THE TORRENT for narrator, SATB quartet or choir & piano (2012)

Rosalind Rees, narrator; the Gregg Smith Singers, Thomas Schmidt, conductor

This poem by the English poet Jenny Joseph is an extended simile on agape love, starting from a torrent,

a kind of life force that is nevertheless impossible to live in, trickling down to a town in England under

a blue sky where two wonderfully ordinary human kindnesses take place. This is unquestionably the

finest text I’ve ever set to music and I also believe it to be the best piece of music I’ve ever yet written.

RASPBERRY MAN for narrator/singer, flute, clarinet, 2 pianos, percussion & tom-toms

or narrator/singer, flute, clarinet & piano. (2008)

Palisades Virtuosi & William Vollinger

When the composer was a young student in NYC, he used to see a guy who would stand in front of

Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Restaurant and stick his tongue out at all the passers-by, be they great or

small. The resulting narrative is written in two versions, for septet or for quartet.

STALIN & THE LITTLE GIRL (AN ICON) for unaccompanied bass-baritone (2012)

Andrew White, baritone

In 1936 a famous photo was taken of Joseph Stalin holding a little girl with a bouquet of flowers. The photo

continued to be used even after Stalin had the girl’s parents killed. In this intense piece for unaccompanied

voice, Stalin is trapped in a kind of mental hell of his own making, eternally holding the girl and her bouquet. 

LET’S TALK chamber opera for soprano & piano (2010)

Liana Valente, soprano; Sara Bong, piano

“Let’s Talk!” is a short (15 minute) chamber opera for soprano and piano, designed to open a vocal

recital or concert. The singer arrives late at her own recital, and inso doing develops a rapport with

her audience, explaining both the challenges and opportunities facing an opera singer advancing her

career. It’s funny, but it’s also touching.

THE CHILD IN THE HOLE for medium soprano & clarinet (2002)

Linda Ferreira, soprano; Anne Thurmond, clarinet

This work is based on the true story of a Jewish boy, the only survivor of his family, hidden in a hole

on a Polish farm for three years during the holocaust. The piece is scored cohesively as a duet and

alternates speech-like music with wordless semi-klezmer interludes, representing the boy singing.

THE VIOLINIST IN THE MALL for violin & piano (2004)

Sungrai Sohn, violin; Tammy Lum, piano

Based on the true experience of a violinist playing familiar classical music in a shopping mall

while selling his CDs, profoundly affecting the shoppers. The piano accompaniment represents

the shoppers, changing mood as familiar favorites are quoted by the violin.

O.D. for SATB a cappella chorus (1999)

the Gregg Smith Singers, Gregg Smith, conductor

A setting of a poem by Gerald Rich, written after a student in his English class died of drug overdose.

Three descending chords in G minor serve as an ostinato background punctuated with  declamatory

outbursts for the text. This piece is scored for SATB a cappella choir with four wordless solos.

NOW SHALL MY HEAD BE LIFTED UP ABOVE MY ENEMIES

for brass quintet (2007)  Solid Brass

This programmatic piece of music is based on the true story of Danny Velasco, a drug addict who

lived on the streets of NYC and was dying of three forms of hepatitis, until a miraculous encounter

both saved and changed his entire life. The video was created by the composer.

ACTS OF KINDNESS song cycle for high voice & piano (2005)

Tracy Rhodus, soprano; Donald Doucet, piano

Gregory Wiest, tenor, Nicole Winter, piano

The stories of kind acts told in these seven songs are all true. Each is a variation, based on a

seven measure chaconne harmonic progression that starts the first song In this age of disconnect,

we need reminders to connect. In this "cool" age, we need to be warmer.

MORE THAN CONQUERORS (1975)

a narrative on the life of Corrie Ten Boom for baritone, clarinet in A, and piano

Bruce Fifer, baritone; Lawrence Sobol, clarinet; Peter Basquin, piano

This early 25 minute work is the true story of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian woman who hid

Jews from the Gestapo during World War II. This is the original Grenadilla recording which featured

members of the Long Island Chamber Ensemble who premiered this work.  

AN EMPTY SWING a lesson on assertiveness for the young or not-so

for narrator & unaccompanied chorus (2002)

Equal Voices

for narrator & orchestra (2009)

What would you do if you sat down on a swing and another kid told you to "get lost"? In this age

of bullying, this funny lively piece, either in it’s version for narrator and chorus or narrator and

orchestra is a lesson on the value of being assertive.

