CHAMBER
For vocal ensemble.
15 minutes.
Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Musical Composition.
Premiered by Ekmeles.
New York, April 15, 2023.
WE LIVE THE OPPOSITE DARING
2023
HYPHA: FIVE MINIATURES FOR SUZANNE SIMARD
2022
For clarinet, violin, cello, and piano.
17 minutes.
Commissioned by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Premiered by Alex Fiterstein, Mika Sasaki, Kristin Lee, and Mihai Marica at the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Studio at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
New York, December 8, 2022.
The contours of absence
2018
SPRUNG TESTAMENT
2017-18
For piano (w/ flexatone, vibraslap, & minor preparations) and violin.
12-15 minutes.
Premiered by Jenny Koh and Zosha Di Castri at National Sawdust.
Brooklyn, NY, March 15, 2018.
TACHITIPO
2016
For 2 pianists, 2 percussionists, and electronics.
24 minutes.
Premiered by Yarn/Wire at Miller Theatre.
New York, December 1, 2016.
String Quartet No.1
2016
For quartet.
8.5 minutes.
Co-commissioned by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, in partnership with The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Americas Society. Premiered September 2nd, 2016, by the 10 finalist groups at the Banff International String Quartet Competition.
Both purely abstract and sonically concrete, this quartet explores virtuosic shifts between quickly contrasting modes of expression, while demanding a physical internalization of a dense thicket of activity. Escaping the agitation and frenzy are moments of melodic beauty, microtonal introspection, and a delicate fabric of time-suspending harmonics.
Rolston String Quartet performs in the Canadian Commission Round at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition (2016).
near mute force
2016
For 2 sopranos, viola, piano, drumset, (aux. perc.) + amplification.
11 minutes.
Commissioned by the Women's Musical Club of Toronto.
Premiered April 7th, 2016, by Stephen Dann's family at the University of Toronto.
A "family-band" piece composed for my friends, the Danns, whose unique hybrid of talents (from jazz improvisation to classically trained chamber music) inspired a contemporary take on the darker undertones of lullabies as a space to give voice to parents' inner thoughts and concerns. Based on excerpts from Rivka Galchen's book Little Labors.
The phonograph
2014
For baritone, violin, cello.
10 minutes.
Written during the Creative Dialogue residency in Santa Fe (run by the Sibelius Academy & Acequia Madre House).
Premiered June 11th, 2014, by William Lee Bryan, Lisa Romain, and Khari Joyner in Santa Fe.
Based on Rilke's text Primal Sound and a short French poem entitled inscription by Charles Cros, The Phonograph marks the remarkable moment when sound became immortal. Part story-telling, part musical reverie, this is a nostalgic nod to the rudimentary recording mechanisms of the past and the wonder they inspired.
pamplecaribou
2013
For amplified flute, piano, cello, and tape.
2 minutes.
Miniature written for Ensemble Pamplemousse's BLOCKS project.
Premiered April 7th, 2013 by Pamplemousse at the Firehouse Space in Brooklyn.
MANIF
2013
For percussion quartet.
15 minutes.
Co-commissioned by San Francisco Symphony and New World Symphony.
Premiered March 8, 2013 by NWS' percussionists, directed by Michael Linville at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach.
A piece inspired by the Montreal "casseroles" protests (aka the Maple Spring) and a reaction to the imprisonment of Russian feminist collective Pussy Riot for their gorilla performance of Punk Prayer in a Moscow Cathedral.
Prelude: for singing bowl and megaphone
Movement I: casseroles
Interlude I: metallic resonance 1
Movement II: drum solo vs. bell carol
Interlude II: drum improvisation
Movement III: metallic resonance 2 with megaphones
Epilogue: conclusion
Work & Day
2012
For two percussion (2 kalimbas, xylophone, and timpani).
3 minutes.
Homage to Zosha's teacher, Tristan Murail, in celebration of his retirement.
Premiered April 4, 2012 by Talujon at the Italian Academy in New York.
Strange Matter
2011, rev.2012
For fl, ob, cl, perc, pn, vn, va, vc.
9 minutes.
Premiered April 9th, 2011 by Talea Ensemble, conducted by Yoshiaki Onishi at the Italian Academy in New York. Revised premiere December 3rd, 2012, by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
ESCAPEMENT
2009
For oboe, saxophone, percussion, piano, and accordion.
12 mins.
Premiered at the Tenri Cultural Institute; Yoshiaki Onishi, cond.
New York, March 2009.
LA FORMA DELLO SPAZIO
2010
For fl, cl, pn, vn, vc (*alternate version also available with harp instead of piano).
8 minutes.
Commissioned by The Banff Centre with support by Barbara C. Poole & Family. Premiered July 2nd, 2010 under the direction of Henk Guittart at The Banff Centre.
Inspired by the mobiles of Lee Bontecou and Alexander Calder, this spatialized piece traces sound trajectories around the concert hall. The title is borrowed from a short story by Italo Calvino and translates to "The Form of Space."