Grade 4 +
Ocean's Power
Composed in collaboration with the Senior Instrumental Music class at Brock High School in 2016/2017.
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A programmatic depiction of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which impacted the Fukushima region and its nuclear power plant. Use of taiko-style drumming patterns, and the inclusion of two folk songs are combined with student-designed melodies. The story begins with everyday life in the town, followed by the earthquake and tsunami, mourning of the many losses, and finally the community effort to rebuild.
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This composition covers a broad range of emotional styles. An extended tenor saxophone solo is featured in the folk song "Moonlight Over Ruined Castles". Melodic elements of "Sakura Sakura" are referenced throughout, although the full song is very rarely stated.
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The Seventh Swarm
Composed for the Senior Concert Band at Bill Hogarth Secondary School in 2023.
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A fast toccata-like composition that gives everyone from the flutes to the tuba to the entire percussion section something to dig into. Bursts of notes are spread across sections, to avoid long technical demands -- but the effect will still be exciting.
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The Shores of Simcoe
Composed in collaboration with the Senior Instrumental Music class at Keswick High School in 2016/2017.
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Inspired by a series of photographs of the town of Keswick and the natural environment, students developed ideas for what was intended to be a "short" suite of pieces. Instead, each photograph generated a much longer composition that explores the rivers, forests, and city life that surrounds Lake Simcoe.​
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Beginning with "Riverside", a depiction of the bustling life of the town of Keswick, the suite continues with "Mine!" where seagulls fight for scraps of discarded french fries. "Frozen Forest" takes you into the depths of the winter season, complete with a brittle ice storm. "On the Waves" brings you to summer life on the lake as you join a regatta. Finally, you can sit by the lakeshore and take in the awe and majesty of a beautiful sunset.
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Movements can be performed separately, or as a smaller suite.
"Riverside" and "Sunset" are closely related, and would be a good pairing.
Three-movement sets of "Riverside", "Frozen Forest" or "On the Waves", and "Sunset" would also make a good concert presentation.
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Riverside is a light-hearted overture that lays out the main "Riverside" motif, and maintains a playful vibe throughout. A short trio towards the end features some woodwind soloists. SCORE PDF
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Mine! serves as the first scherzo. Whole-tone scales depict the seagull in flight before resolving into a soaring theme with countermelody. At the centre of the movement is the "French Fry Fugue" with chattering gulls in contention for their lunch. SCORE PDF
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Frozen Forest uses a great deal of metallic percussion, and a dissonant chorale to convey the chill in the air and the stinging sensation of ice flakes on the skin. A stormy middle section allows the percussion to open up even more. SCORE PDF
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On the Waves alternates between 6/8 and 9/8 meters. A and B melodies are presented, and then combined. A brief reference to the "Riverside" motif appears in the coda. SCORE PDF
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Sunset has a long, legato melody. The middle section recalls the "Riverside" motif, and then the main melody returns in the full ensemble. A beautiful lyrical way to conclude the entire musical journey. SCORE PDF
Tachycardia
​Hospitals aren't quiet places. The beeping and buzzing of medical equipment is constant, and so is the sound of nurses and doctors doing their best to keep us all healthy. The alarm of a heart monitor becomes an ostinato, and a rhythmic melody in 5/4 emerges...
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With material based on the Bach chorale "What Troubles You, O My Heart?", this composition was inspired by a long journey through the health system that culminated in major heart surgery. Two contrasting themes are presented before the Bach chorale arrives. When it does, polytonic and polyrhythmic layers threaten to destabilize the pristine calm of the original chorale. But we emerge on the other side, and for now, the heart will go on!​
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Tarashaquq
Composed in collaboration with the Senior Instrumental Music class at Bill Hogarth Secondary School in 2021/2022.
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How epic can the lowly dandelion be? The scourge of lawn owners everywhere, the dandelion's life cycle from seed to flower to seed is turned into a musical journey. 'Tarashaquq' is the original name given to the dandelion in one of the earliest texts on the subject, by Abu Bakr Al-Razi in 900CE.
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Conceived as a set of five miniatures revolving around a "dandelion" motif​. Whole-tone scales are used to create the weightless flight of the seed. A scherzo follows (with a significant timpani solo), which has some similarity to a Bach invention to depict the sprouting. Erik Satie's Gymnopedies lend a hand for the blooming of the beautiful yellow flower. A violent fugue with an outcry a la Shostakovich shows the weeds coming up everywhere. Whole tone scales return as the flower turns grey and seeds are picked up to fly elsewhere.
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Note: this current arrangement does not include parts for double-reeds, and is written to be performed by as few as two percussionists.
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