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:

• Trombone (tenor and alto): Pathways I: Opposing Forces, for Andrew Glendening (1993)
• Percussion: Pathways II: Revolution, for Daniel Hostetler (1994)
• Soprano saxophone: Pathways III: Interior Shadows, for Eric Nestler (1995)
• Piano: Pathways IV: Rhymes & Spirals, for Redi Llupa (2024)
• Violin: Pathways V: Tides of Change, for Pala Garcia (in progress)

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 and his/her unique and personal relationship with the 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.