THE PELICAN for tenor, bass clarinet/clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello & piano (2010)

John Reeks, clarinet, Ricky Graham, tenor & ensemble

This meditation on the infamous 2010 Gulf oil spill was composed while it was still going on. The main

character is the pelican himself. In the first half of the piece he makes wisecracks and describes the long

cleaning up process, but in the second half, he becomes a symbol of Christ on the Louisiana state flag.

ROAD RAGE for tenor, clarinet, piano & double bass (or tenor, piano & double bass) (2010)

Gregory Wiest, tenor; Diethart Stecher, clarinet; Akane Kubo, piano &Yamato Moritake, dbl. bass

This is a funny, fictional, yet strangely familiar account of a long journey by car, as told by a driver to an

invisible passenger. It describes the different situations and reactions dealt with en route.  I guess there are

more drivers like this is some parts of the world than others, but there are plenty in my home state of NJ!

MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD for narrator, clarinet, marimba, piano & timpani (2010)

ensemble from the 2010 Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers National Conference

Based on a sermon given in the composer’s church, describing how everybody is made in the image of God

and needs to be recognized as such, the composer then relates an actual trip to New York City where he

deliberately looked beyond the appearance of a crowd in a bus terminal to see each person in that light.

DUCK GIRL for soprano, 2 violins, viola, double bass, 2 clarinets, harp, piano & narrator (2009)

Liz Argus, soprano & Musaica

Ruthie Moulon was a street person known for having some ducks follow her through the French Quarter.

Commissioned by the New Orleans based group, Musaica, this piece is an imaginary interview with her,

sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous, and sometimes touching.

UNACCOMPANIED PEOPLE for unaccompanied voice (1992)

Linda Fulton Ferreira, soprano

This set of five songs for unaccompanied voice is about four real people: Nadine, Bach, Ed, Stella

and the challenges they faced in their lives. The last song. "Me", has words supplied by the singer.

"unaccompanied people" is published by Laurendale Associates and recorded on Capstone Records.

WE ARE NOT ROBINS SATB chorus & piano (2006)

The Gregg Smith Singers, Arthur Krieck, conductor

Commissioned by the Gregg Smith Singers for their 50th anniversary season, this setting of

a poem by Richard Leach contrasts the uniformity of robin songs with the creativity of human songs.

The piano represents robin, while the chorus speaks, sings in harmony, and sings in unison.

WINDS WOULD some program music for woodwind quintet (2002)

the Cumberland Quintet

A series of 7 humorous/serious programmatic pieces for wind quintet on the subjects of beginners

music lessons, the results of gossip, self-consciousness during a hymn, knock knock jokes, name

dropping at a convention, a review of a play by a local critic, and leaving a world of isolation behind.

BETTY SINGS 3 HOLY NIGHTS for high soprano & small orchestra (1994)

Eileen Clark, soprano

The fictional story, for soprano and orchestra, of Betty, who sings "Oh Holy Night"  three times in her

life: at the age of 12 as a solo in a school concert, at the age of 27 as a professional soloist with an

orchestra, and at the age of at least 45, in a church basement for a golden wedding anniversary.

FOR MARTIN BUBER (1993)

for narrator & orchestra

Martin Buber’s realization of the two ways we relate to things, “I and Thou”, seeing people, trees,

or work as a spiritual entity or just an entity, is the basis of Gerald Rich’s poem. The music gives

each spoken word it’s individual power and color.

THE KID WITH THE SURPRISING SNEEZE

for two-part children's chorus & piano (2002)

This selection might be termed "commercial", "The Kid with the Surprising Sneeze" is published

by Heritage Music and was an editor’s choice in the J.W. Pepper Catalogue, It is the story of a kid

whose loud sneeze goes from being a nuisance to becoming a solo in Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony.

SOME THINGS THAT HAYDN SAID for soprano & clarinet (2002)

Duo Phoenix

The text to this piece consists entirely of words spoken or written by the composer of  “The Creation”

about the creative process itself, it’s inspiration, it’s challenges, and it’s purpose. In style, it is a kind

of homage to Haydn by a composer who loves both him and his work.