New music for horn and percussion
Spiral Staircase (2016) was written for and premiered at our wedding reception ceremony in Osaka, Japan in 2016. The title, though initially chosen to represent the horn as a spiral and the marimba as a staircase, takes on a symbolic meaning across the five movements of the piece.
The Clouds depicts an emotional response to the scintillating artwork of Jacob Hashimoto. Using two Japanese folk songs – “Akatonbo” (“Red Dragonfly”) and “Yuuyakekoyake” (“Crimson Sunset”) – as the musical foundation, the composition seeks to suspend time in the way that delicate clouds are placed upon the air at sunset. This couples with the sense of yearning in the original songs, which convey the desire to return home amid the shifting red colors of sunset.
Variations on the song "Kojo no Tsuki," [ 荒城の月 ] by Rentaro Taki, or "The Moon over a Ruined Castle" (1901) (accompaniment by Kosaku Yamada).
Premiered at the 2017 Greater Kansas City Japan Festival.