists premiered the work on June 13, 2018 at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.
The recording below is from the same session at Skywalker Ranch that Kevin Rivard recorded my Allegro, Adagio and Allegro. Michael Gast, principal horn in the Minnesota Orchestra, was at the session and joined Kevin on this recording.
One Voice20174 horns
Durationca. 2:30
Instrumentation4 Horns
NotesOne Voice was written in memory of Kendall Betts, principal horn of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1979-2004. The music accompanied a video tribute to Mr. Betts that was played at his memorial service.
Recording
June 9, 2017, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis
Horns: Michael Gast, Herbert Winslow, Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, Michael Petruconis
Michael Osborne, Recording engineer
In The Dark Light201616 horns, alternate version for 8 horns
Duration7:00 mins.
Instrumentation16 Horns. The horns are grouped in 4 quartets. The solo quartet is in front, another quartet behind them, one quartet on the left and the last out to the right. The quartets are separated far enough that the listener can distinguish between them.
An alternate arrangement is available for 8 horns.
AwardsIn The Dark Light was awarded Third Prize in the 2017 Twin Cities Horn Club / American Composers Forum International Composition Competition for Large Horn Ensemble.
NotesThis piece for 16 horns explores the concepts of light and dark, hope, despair and affirmation as embraced in Auden’s poem, September 1, 1939. The piece seeks to fulfill Auden’s wish for an affirming flame.
September 1, 1939 by W.H. Auden
Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
Recording by Emma Gregan and Alex Miller, both horn players in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Performance by the WMN ensemble from the Twin Cities Horn Club at the 2018 International Horn Society Symposium in Muncie, Indiana. Heidi Stodola, conductor. Sarah Schmalenberger, leader.
Video to promote the Adelaide Horn Jam performance of In The Dark Light, 6/24/18.
Remembered20163 horns, 2 wagner tuben, tuba
Duration4 minutes
Instrumentation3 Horns, 2 Wagner Tuben, Tuba
NotesRemembered is a tribute to my friend and colleague, Brian O’Connor. Brian was one of the most successful Los Angeles studio horn players of the last 30 years. The memory of Brian’s noble, dark sound was around me as I composed this piece. Remembered was first performed at a memorial concert for him held in Los Angeles, June 11, 2016.
The idea to use two Wagner Tubas came up while discussing the piece with my friend, Michael Gast, Principal Horn of the Minnesota Orchestra – who was also a friend of Brian’s.
Brian played Wagner Tuba on film scores composed by Jerry Goldsmith, Elliot Goldenthal and many others. The instrument’s full, dark sound seemed to work for this piece.
The discussions with Mr. Gast resulted in the present recording with members of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Recording
May 25, 2016, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis
Manny Laureano, Conductor
Michael Gast, Herb Winslow, Brian Jensen, Horns
Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, Michael Petruconis, Wagner Tuben, Steven Campbell, Tuba
Michael Osborne, Recording engineer
Performances
June 11, 2016 Los Angeles
Steven Juliani, Conductor
Steven Becknell, Brad Warnaar, Justin Hageman, Horns
Joe Meyer, Marty Rhees, Wagner Tuben, Doug Tornquist, Tuba
Low Brass
Mariana2019tuba and piano
“This piece is hauntingly beautiful and hopeful.”
- International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal
Movements
1. Vast
2. Open
3. Spaces
Duration18 minutes
InstrumentationTuba and Piano
PremiereMay 28, 2019. Steven Campbell, tuba and Casey Rafn, piano at the International Tuba and Euphonium Convention at Iowa City, Iowa.
NotesMariana is named for my 21-year-old niece. During the writing of the piece, Mariana was involved in a serious car accident near Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she is studying graphic design. Mariana sustained serious, though not permanent, injuries but two others died in the accident. The near loss of this elegant and talented young woman was heart wrenching. It reminded me how every life is full of possibility, limited only by our own imagination.
The initial inspiration for Mariana came from the power and grandeur of the rugged Pacific coastline in Bodega Bay, California. Among the robust marine life in that area are the whales that hug the coastline as they migrate. When I imagined them swimming in the deep, cold water I could hear the tuba calling out.
Those images unexpectedly fit with Mariana. The deepest place on the planet is the Mariana Trench near Guam in the Pacific Ocean. So, this piece is about the vast, open spaces in our oceans, the vast open life ahead of Mariana and ultimately how precious life is.
World premiere with Steven Campbell, tuba and Casey Rafn, piano.
May 28, 2019
Is This Home2017bass trombone soloist and trombone choir
Duration7:52
InstrumentationBass Trombone soloist and Trombone Choir (6 Tenor Trombones, 2 Bass Trombones)
Midi mockup by Jonathan Keith
Groove2017bass clarinet and bass trombone or bass trombone and tuba
Duration4:20
InstrumentationBass Trombone and Tuba
(original version: Bass Clarinet and Bass Trombone)
Groove was premiered by Andrew Chappell and Steven Campbell, both of the Minnesota Orchestra, on January 28, 2019 at the University of Minnesota.
