Compositions

This categorization generally refers to works requiring a conductor or pieces featuring five or more musicians.

Performed by Modelo62 |  Tropical Depression illustrates cycles of similar and unlike ideas. Musical ideas are continuously superimposed or arranged close together, however, the musical speed of these events varies from section to section; sometimes creating quick and quirky exchanges, other times revealing longer, more reflective, and extensive passages. In addition, Tropical Depression provides many frequent soloistic moments for many of the talented instrumentalists within this ensemble. 

Performed by – Omega Impact & Graham Flett | This piece represents a culmination of certain ideas I have been investigating connected to the notion of video-chamber-music. Using a vast array of found footage (heroically edited exclusively in imovie), the piece weaves a memorable ride through a wealth of psychedelic, everyday, and poetic images; accompanied by an equally wild score, performed live by 7 musicians. | Een mooie combinatie van live-muziek en video-beelden; Proposition of Fossils creëert een bijzondere sfeer, met een geheimzinnigheid ritme over de samenwerking tussen bizar beelden en spontaan en onverwachte muzikale draaien.”

The Duke of Green (2014) 

Performed by – Ethos Collective & Camille Hesketh |
Commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts and composed between 2013 and 2014, The Duke of Green is a multi-movement work exploring its own mimetic encounter. The work is divided into four versions (Keppel; Laurel; Mantis; Viridian); these versions flow from one to the next, and as this occurs each reveals an economy of material as well as repetition and distinction from the other versions. Between the four versions there are short transitions hinting at the main musical reference which is present throughout the entire piece.

Performed by the New European Ensemble and the Kroumata Percussion Ensemble (2012) | Aromates chasseurs was commissioned as a companion piece to Pierre Boulez’s ‘Le Marteau sans Mâitre’ (fl, guit, 3 percussion, and vla.). 

Monolith Passing – for ensemble and electronics | Written for a specific performance, Monolith Passing combines two (antiphonal) percussion players, a string quartet, two (antiphonal) loud-speakers, and a horn player who intersects the performance space. As the piece progresses a clear connection between the harmonic material of the horn, electronics, and the string quartet emerges, while the percussionists perform frenetic and highly detailed rhythmic passages.

Performed by – Nieuw Ensemble | octagonal boom is large ensemble piece for flute, clarinet, oboe, guitar, harp, mandolin, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, contra bass. Performed by an a superb ensemble in Amsterdam (2009). Moreover, this composition received an honourable mention for the Julés Légar Prize for Contemporary Chamber Music (October, 2010). 

Performed by – ASKO ensemble | Backslide Roller (2008) This is my ‘octet’ for oboe, bass clarinet, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, viola and cello. This piece was premiered in April 2008; present performance was by an excellent ensemble based in Amsterdam.

His Recursive Heroine (2011) 

His Recursive Heroine, was commissioned by Het Gelders Orkest in 2010 and it was performed several times in 2011. The concert shown above, which took place at Radio Kootwijk, was the only recorded performance. As stipulated by the commission, ‘His Recursive Heroine’ references Romanticism — doing so by quoting a well-known Tchaikovsky piece backwards, while the music also continually skips back onto itself (recursively). The version of this piece performed by this sinfonietta was slightly reduced (cut). This was an unfortunate ‘real-life’ adjustment. In light of this and other reasons, I have since made an orchestral expansion of this work; nevertheless, this larger version of the piece (named: ‘Recursivo’) is still awaiting its premiere.

tho sme hve chngd (read: though some have changed) is written for mezzo soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin and cello. The title first references the way we used to text message each other, dropping out letters here and there to save space; secondly, the title refers to the text used in this piece, which was lifted from a popular song by a band from the 1960s. Additionally, the music always hints at the same song while it progresses through rather disparate musical ideas.

as if your human shape

This categorization refers to works that are un-conducted and generally were written for three to five musicians. 

This recording of Air Troika was made prior to a performance of this piece by the Gryphon Trio at Roy Thompson Hall (Toronto, Canada).

This recording was the premiere performance of Deportations (first performed in New York City at the Bloomingdale School of Music). The piece was written for piano quartet and the commission stipulated that the piece should reference, in some manner, Hungarian folk music. This led me to discover this curious piece online (“Szatamári Dalok” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-liO…), which also featured a string ensemble. I transcribed a small section of the piece and put very opposing (piano) material alongside this transcription. The arc of the piece first presents these two distinct types of material and then proceeds to take this folk reference apart — exploring a dialectic between these two disparate styles.

veranderen – stasis was composed for ensemble Distractfold in 2015 as part of my artistic research for my doctoral degree. It was written for clarinet, string trio and percussion. Presently, I see the piece as a work in progress.  

canon interruptus was written with the Bozzini Quartet, while I was participating in their 2011 Composer’s Kitchen Workshop.

Performed by the Blue Moss Ensemble in 2014. Recasted Trope is a quartet for baroque instruments. The piece presents my own heuristic approach to (re)presenting a well known chord progression from the baroque era — often placing timbre on equal footing with the harmonic content that is found throughout the piece and embellishing the music with a wealth of rhythmic nuance.

Palladio was the title given to a piece I wrote for the 5th International Workshop for Young Composers (Latvia). This work had a large theatrical component, which involved myself making and wearing an article of clothing comprised from the score to the piece. This also involved a spirited interaction with Ensemble Aleph, who performed this piece.

