Portfolio of Works

Abstract

A composer can never fully understand the breadth and importance of his weight in modern musical tradition. The inspiration for works listed in the compilation that follows is one questions I have pondered since I began my vocation as a composer. The primary focus of this compilation is to display competency in the written language of my music, and to illustrate a traditional musical focus in which my styles are based. The compositional approach of my work is to establish a modernized use of traditional music practices to further develop the posterity of the musical repertoire, and is also to display my perspective on modernity and how it relates to past traditional music writing practices. The inspiration for this compilation is music, largely for the sake music itself. If one claims they are a composer, they must provide a wide portfolio of written work, notwithstanding stylistic diversity within their catalogue. These works are a cumulative display of my work as a composer, and thus within this selected grouping, there is no shortage of humor, seriousness, schmaltzy phrasing, modernized language, and overall artistic expression based on my view and understanding of the Western classical music culture. One of my primary inspirations in all of music history is Beethoven and his use of motives, which I try to rely on in my musical language. Though I also try to develop my own unique voice as an artist, I believe that there is always room for a broadening of one’s own perspective as it relates to that of another artist’s perspective late, or still living. Though my influences and tastes in listening do surely influence what I write, I try to prepare interesting new styles for the prospective listener. This compilation is indented to demonstrate, my voice, my stylistic perspectives, and my musical opinions. As artists, we make statements with our expressiveness. We challenge normative thought processes, and have an obligation to progressivism with a grounding in what our musical founders Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Schoenberg - my favorite composers - have set into motion. This compilation is one of many in the vast sea of my artistic musical expression, and I hope it sparks interest, and inquiry, for any of those curious minds looking for something new in music infused with a hint of historical artistic tradition.