Mosaics – Five movements for violin and marimba (2023). Premiered January 28, 2023. Commissioned by the Quad City Symphony Association and written for Naha Greenholtz, violin and Aaron Williams, marimba. Approximately 16 minutes in duration. Listen to Mosaics,

A Mosaic is art that is made up of many smaller pieces, where the sum is greater than the individual parts. This five-movement work is a mosaic of different musical themes, patterns, rhythms, and textures, and often the interest is more about the interplay between the instruments than their distinct lines. Each movement has a central motive (small musical idea) which may or may not change, and is complimented by a different, yet related, motive in the other instrument. The listener will be aware of similarities between the motives of each movement, which I intended to provide continuity by design. These individual, interacting, repeated motivic patterns are like the “tessellations” found in many visual mosaics.
Additionally, there is a narrative aspect to this music, as seen in each movement’s title. While composing the music I was also making several personal realizations, which the music expresses outwardly. It is a narrative that is both specific and universal and seems to repeat (at least for me) with every emergence of creative growth. Like the concept of mosaic literature, each movement conveys a different aspect of the story using similar motivic ideas. Together, the movements create a more complete and full expression than any individual movement could.
My deepest gratitude goes to Naha and Aaron, for whom this piece was written. I held them both in my mind and heart while composing it and I’m very appreciative to them for bringing this music to the world. Finally, my thanks to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra Association for commissioning this work.

Gamma Wave - for amplified mixed ensemble of flute, clarinet, optional horn, violin, cello, percussion, piano (1996, rev. 2025). Listen to Gamma Wave

An adrenaline-raising experience that explores the more driving and repetitive nature of music, “Gamma Wave” expresses contemporary life from a willful perspective. It is as exciting to play as it is to hear. My goal was to pair pure energy with a heightened awareness, hence the title which refers to a higher brain-wave state. Musically, it owes a lot to rock music, is based on an incessant two-against-three rhythm, a minor-third melody figure, and a single harmonic area that shifts up only at the end, with varying combinations of instruments in colorful combinations. Formally, the composition follows a three-part plan, moving from a loud section into a softer section of release, and a final section that is even more boisterous than the first.

Green Fire Variations – for cello and piano (2013).  Approximately 7 minutes in duration. Listen to Green Fire Variations

Green Fire Variations, for cello and piano, is music about the energy within wild things. The title uses words borrowed from writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." (Sand County Almanac) Musically the composition is based on one short motive and scale reminiscent of a favorite composer, Béla Bartók. I used it in many different and varied guises: in dark, dramatic statements; interwoven playfulness; lyrical dance sections; solo introspection; and call and response between parts. The cello part is quite challenging in a number of areas, and while the piano part is mostly in a helpful role, the two create a balance. There’s an intentional sinuous mystery to the underlying ideas of the music, and I hope it conveys at least in part an aspect of the life force of the wild.

Piano Quintet  - Four movements for piano and string quartet (2011). Commissioned for the 25th Anniversary of Churches United, premiered at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa with the Maia Quartet and the composer at the piano.  Four movements; approximately 20 minutes in duration. Listen to the Piano Quintet

I: The Light Within
II. Hymn to Beauty
III. Claritas Unfolding
IV. Shining Brightly

The Piano Quintet was written in 2010-11 to honor a humanitarian organization, and is intended to express the outward expression of inner beauty. Commissioned to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Churches United (of the Quad Cities Area), it was first performed with myself at the piano with the Maia String Quartet on April 28, 2011.

While composing the music I was reading John O’Donohue’s "Beauty: The Invisible Embrace," and reflecting on words that specifically call people to action as a reflection of the gift of grace. I was also traveling a lot and interacted with people all over the world from many backgrounds. It became increasingly obvious to me that individual character as evidenced in good works can have a powerfully positive effect beyond those directly impacted, and for a sustained time. As a composer, then, I wanted to write something full of positive energy.

The music unfolds over four movements, and is characterized by simple harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and compact melodies. The listener will be aware of conversations between various instruments as passages are imitated or answered in different ways. These are intended to be reflective of the inner life of meditative prayer, and the ways that certain questions are answered within us, as the light of understanding moves from one idea to another allowing for clarity and outward expression.

Dance of the Waterflame - cello and violin duet (2009). First performed 2 November, 2009. A reworking of the cello duo version; an energetic piece of melodic and pattern-music sections culminating in a big climax.  Approximately 7 minutes in duration.

Snake Eyes: for Viola & Ensemble - for amplified mixed ensemble:  solo viola; alto sax; elect guitar; cello; doublebass; percussion (1998).  first performed 19 April, 1998.  An exploration into the world of octatonicism and its "snakey"-ness, this single-movement work combines the virtuosic ability of the violist with the power of  a mixed ensemble in a combination of dramatic and virtuosic moments (arrangement of same piece for violin and marimba).

Snake Eyes for Violin & Marimba (1996) first performed 29 April, 1996.  Commissioned by Alice Blankenship, violin.  An exploration into the world of octatonicism and its "snakey"-ness, this single-movement work combines the virtuosic ability of both performers in a combination of dramatic and virtuosic moments.

Thoughts Behind A Whisper - for alto flute; clarinet; violin; cello; vibraphone; piano (1995).  First performed 11 April 1995.  A gentle piece of color and melodic weavings in an evocative tapestry that recalls "La belle epoque" of Paris in the early 20th Century.

Dance of the Waterflame - for cello duo (1992, rev. 93) first performed 2 November, 1993. An energetic piece of melodic and pattern-music sections culminating in a big climax.