I am looking for something unconventional,
but also beautiful in a new and unexpected way.
I like the term Radical Beauty.
I begin work on a new composition by constructing a unique tonal world. As the melodies develop, the form evolves in parallel. The orchestration becomes clear early on, but the accompaniment patterns, which play such a large role in defining the emotional color of the work, often develop more slowly. The dynamics and phrasing are generally the last pieces to fall into place.
A singular message emerges from the details as the material comes to life. The ending is crucial, because both the form and the meaning of the work complete themselves there.
For the Opera House
The result is a virtual reality;
a meaningful experience which is both novel and organic.
When Julius Caesar takes the crown, a small band of citizens attacks him, prepared to pay any price to defend democracy. Listeners are swept along on a powerful descent into revolution and violence, confronting them with the question, “What if this were to happen to us?”
“Killing Caesar”
Keeping faith with his dead father, Hamlet swears to punish his murderer and deliver revenge. Blinded by his thirst for perfect justice, he commits one misstep after another. The audience watches Hamlet slowly destroy every chance for future happiness, even turning his back on Ophelia and her love.
“Hamlet’s Obsession”
For the Concert Hall
My goal is to create music,
which in its beauty and elegance,
transports the audience into another world.
Born in the United States I grew up in a musical family, regularly performing and producing a large variety of musical works for our community. I then earned a degree in composition from the Indiana University School of Music – now the Jacobs School of Music. I currently live in Europe.
I spent two decades as an operatic bass, working with many internationally famous artists. Rehearsing and performing this great repertoire taught me to understand audiences on a visceral level. This experience gave me both a heightened instinct for drama, as well as an expressive sense of the lyric line that is grounded in practice. It also afforded me the time in which to develop a unique perspective on harmony, and gain an intimate knowledge of the orchestra. It continues to inform my work as a composer today.