Symphonic

Prairie Music is inspired by the magnificence of the American Great Plains and the drama of extreme weather that characterizes this geographical region. After traveling through the plains on numerous occasions, including a residency in Badlands National Park in 2020, I have developed musical impressions that have resonated powerfully with my vision of symphonic music.  The sound of the plains is embodied in the restless and mercurial nature of incessant wind and weather changes, where heat and moisture can build into a severe thunderstorm, unleashing the energy of a hydrogen bomb. The music also embodies the restlessness of wind, where a gentle breeze can transform into a piercing wind with sudden shifts in direction and velocity that cannot be foreseen and often grow into mighty cyclones instantly sowing terror and confusion from which there is no defense. I was also reflecting musically on the prevalence of catastrophic drought conditions in the lower plains that led to the ominous phenomenon of "black blizzard" dust storms of the 1930s. Finally, I was inspired by the imagined sound of bison, once ubiquitous throughout the plains, stampeding across the horizon, the sound of their hooves cascading into a thunderous roar. WGN

 Working in the shadow of Rachmaninoff, himself a brilliant orchestrator, presented an enormous challenge to me as a composers.  I ultimately employed two disciplines when I commenced orchestrating Rachmaninoff's duo piano masterpieces:  Firstly, both of the Suites for Two Pianos (composed in 1893 & 1901, respectively) are early works, and Suite No. 1 is dedicated to "Monsieur P. Tchaikovsky".  Therefore, when dressing the big-boned sections in these eight movements, I had the spirit of Tchaikovsky's music with all of its emotional power in mind.  Secondly, I carefully studied the orchestra works of Rachmaninov observing how well he employed the orchestra colors when rendering  poignant harmonic passages and lyric climaxes.  I viewed the suites as pure musical ideas and, because the composer so adeptly integrated the two pianos to create one piece of music executed on 176 keys, I was free to use a full pallet of color and sound, incorporating symphonic ideas that I have cultivated in my own orchestra works.