MUSIC

Chamber

Sound-Thoughts

For Violin and Cello
6 Minutes

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Choral - Mixed

Alleluia Beatus

SSAATTBB & Piano
3 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Anti-Love Songs

SSAATTBB, Treble Voice Trio,
Cabaret Singer, & Finger Cymbals
12 Minutes
Performance Level: Advanced

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Ave Maria

SATB Soloists, SATB, & Organ
4 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Gloria

SSAATTB a cappella
3 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Nemesis

SMsATBrB Live Virtual Chorus
6 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Easy

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O Oriens

SSATB & Organ
5 Minutes
Performance Level: Easy

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A Serious and Pathetical Contemplation

SSAATTBB a cappella
6 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Advanced

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Shadow March

SATB a cappella
2 1/4 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Silent Night

SSAATTBB a cappella
4 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Three Introits and an Amen

SATB a cappella
3 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Easy

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Choral - Lower Voices

March Creek

TTBB a cappella
2 1/2 Minutes
Performance Level: Moderate

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Orchestral

Is This Really Happening?

for Orchestra
6 Minutes

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Vocal

Considered Discoveries in Science

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Bass Soloists, & Piano
10 Minutes

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Alleluia Beatus

SSAATTBB & Piano

3 1/2 Minutes

Performance Level: Moderate

Knowing that I can spend a lot of time picking out a text to set, I tried something a little different. First, I turned to Alleluia. Sometimes a word is all you need. Then I wanted it to be happy; happy and unexpected. Instead of looking for a unique Latin text to juxtapose the chosen word, I turned to a new friend, GoogleTranslate. I chose three famous song titles that had the word 'happy' in them and let the machine do its magic. A new liturgical text is born. A shiny and sparkly new way to show our exuberance.

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Anti-Love Songs

Text by Pamela August Russell

SSAATTBB, Treble Voice Trio, Cabaret Singer, & Finger Cymbals

12 Minutes

Performance Level: Advanced

Many years ago a friend gave me a book of poetry for Christmas. I promptly did what every person would do with a book of poetry they receive for Christmas. I put it on my bookshelf (dirty shelf, clean the shelf) and promptly forgot about it. Many years later, wanting to make room in my cramped NYC apartment, I started downsizing and rediscovered said gifted book of poetry. It was called B is for Bad Poetry by Pamela August Russell.

All it took was the first few pages to know this was one of the greatest collections of bad poetry. Ever a fan of comedy, I went right to work picking texts. Soon a pattern started to emerge. The ones that called to me centered around relationships and the underlying feelings that go along with them. Not wanting to “flog a dead horse,” I felt the pieces should set in differing styles reflecting the sensibility of each of Pamela’s pearls of wisdom. If you laugh at least once, then my mission has been a success.

Check this piece out in Y OUTUB E.

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Ave Maria

SATB Soloists, SATB. & Organ

4 Minutes

Performance Level: Moderate

This piece is built around the two short motives stated in the organ. This, combined with a good portion of the text set for the upper voices, give what I hope is a tribute to motherhood.

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Considered Discoveries in Science

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Bass Soloists, & Piano

10 Minutes

This is a satirical cantata which uses a letter by Benjamin Franklin where he posits the question, can farting be cured?

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Gloria

SSAATTB a cappella

2 1/2 Minutes

Performance Level: Moderate

Gloria is the middle movement of a larger work entitled Meditation for Christmas. The outer two movements, Ave Maria and O Oriens, are slow and contemplative, so I wanted something peppy and energetic as a counterpoint. I tried to create a joy-filled perpetual motion machine using an ostinato in the outer voices. This is contrasted with longer lines, and a touch of barbershop, in the inner voices. This piece is also featured in the Project : Encore catalog.

Check this piece out on YOUTUBE.

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Is This Really Happening?

for Orchestra

6 Minutes

3.3.3.3-4.2.3.1, Timpani, Percussion (3 Players), Harp, & Strings

What a year, 2020, filled with too many computer screens and soundbytes. Of constant agitation like a perpetual motion machine or being stuck in one of those carnival fun houses with nowhere else to go. This, dolloped with a previously written piano piece, gave birth to an orchestral baby. Laced with the two whole tone scales. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Please keep your arms and legs inside until we have come to a complete stop.

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March Creek

Text by Michael J. Nicosia

TTBB a cappella

2 1/2 Minutes

Performance Level: Moderate

When going to set this poem by my cousin Michael, I thought the natural imagery was beautiful and it would be unexpected if set for the lower voices. The music is in short segments, as if they are musical photographs of the journey from life to death and back to life again.

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Nemesis

SMsATBrB Live Virtual Chorus

6 1/2 Minutes

Performance Level: Easy

Sitting at home, having way too much time on my hands during the Upside-Down time, and having sung a few live remote concerts, I thought to myself, with the help of the dedication mentionee Daniel, why not think of some notes that aren't too crazy hard that would help to highlight the unique technology we are using to sing together. Jitter buffer this and mouse click that helped to solidify the idea. The end result is this crazy sound experiment.

Check this piece out on YOUTUBE.

Click HERE to preview the score and purchase for performance.

O Oriens

SSATB & Organ

5 Minutes

Performance Level: Easy

During the final seven days of Advent (December 17th-23rd) the chants intoned during evening prayers in the Western Christian tradition begin with ‘O’ and are followed by different Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. They are known as the "O" Antiphons. O Oriens is heard on December 21st, the Winter Solstice. There is something satisfying and all-encompassing about a Christian event, marked by the use of Jewish prophecies, intoned on the equinox.

O Oriens is the third movement, of a larger piece called Meditation for Christmas. It is proceeded by Ave Maria and Gloria. O Oriens is a long crescendo. From quiet beginnings to the final rush of sound in the organ. It is meant to elicit the stillness of the longest night of the year with plenty of sustained notes. The opening statement is repeated at the end but raised in key and with an every quickening motive in the organ, borrowed from the Ave Maria, to denote the first whispers of light as the night is finally dispelled.

Check this piece out on YOUTUBE.

Click HERE to preview the score and purchase for performance.

A Serious and Pathetical Contemplation

SSAATTBB a cappella

6 1/2 Minutes

Performance Level: Advanced

I have always wanted to try my hand at adapting a poem for musical use. My hero, Gerald Finzi, made it a point to use texts in a way that suited the work he was producing. So … I turned to one of his favorite writers, proto-Romantic and mystic poet, Thomas Traherne. Taking a text chocked full of religiosity and removing the faith to fundamentally change the nature of the poem. It has become a piece about the wonders around us and the joys one can take from being human. I tried to add a sense of mysticism and shining exuberance with a ton of CMajor9 chords thrown in to ignite the air.

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Shadow March

SATB a cappella

2 1/4 Minutes

Performance Level: Moderate

If you are looking for a spooky piece for chorus, this is the one for you. It is meant to be a child-like look at going to bed by candle light. Happy Haunting!

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