Composed and performed in 2010, Cuando despertó was inspired by a short text by Augusto Monterroso, which goes like this: Cuando despertó el dinosauro todavía estaba allí. This piece was performed by a talented group of musicians (sop., fl., hrp., perc., and cb.) in the city of The Hague in June of 2010.

Polarity Maker

Vapour Canopy (2008) – This is a short woodwind quintet composed in 2008, while I was participating in a composition workshop in Latvia.

verièrre de vapeur

Contradistinction (2007) – Performed by the Python Saxophone Quartet at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

Unadorned, for solo electric guitar (2017), was written and first performed by Elliot Simpson. The recording featured above was also made by Simpson.

Scherzo? is short piece for piano and viola, written between 2005 and 2006. This live and somewhat ‘rough recording’ still conveys how the piece was largely a study on tricky rhythms, as well as an attempt to combine sonorities of the Second Viennese school with more improvised styles. Performed by Teodora Stepancic and Emlyn Stam. 

Prions on the Prairie is a duo for piano and percussion. The piece was written in 2004 in connection to the Canadian National Arts Summit, which was held in Banff in that same year. The work was played by two musicians who were in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts during that same period of time.

Stratus and Shale, for solo alto flute, was composed quite awhile ago composed, while I was in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts. 

The Duke of Green (2014) 

Performed by – Ethos Collective & Camille Hesketh |
Commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts and composed between 2013 and 2014, The Duke of Green is a multi-movement work exploring its own mimetic encounter. The work is divided into four versions (Keppel; Laurel; Mantis; Viridian); these versions flow from one to the next, and as this occurs each reveals an economy of material as well as repetition and distinction from the other versions. Between the four versions there are short transitions hinting at the main musical reference which is present throughout the entire piece.

tho sme hve chngd (read: though some have changed) is written for mezzo soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin and cello. The title first references the way we used to text message each other, dropping out letters here and there to save space; secondly, the title refers to the text used in this piece, which was lifted from a popular song by a band from the 1960s. Additionally, the music always hints at the same song while it progresses through rather disparate musical ideas.

In January 2011, the Den Haag All Stars put on an infamous concert featuring their collection of 20 (out-of-tune) harmoniums. My piece, composed for the debut concert of these instruments, was a rather over-the-top theatrical induction of Mr. Zuckerburg (who, in 2010, was Time magazine’s ‘man of the year‘) into an inner circle of the illuminati. In this one and only performance, the featured soprano was Camille Hesketh; videography was done by Sander Breure.

Winter Syntax & Walking Across The Atlantic …
Palladio

Composed and performed in 2010, Cuando despertó was inspired by a short text by Augusto Monterroso, which goes like this: Cuando despertó el dinosauro todavía estaba allí. This piece was performed by a talented group of musicians (sop., fl., hrp., perc., and cb.) in the city of The Hague in June of 2010.

Burnt Norton was a composition I wrote as a vocal study. It was composed for the uncommon instrumentation of oboe and soprano. This recording was performed by Camille Hesketh and Allison Smith.

In January 2011, the Den Haag All Stars put on an infamous concert featuring their collection of 20 (out-of-tune) harmoniums. My piece, composed for the debut concert of these instruments, was a rather over-the-top theatrical induction of Mr. Zuckerburg (who, in 2010, was Time magazine’s ‘man of the year‘) into an inner circle of the illuminati. In this one and only performance, the featured soprano was Camille Hesketh; videography was done by Sander Breure.

For a long time I have been working on material that I plan  eventually use for a piece for string quartet. However, in the process of composing the latter I have made this electronic maquette, which was done essentially to clarify the sounding effect of natural and artificial harmonics on scordatura strings. Thus, this piece of electronic music, simply entitled Sinewave Quartet, resulted from this compositional investigation.

In 2014 I began compiling unusual footage from YouTube and other sources. This was then often cut to pre-existing musical material. In this instance (Debunker) I combined video content with an improvisation I played at home. A substantial portion of the this material was later integrated into Proposition of Fossils.
 

Performed by – Omega Impact & Graham Flett | This piece represents a culmination of certain ideas I have been investigating connected to the notion of video-chamber-music. Using a vast array of found footage (heroically edited exclusively in imovie), the piece weaves a memorable ride through a wealth of psychedelic, everyday, and poetic images; accompanied by an equally wild score, performed live by 7 musicians. | Een mooie combinatie van live-muziek en video-beelden; Proposition of Fossils creëert een bijzondere sfeer, met een geheimzinnigheid ritme over de samenwerking tussen bizar beelden en spontaan en onverwachte muzikale draaien.”

veriere de vapèur was a performative piece I wrote in 2007 for melodica quartet, over-sized score, and movie. It was performed several times by The Melodica Quartet between 2007 and 2009. The accompanying film was assembled from compiling select scenes of Sergio Leone’s film (Once Upon a Time in the West). These scenes were then rendered in super-slow motion and combined with a pre-exiting score for melodica quartet.

Performed by volunteers at the Edit Festival (2007) | 
Mount Demographic  was an installation work written for 20 out-of-tune pianos. Myself and five other composers were asked to write for this unusual instrumentation. Silent-disco headphones were used to help coordinate everyone playing together. To a limited extent, my piece obliquely references Javanese gamelan music, while also exploring the pronounced differences in tuning between the pianos. The pianos were later destroyed as too many of them were beyond repair or were, sadly, no longer wanted.

Amaizenfrills was a work I wrote while I was a Master’s student at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. It was an exploration in combining pre-recorded electronics with electronics and ideally the score and the electronics were meant to be randomized between 20 separate versions. This recording represents one version of these 20 different versions.