Projects:

Overview
Canetti-menagerie
An Unaware Cosmos
Pathways
Pathways:
Begun in 1993, Pathways is a series of works for solo instrument and chamber orchestra (later transcribed for large chamber ensemble) which consists of a single, fixed orchestral accompaniment through which each of the featured solo traverses a unique path. To date, four iterations of the work have been composed, for each of the following instruments: The first three works in the series were composed between 1993 and 1995, supported by a Composer Commissioning Program Grant from the American Composers Forum/Jerome Foundation and a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas, as well as a grant from the Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program of the American Music Center. The original intention was to compose five works in total, including versions featuring piano and a string instrument. However, it wasn’t until three decades years later that this project was resumed, at which time the orchestra was reduced from 27 players to 15 players (although both versions exist for each work).

Each of the solo parts has been composed with the properties and characteristics of the given instrument in mind, and therefore each version of Pathways presents a unique relationship between soloist and ensemble. For the composer, the obvious challenge in such a project is in composing individual solo parts which have no direct influence on or relationship to one another, yet which are organically linked to the single fixed accompaniment.

The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler’s unique and personal relationship with their surroundings on any given journey. Though a single road may be taken by several individuals (or by the same individual on different occasions), the various experiences and responses to the particular environment may differ substantially. Such factors as the time of day, climate, or the traveler’s mood may have a profound effect upon the experience and consequent response of the individual. In the Pathways series, the ensemble acts as a sonic landscape through which the soloist (i.e., the traveler) passes. Because the solo part is intended to reflect the unique “personality” of the particular featured instrument, these may differ from one another substantially, to the extent that each section within the work as a whole may be directed (and subsequently perceived) in a number of different ways, thus influencing the dynamic unfolding of the overall work.

As with many of my works, models used in Pathways were drawn from such natural phenomena as fractals, chaotic systems, magnetic properties, and entropic processes. Numerical systems were used to generate pitch and rhythmic material, as well as to parse the overall timeline into sub-sections that are characterized by a steady or dynamic state in one of five parameters: timbre, texture, volume (i.e., dynamic level), register, and tempo. These sections may interact and develop in either a linear (causal) or non-linear (chaotic) fashion. On the local level, instrumental lines may either attract or repel one another in any number of ways.

While the approach to the ensemble part is highly structured and rational, the solo parts are much more spontaneous and reactive. That is not to say that they are not themselves carefully crafted to fit within the pre-composed environment; only that the approach is less rigorous and more adaptable. This allows for a variety of relationships to be explored between the soloist and ensemble (traveler/environment):
  • In Pathways I: Opposing Forces, the relationship between trombone and ensemble is one of contention, with the two forces pitted against one another throughout.
  • Pathways II: Revolution was composed in response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots—reflected in the confrontational nature of the solo percussion part, which manifests tension and reacts to the ensemble in an aggressive manner.
  • In Pathways III: Interior Shadows, the saxophone soloist acts as a commentator, mirroring (and elaborating upon) the material presented within the ensemble.
  • In Pathways IV: Rhymes & Spirals, the wide range and versatility of the piano—including its ability to play contrapuntal lines and chords—allow for interactions that are not possible with any of the other solo instruments. This work is a reflection on the political and cultural events in the United States (and elsewhere in the world) over the previous decade.
  • Pathways V: Tides of Change will be divided into eight brief episodes, each addressing an aspect of the impending climate crisis, with the violin acting to influence—often in futility—the seemingly inexorable trajectory of the ensemble.
More detailed descriptions of each work may be found in the individual information pages on this site, which include extended program notes.