Nocturne for piano 4-15-2003
Nocturne for piano 4-17-2003
Non Tanto for clarinet and piano “Elfin Candy”
Silken Barriers for piano
Non Tanto for piano “Encore 4”

Caprice for piano
Non Tanto for violin and harpsichord
Sonatina for flute and piano “Youth Knocks on the Door”
Non Tanto for violin and piano “Illicit Romance”
Non Tanto for violin and piano “Lyric to Early Spring”

The World We Live In Now Today for violin and piano
Carnevale for string orchestra and piano
New Office for piano and string orchestra
Contemplation for Jazz Band “Sand Dunes”

Track 15 -- Liner Notes
Track 17 -- Photo

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"This is a collection of some of my works from the year 2003, presented as demonstrations of the music. In earlier years, a major problem for composers including myself was the Catch-22 difficulty of securing a performance of new music in order to familiar people with it; without hearing the work, the performers could not readily perform certain (particularly complex or unconventional) pieces, and thus could not inform an audience; quite naturally it was difficult to get performers to commit to learning and preparing such works.

My own shift to computer-aided composition was slow. I early grasped the notational advantages in preparing clean and complete scores and parts, but the playback from these scores was relatively crude. With better sampling of instruments, better manipulation of those samples, refinements to the notation programs and my own better experience with them, the playback of new music in the art music tradition has become serviceable as a tool to demonstrate pieces.

I do not use technology to change the character of the music; I use it to allow more people to hear what I hear in my mind, and share in these musical experiences. The reasons have changed, but performances of new music are still difficult to secure. Live performances of art music by live musicians are still desirable, and for the same reasons they have always been desirable: they speak to us of humanity, they speak to us on an intensely human level, and they enrich the quality of our life experience."

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*  AudioTrack 01 -- NOCTURNE for piano 4-15-2003:
written late at night, out of worry about my wife after her car accident.

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*  AudioTrack 02 -- NOCTURNE for piano 4-17-2003:
written late at night, out of worry about my wife after her car accident.

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*  AudioTrack 03 -- NON TANTO for clarinet and piano "Elfin Candy":
written for student Elizabeth L******z, who received a scholarship to highschool, but found little to do there with her talent with the clarinet.

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*  AudioTrack 04 -- SILKEN BARRIERS for piano:
written for student Chris L******n, as encouragement to continue playing as he goes off to college.

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*  AudioTrack 05 -- NON TANTO for piano "Encore 4":
an ‘encore’ to a series of encores written in December of 2002; pieces intended to be just that little bit extra a performer wants to give to a good audience.

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*  AudioTrack 06 -- CAPRICE for piano:
dedicated to Steven Ernest D*****k II on the occasion of his birth; a bright extroverted showpiece.

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*  AudioTrack 07 -- NON TANTO for violin and harpsichord:
a good elemental example of my current style, exhibiting the ongoing primary influence of J.S. Bach.

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*  AudioTrack 08 -- SONATINA for flute and piano "Youth Knocks on the Door":
written for students Morgan and Sage H********d, using Morgan’s love for the Chopin ‘Valse Brilliante’ as a starting point.

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*  AudioTrack 09 -- NON TANTO for violin and piano "Illicit Romance":
curiously, this was inspired by my attempts to understand why the people on the Jerry S******r Show would be willing to break trust with loved ones. The music has a unique poignancy, as I concluded that such relations must always be unfulfilling. I never have understood how anyone could do such things unless they have bad values to begin with; the program no longer holds much appeal to me.

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*  AudioTrack 10 -- NON TANTO for violin and piano "Lyric to Early Spring":
a return to a simpler more direct expression, indicative of the simple but profound process of rebirth that begins early every spring.

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*  AudioTrack 11 -- THE WORLD WE LIVE IN NOW TODAY for violin and piano:
a musical consideration of shifts in what is understandable and attractive.

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*  AudioTrack 12 -- CARNEVALE for string orchestra and piano:
perhaps my favorite instrumental palette; the piano with the orchestra comes from the Russian tradition, and my predilection for string orchestra comes primarily from Felix Mendelssohn.

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*  AudioTrack 13 -- NEW OFFICE for piano and string orchestra:
a grand prelude written for my oral surgeon Dr. Jean-Pierre A****x on the occasion of his relocation to a larger building.

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*  AudioTrack 14 -- CONTEMPLATION for Jazz Band "Sand Dunes":
written after attending a highschool band concert in which several of my students and former students were performing.

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On a personal level, aside from the hope that this disc will help to create additional opportunities for my music to be heard, it represents a sort of highlighting of the diary of my life as a musician. I hope it brings you at least some of the enjoyment I’ve had in living it!