Orchestra & Chamber Compositions

"Emerald"

For 2 alto saxes, tenor sax, piano, and bass

Musical synesthesia is the perceptual phenomenon of associating colors with sounds, keys, or notes. Every time I think of a key on the piano, there is a corresponding color. Originally, I had simply called this piece, “Em,” as a joke, because I initially wrote it in E minor—a blue key. However, once I moved this piece to F minor instead, I immediately envisioned green overlaying the score. It was then that I realized lengthening the name to “Emerald” would make perfect sense. It also is fitting because I completed the first draft of the piece in May, the month for which Emerald is the birth stone.

"Out of Ashes"

For orchestra

"Out of Ashes" is the winner of the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2016 Composition Competition and Belmont University’s 2017 Classical Performers Composition Competition.  It was named a finalist in the 2017 American Prize for Composition, Student Division.  Below is a live recording of the Philharmonic’s premiere on May 3rd, 2016, under the baton of Christopher Norton.

"Precarious"

For alto sax, vibes, and cello

Commissioned for the Atlanta-based new music ensemble, Bent Frequency, "Precarious" received its premiere at the 2016 Charlotte New Music Festival.  It was named as finalist for the American Prize in Composition, Student Division.

"Agitato"

For solo piano

Composed in 2014, Agitato is a dance on the knife’s edge between catharsis and control.  The piece received Honorable Mention in Tribeca New Music Festival’s national Young Composers’ Competition 2017.  It has been performed at Charlotte New Music Festival, Music by Women Festival, Nashville Chamber Music Series, and Belmont University.

More Chamber Pieces