Chamber Music
November 25, 19632019violin and one percussionist
Duration9 minutes
InstrumentationViolin and One Percussionist
NotesThis work was created under the aegis of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and premiered by Sasha Callahan, violin and Haruka Fujii, percussion, in Oakland, California on September 3, 2019.
November 25, 1963. A woman sits in the front room of her home overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington D.C. She is overwhelmed by the events of the previous days and begins playing her violin as she waits for the coffin of her president to pass by.
The first memory of my life is watching the funeral procession of President John F. Kennedy on a black and white television, in the front room of our home in San Francisco. My mother watched with me. When Gabriela Lena Frank assigned me to write a piece for violin and percussion, this memory came to mind.
My composition process usually starts with a story of some kind. Some memory or imagination that triggers a feeling. With that story comes a world that I can hear. When thinking about writing for one percussionist, I remembered the sound of the muffled drums playing a funereal cadence as the drummers walked behind JFK’s hearse. If you search “muffled drums” on YouTube, one of the first hits is a video of that moment. The sound is unusual. Dark and deep, not at all the bright peppy sound associated with marching drums.
The story I imagined for this piece is that of a violinist waiting for and watching JFK’s funeral procession pass by. The piece starts with her anticipating the arrival of the cortege. She wonders if the social and political structures she took for granted are disintegrating. She is devasted by the loss of the young president who offered so much hope for the future. She is heartbroken for his elegant wife and young children. Under the violin the distant approach of the drums can be heard. As the drummers and coffin get closer and pass by, she plays a somber march. As the procession moves away the drums fade and she reflects on what she saw.
This music also speaks to my reverence for our Constitution and my concern for damage currently being done to our democracy.
This music is clearly drawn from the unusual, mournful sound that the muffled drums made and how they made a profound impression on me as a three-year-old boy. There must have been something about that moment too that struck me. I can’t ask my mom about it, she died many years ago. But, I imagine she was absolutely grief stricken by the assassination. She grew up in a political family. Her father, an Italian immigrant, had been a delegate for Harry Truman at the 1948 Democratic convention. I have a Christmas card that a young senator Kennedy sent to him. I imagine that as the little me stood next her watching the funeral, she had tears streaming down her face as she explained to me what was happening. I imagine the reason I remember the moment so clearly is because it had such a profound impact on her.
As I work, I find myself over and over in that moment with my mom watching the funeral on tv. I can feel her next to me and I remember my young impression of how important this thing was.
And I realize that the violin in my piece is my mother.
Twilight2018english horn, horn, piano, bass
Duration10:00
InstrumentationEnglish Horn, Horn, Piano, Bass
NotesTwilight was commissioned by Ellen Dinwiddie Smith. The piece will be premiered on May 20, 2018 at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, Minnesota, by the ensemble OboeBass! Performers will be OboeBass! members Carrie Vecchione and Rolf Erdahl with Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, horn and William Eddins, piano.
One Eye Closed2017oboe and string quartet
Duration13:30 mins.
InstrumentationOboe and String Quartet
Notes“One Eye Closed” is based on the idea that with one eye we experience the outer world and with the other, look inward. That inward-looking eye does need not be open but is able to see just as clearly. My goal for this piece was to roam around in the inner world, without a goal or a set path. The soulful Oboe seemed a good voice for that journey – singing long lines over more dense string writing.
Midi mockup by Max Lombardo
Beacon2016solo trumpet
Duration1:00 min.
InstrumentationSolo Trumpet in C
NotesIn Beacon, the Trumpet is a benevolent guide into an unknown and fearful place - like the unconscious.
Midi mockup by Max Lombardo
Choral
A Change of Worlds2017SATB
Duration5 minutes
InstrumentationMixed Choir, SATB
NotesA Change of Worlds is set to the composer’s adaptation of a speech given by Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe in 1854. The Chief decries the loss of his tribal lands and nobly asserts the indistinguishable spirit of his people:
When my tribe is a memory
these shores we love will swarm
with our invisible dead.
In all the Earth
there is no place
dedicated to solitude.
But when the land is silent
my people will return.
There is no death,
only a change of worlds.
Midi mockup by Jonathan Keith
Wind Ensemble
Tehachapi2018
Duration5:00
Instrumentation
3 Flutes
2 Oboes
3 Clarinets (3rd doubling Bass Clarinet)
2 Bassoons
2 Alto Saxes
Tenor Sax
Bari Sax
Percussion:
Piccolo Snare Drum, Rivet Cymbal, Small Triangle, Snare Drum, Brake Drum, Crotales, Glöckenspiel, Chimes, Tenor Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Bass Drum, Tom-toms, Crash Cymbal, Timpani
4 Horns
4 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Bass Trombone
Baritone Horn
Tuba