Chamber
Jack
for percussion quartet and electronics, November 2008)
Jack is a work written for marimba for four hands, vibraphone and crotales. It is based on the poem performed and recorded by writer and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson wrote the poem as an “ode” to the American beat-generation writer Jack Karouac whom he described as “one of his most influential friends.”
Ode to Jack Kerouac
By Hunter S. Thompson
Four dogs went to the wilderness
Only three came back
Two dogs died from Guinea worm
The other died from you
Jack Kerouac…
After the solo reading, the music comes in, with a constant rhythmic pulse set on the final word of the poem “you”. A vibraphone and crotales enter to give a metallic sound contrast to the wood timbers of the marimba. The vibes and crotales drop out, leaving the marimba for four hands to accompanying a rhythmically driven speech excerpts derived from the poem. Thompsons raspy baritone voice is cut into short repeated rhythmic cells, aligning into metric patters. After two short rhythmic sections, the vibraphone re-enters, on an offbeat pattern against the marimba, accompanying Thompson’s closing words “Jack was an artists in every way; I admire the dog thing most of all.” It ends with a buzzing distortion sound when Thompson shuts off the recorder in mid-sentence.
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Mothertongue
for Zheng, Erhu, Percussion and electronics, March 2008
Mothertongue is an arrangement of an earlier piece I was commissioned to write by Vancouver’s Orchid Ensemble. It was originally the opening movement (overture) to the evening-length multimedia work Triaspora, with dance and live images. However, I felt it would also make a good stand alone piece. The work centres around the experiences of Chinese Canada’s experience integrating into Canadian society.
Premiere at the Sonic Boom! 2008 Festival. A Festival of New Music by BC Composers – April 10-13, 2008. Performance by The Orchid Ensemble.
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West Coast Cats
for Tenor Saxophone, piano, percussion and electronics, January 2007
West Coast Cats, again commissioned and premierd at the 2007 International Push Festival, was composed using the voice of the American Jazz trumpeter and crooner, Chet baker. There is something I have always found very striking about the way Chet Baker, not only played but spoke. he had a gentile tone which, like his playing, had the effect of hypnotizing a listener. Well, me anyway! It was composed especially for Ensemble Symposium, one of Vancouver premiere groups.
Terra Firma
for violin, electric guitar, sampler, tape, live processing, and live 4 channel diffusion, April 2004
Commissioned by the New Modes Research Group funded by FQSCR. Performed at New Modes Concert Series, Wire Ensemble, April 21st, 2004. It was performed by the Wire Ensemble, from which I was a founding member. The piece is based on a religious context, where the sound represents the “zeal” of the worlds dogmatism.
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Three Ring Circus
for string quartet, April 2004
Three Ring Circus is a three movement work, based on Entrance of the Gladiators theme composed in 1897 by the Czech composer Julius Fucík. It is a mutation of sorts, which seeks to capture the spirit of the circus.
Premiere Performance by Quatuor Bozzini, April 18th, 2004, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, Montreal, Quebec
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Warnings From Punk Rock 101
for piano, alto saxophone, cello and electronics, June 2003
This piece marks one of my first “speech melody” works and used pre-recorded text from various interviews with Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain and wife, Courtney Love. This work premiered at the 2007 International Push festival – February 2, 2007, Western Front, Vancouver BC.
Last of the Gallant Heroes
for harpsichord, percussion, and electronics, May 2003
Another early work using “speech melody” from the voice of William Burroughs.
Music to Rise to
2 violins, December 2002
This piece is a phase between to violins. They begin in unison, and one gradually shifts a 16th note apart, until eventually they come in sync again. Process music.
Performance by Clemens Merkel and Nadia Francavilla on Quantour Bozzini, December 13, 2002, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, Montreal, QC.
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4 Set Mutations
for string quartet, April 2002
This piece is a string quartet in 4 movements. Each movement is based on particular composer, and used quotes from each of theme. Blundered Beethoven, Mozart Mutations, Dub-ussy, and Distantly Dvorak.
Third movement performed at Concordia University by: At Hawk String Quartet April 21st, 2002, Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, Montreal, QC.
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