Music

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My published works are available at Sheet Music Plus.

Original Compositions

Agnus D.E.I.

(March 2025) I am watching the systematic dismantling of our federal government, and all the achievements of the Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, and Gay Rights movements of the past hundred years being erased too easily. I wanted to write something to mourn this. It is full of sadness and dismay. Don’t let the dissonance offend you. Dissonance is rich with texture and expression and longing and hope. I originally wrote it for flute quartet or flute choir. I have also made an arrangement for string quartet. Sheet music is available at SheetMusicPlus.com. Here are links for the flute choir version, and the string quartet version. Here is my computer’s rendition of the flute quartet version.

Agnus D.E.I. (flute quartet)

Playing in the Currents

(2024) A duet for E-flat flutes, commissioned by Dr. Linda Bailey and premiered by Dr. Bailey and Christina Steffen at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention in Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2025. In two movements: I. Seagulls (slow, meditative), II. Dolphins (playful irregular beat). Sheet music is available here: SheetMusicPlus.


2020: The Year We Could Not Breathe

(2021) for solo flutist and electronic loop (optional). This is an emotionally charged work, quite unlike my other compositions. It uses extended techniques and requires some improvisation from the performer. Inspired by George Floyd’s dying words, the global COVID 19 pandemic, and the wildfires that burned the entire western United States in 2020. It was premiered by Anthony Trionfo at the National Flute Association annual convention in August of 2023. See more detailed notes and a video of Anthony’s performance on my YouTube channel. Sheet music is available at Sheet Music Plus.

This original solo version includes optional use of electronic loop. I later thought, what if someone doesn’t have that technology but does have a couple of friends? And thus a trio version was born. The trio version received its premiere April 5, 2025 at the Greater Portland Flute Society annual Flute Fair. Here is that performance.


Fantasy for Flute and Strings

(2019) Exuberant, playful. For 5-part string orchestra and solo flute. Run time 16min. (each movement is a little over 5 mins). Here are videos of me performing Fantasy with my computer playing the string parts (recorded in April 2020):

Mvt 1: Busy Day
Mvt 2: Lullabye
Mvt 3: Wild Dreams


Reminiscing

(2019) for flute and piano. I wrote this sweet little piece to encourage my mother to stretch her 90-year old fingers. It worked. When I handed it to her she said “.. well, I don’t know…” but she immediately took it to the piano and started picking it out. We performed it together at her 90th birthday celebration in September 2019. She was actually born in November but she decided if the whole family was gathering we should do it when the weather was nice. Below is a computer-generated audio. Available at Sheet Music Plus.

Reminiscing (flute and piano)

Habanera

(2019) for piano solo. Another little piece I wrote for Mom. Available at Sheet Music Plus.

Habanera (piano)

Evening Commute

(2018) This piece began as a tune in my head while I was on the bus on the way home from work one evening, hence the title. I first wrote it as a flute quartet and then arranged it for flute choir. The movements are: “Traffic”, “Watch for Bicycles”, “Yield to Pedestrians”, and “Home Soon”. The piece is playful, rhythmically challenging, a little humorous, and completely joyful. The first movement is comprised of alternating fast and slow sections. Our bicyclist in the 2nd movement has two encounters: a near-miss accident, and a red light, before arriving home and hopping off. In the 3rd movement, aptly marked “Andante” (“walking” in Italian), our pedestrian is joined by others and turns a few corners, harmonically speaking. The final movement is in an irregular upbeat meter and includes mini-cadenzas for all four voices. Available for purchase at Sheet Music Plus. You can listen to the entire piece here:

Evening Commute (flute quartet version, performed by the composer, August 2020)

Three Uneven Dances

(2018) For flute choir: p, 3C, A, B, contra. This work consists of three short movements in irregular meters.  The contrabass part is not optional but may be played on a regular bass flute if no contra is available. 

The first movement, “Stomp” is in 9/8, conducted in 4: (initially 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 changing to 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 halfway through) with a heavy pulse and a bluesy chord progression in E minor. The second movement, “Waltz” is in 3 (3 + 3 + 2) with a momentary straight 3 in the middle section. This sweet little melody in G major is a bright contrast to the aggressive first movement. The final movement, “Reeling” is in 5/8 (2 + 3) with a brief detour to 2/4 near the end, in E major. It is a joyous dizzy layering of twirling notes in the upper voices against a rising grounded melody in the lower voices.  Each movement is 2 ½ to 3 minutes in length. Available for purchase at Sheet Music Plus. Flute Quartet version is also available.

Three Uneven Dances (flute choir)

Prayer

Originally written in 1986 for voice and guitar (guitar lead sheet available here). I have also published it for voice and piano, available here. Below is a recording made in 2023 with vocal, keyboard, bass and drums. Many thanks to LaRhonda Steele (vocal), Mark Steele (piano), Rob Busey (bass), Johnny Riley (drums), and Nick the Greek (engineer) for this recording.


Arrangements

For Flute Choir

The Crystals Da Doo Ron Ron

The Tokens The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Classical:

Beethoven Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale”. Movements available separately. The first movement seems to be the most popular.

Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Elgar Nimrod from the Enigma Variations.

Lehar The Merry Widow Waltz (watch Rose City Flute Choir video)

Mozart Adagio from the Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, for alto flute solo and flute choir.

Mozart Rondo from Horn Concerto, K. 495, for contrabass flute solo and flute choir.

Palestrina Benedicamus Domino

Rossini The Thieving Magpie Overture (“La Gazza Ladra”)

Tchaikovsky Scherzo from Symphony No. 4.

Vivaldi Concerto in G (RV 532) for two flutes and flute choir (originally for two mandolins and string orchestra).

For Flute Quartet

Birthday Variations a la Ravel, Rossini, Bizet, Mozart, and Beethoven. Also available for mixed wind quartet, and string quartet. Here’s the flute quartet version:

Leclair Sonata in D major. This delightful Baroque sonata was originally written for two violins playing four voices (double-stops). This arrangement is for 2 C-flutes and 2 alto flutes.

For Solo Flute

Bach Prelude from the Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006.

Flute Duets

Traditional Auld Lang Syne