That Gong-tormented Sea: Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano (2025)
Call for Consortium Members
WHAT WE’RE DOING:
In the grand tradition of such works by Johannes Brahms and Gyorgi Ligeti, Dr. Drew Stephen (UTSA professor of musicology and an authority on the natural horn) and I are organizing a consortium to commission a new work for horn trio.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
The subtitle of the symphony, “Aurora,” is an homage to dreary nights that turn into brighter days, sorrows that transform into joy, death into life, and the profane into the sacred. The work will explore themes of resurrection, renewal, and the transformation that comes when forces of duress erupt into epiphanies of ecstasy. Musically, the work will be infused with cataclysmic collisions, robust and rambunctious rhythms, but also haunting stillness that aspires to echoes of heavenly lyricism.
THE SPECS:
The proposed 14-18 minutes work will be scored for violin, horn (as with the Brahms trio, it will be playable on an E-flat natural horn, or the modern valved horn) and piano. We’re asking all participants to commit by September of 2025, with delivery of printable PDF score and parts available by January 1, 2026.
ABOUT ME:
While you can certainly read my official bio here, and some lovely press quotes here, suffice it to say that composing for me is both craft and spiritual practice. The act and discipline of composing is a form of meditation—a space in which I seek to find transcendence. Composing is also a space where I look to tap deep underground springs of universal ideals, where composer, performer, and listener can find communion and joy together. I’ve been writing and performing music for most of my life. Piano lessons from childhood into college, studies in voice and years of choral singing, I’ve also trained for several years as an oud player under the tutelage of a fabulous teacher. In this latter capacity I’ve composed and arranged for my world folk band, Viatorum.
WHAT I’VE DONE:
While my concert works have been performed all over the world, I’m thrilled to have had my works for winds performed by fabulous ensembles in places such as CBDNA regional conferences as well as the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and many universities.
FEE FOR PARTICIPATION:
$200 per individual or ensemble
$100 for students
WHAT YOU GET:
Your name listed on the dedication page, as well as a period of exclusivity to perform the work.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
*PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM*. We will then reach out to you with details regarding the contract.
Click above to hear a high-quality mockup of the proposed third movement!
SCORE of the proposed third movement!