Moxie for wind quintet and piano

Moxie was commissioned by The Peachtree Chamber Players.

The Oxford Dictionary defines moxie as someone who has character, experience, determination, and nerve. If we have gained anything since 2020 it is experience, flexibility, and determination on persevering during these challenging times. This piece is dedicated to everyone who was able to move forward in-spite of the unbelievable amount of loss and obstacles, people with moxie.

Tray for flute, horn, and piano

Cinematic, yet symphonic, the piece begins in two four time where a halftime variation of the often heard melody is introduced. After a moving fermata, the piece migrates into nine eight time, back to two four time, later to twelve eight time and finally ending where it started, in two four time, with a restatement of the original melody. “Tray” is filled with arousing glissandos from the horn and flute as well as drone sustains from all, with seemingly improvised melodic lines, and superimposed Negro Spirituals of two blatantly different tonal centers. The piece takes the listener/viewer on a vivid journey, as it depicts the controversial stalk, tussle and eventual shooting of an unarmed black teen named Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer one February night, as he walked back to his father’s house inside of a Central Florida subdivision. This is followed by a depiction of the trial for his murder, where the young man’s killer was found “not guilty”, as well as the moments following this trial, which came to be the earliest stages of the renowned Black Lives Matter movement in 2013.
The piece ends as it begins melodically, harmonically, and in time signature. As the piece winds down, the visual component pays homage to the lives lost due to the senseless occurrences of violence caused by the unfair stereotypes perpetuated and justified by the American caste system.

Where the Colors Fall for wind dectet

​Ensign Peak is best described as an “undistinguished hill” rising over a thousand feet from the northern edge of Utah’s Salt Lake Valley …” It does not stand out in the aesthetic ways that many nearby peaks of the Wasatch range stand out. The attention Ensign Peak receives comes from its historical significance within the Mormon faith.

This dectet, “Where Colors Fall” has been created by deconstructing the hymn ‘High on a Mountain Top” (words by Ebenezer Beesley and music by Joel H. Johnson). At bar 22 of the dectet, a descending motive is introduced. This motive is taken from the hymn and adapted to a minor mode. An additional motive from the beginning of the hymn can be found shortly after. Nearly every bar of the hymn is utilized in some way throughout the dectet. Though the pieces of the hymn will be found strewn throughout the dectet, there are also moments when the hymn is reconstructed and can be heard in complete form.

It is my hope that this dectet will illuminate the beautiful colors that can be found in this instrumentation, and that the work will pay tribute to the many sacrifices my own ancestors, and many of yours,  made to get to “…the point where colors fall.”

Passing Through for wind octet

Originally written in 2013, Passing Through explores a series of textures through simple-but-elegant musical gestures. Starting with a slow, almost meditative opening section, the winds fade in and out, creating the effect of a single, ever-evolving instrument. The flutes and clarinets soon take over as a plodding motor, allowing for the other voices to sing expressively over the ensemble. This culminates in a palpable outburst of energy, echoing the fading ideas of the opening but at a greatly increased pace. Peppered with moments of ensemble arrivals, the piece marches into a sudden halt near the end, culminating in a final gesture that seemingly evaporates into thin air. The result is a dynamic work that showcases each instrument group, making it an ideal piece for any wind octet.

Concertino for solo flute

​This Concertino takes the lively French chamber wind literature of the early 20th- century as its starting point, but this piece views the “French” style through an odd lens, twisting and bending the language of that neo-Classical genre in order to run the music through very different stylistic approaches. In the later movements, the Franco-survey is expanded to other inspirations – to not only the techniques of other French nationals, but also of those [Newman] considers “French” in spirit, such as Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. In writing the piece I was particularly excited to explore these styles while juxtaposing the virtuosity of the soloist with the delicate intimacy of the chamber ensemble.

The Concertino is dedicated to flutist Sarah Kruser Ambrose, for whom it was written.