Harlem Dance Hall: The Savoy (2024)
for Pierrot ensemble

Duration: 16 minutes
Premiere: October 15, 2024, Copland House Ensemble, Louisville, Kentucky

Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment and written for the Copland House Ensemble, this two-movement suite draws inspiration from the iconic Savoy Ballroom and the vibrant dance culture of the Harlem Renaissance. Just as Aaron Copland paid tribute to Mexican folk traditions in El Salón México, this work reimagines historic dances like the “Snakehips” and “Happy Feet” through a contemporary lens—capturing both the unrestrained joy of the era and its deeper emotional complexity. Rather than replicate jazz idioms, the music celebrates Black cultural expression with vivid textures, rhythmic drive, and a spirit of transformation.

Redlin[ing] (2024)
for Pierrot ensemble & Percussion

Duration: 11.5 minutes
Premiere: October 2, 2024, Picosa, Chicago, Illinois

Commissioned by Picosa and supported by a Chamber Music America grant, Redlin[ing] is a dynamic work for Pierrot ensemble with percussion that confronts the legacy of discriminatory housing practices in cities like Chicago. Infused with the urgency of urban life and shaped by the symbolism of the city’s Red Line train, the piece reflects on cycles of segregation and injustice—interweaving spiritual and patriotic quotations as markers of both protest and remembrance. Part of a broader series of musical commentaries on social inequity, Redlin[ing] is meant to resonate far beyond the concert hall, inviting reflection on the systems that shape our communities.

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Rise (2023)
for Wind Quintet

Duration:
Premiere: January 21, 2024, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet, Linton Chamber Music Series, Cincinnati, Ohio

Unfolding as a musical journey through the ongoing struggle for racial justice, the piece offers three movements that reflect on progress, unity, and collective resolve. From the urgent momentum of Seeds to the lyrical yearning of Deep Harmony and the rousing call to action in Spark!, it invites listeners to imagine change—and to take part in it. Commissioned by the Linton Chamber Music Series with the generous support of Ann Santen in honor of her husband Harry Santen’s 95th birthday, it is co-commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Chamber Music Northwest, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Adelante Winds, the Black Student Union of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Imani Winds, and the New York Wind Quintet.

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Black Music (2023)
for Saxophone Quartet and Trumpet

Duration: 14 minutes
Premiere: February 18, 2024, Fulcrum Point New Music Project with ~Nois Saxophone Quartet, Chicago, Illinois

This vibrant, multidimensional work reflects the richness of Black artistry, experience, and sound. Across three contrasting movements—rhythmic and contrapuntal, lyrical and reflective, angular and electric—it honors traditions ranging from funk to bebop while exploring the color black both visually and metaphorically. Commissioned by Fulcrum Point New Music Project with support from The Walder Foundation, the piece was written for Stephen Burns and the acclaimed saxophone quartet Nois.

The Spiral (2022)
for Flute, Oboe & Piano

Duration: 9.5 minutes

Commissioned by Trio Village, this energetic trio for oboe, flute, and piano takes inspiration from Vladimir Nabokov’s idea of the spiral as a “spiritualized circle”—a symbol of freedom, growth, and release from repetition. Through shifting timbres, rhythms, and tonalities, the piece explores the journey from constraint to transformation, anchored by a meditative central passage that reflects on the power of breaking free. Spiraling forward rather than circling back, the music embraces change as a dynamic and nonlinear force.

There is Always Light (2021)
for Clarinet, Bassoon & Marimba

Duration: 10 minutes

Commissioned by clarinetist Erin Fung and bassoonist Christopher Sales, this trio for clarinet, bassoon, and marimba is a reflection on racial injustice and a search for hope in the face of grief and violence. Inspired in part by Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem The Hill We Climb and grounded by the enduring words of the spiritual Gospel Plow, the piece balances sorrow and resilience, asking what it means to “hold on” when hope feels distant. Its title comes from Gorman’s stirring reminder: “For there is always light / if only we’re brave enough to see it / if only we’re brave enough to be it.”

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lulllaby | ballad | spiritual (2021)
for Flute, Oboe & Bassoon

Duration: 10 minutes

Commissioned by Elicio Winds at Auburn University, this trio for flute, oboe, and bassoon draws on Alabama’s rich musical heritage, reimagining three traditional songs—a lullaby, a ballad, and a spiritual—across a three-movement suite. From the gentle rocking of My Mama’s Sweet Baby Boy to the lyrical melancholy of The Blind Child’s Prayer and the spirited dialogue of Scandalizin’ My Name, the piece honors Southern folk traditions through a blend of tenderness, abstraction, and rhapsodic intensity. Each movement offers a distinct emotional lens, illuminating the stories and voices embedded in Alabama’s musical past.

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Fractured Water (2019)
for Flute, Cello & Piano (All players doubling on water percussion)

Duration: 9 minutes

Commissioned by Fifth House Ensemble for their Rivers Empyrean series, this trio for flute, cello, and piano—with each performer also playing water percussion—explores the life cycle of water and the urgent realities of pollution and conservation. Inspired by the Chicago River, whose historic reversal echoes through the piece in subtle retrogrades, the music engages three narratives: concern, conflict, and hope. Anchored by a quiet reference to the spiritual Down in the River to Pray, the work is both a reflection on environmental fragility and a call to renewal.

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Distance (2016)
for Cello & Marimba

Duration: 12 minutes

Composed in memory of Roger Lundin—a beloved teacher, scholar, and friend—this elegy for cello and marimba is inspired by Miho Nonaka’s poem Distance, written in Roger’s honor. The instrumentation reflects his quiet strength and depth, while musical quotations from Prepare Me One Body and For All the Saints pay tribute to his faith, humility, and devotion. Evoking themes of body, breath, grace, and memory, the work is dedicated to Roger’s wife, Susan Lundin.

X (2014)
for Percussion Ensemble

Duration: 9.5 minutes

Though titled X, the work does not reference a numeral, letter, or figure—but rather the Greek symbol for Christ, drawn from a 19th-century Salvation Army hymn, Christ is All. Evoking the industrial chaos and spiritual yearning of Victorian London, the piece unfolds with rhythmic intensity and sonic harshness before gradually giving way to the serenity of the hymn. It’s a musical meditation on darkness and redemption, culminating in a peaceful affirmation of grace, light, and hope.

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CryptOlogiE (2014)
for Flute, Clarinet, Violin & Piano

Duration: 8.5 minutes

This vibrant quintet is a deeply personal work, inspired by the composer’s wife and two daughters. Built from serial pitch sets based on their birthdays, Morse code rhythms that spell names, and recurring pitches tied to their initials, the piece is a playful and affectionate puzzle—full of color, structure, and heart. Reflecting the personalities of its muses, it’s energetic, sweet, and meticulously crafted.

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Claptrap (2009)
for Flute & Percussion

Two Inventions (2006)
for Flute & Bassoon

The Red Wheelbarrow (2006)
Piano Quartet

Yellow Einstein (2005)
for Amplified Large Chamber Ensemble

The American Road (2025)
Six Songs of the Enslaved, Embattled, and Emancipated for SATB, SSAA, and TTBB Choir and Piano

Text: Mvts. 1, 3, 4, 6 – Traditional; Mvt. 2 – Rhiannon Giddens; Mvt. 5 – Text by Robert Lowry, Tune: Hanson Place
Duration: 30 minutes
Premiere: July 24, 2025, Santa Fe Desert Chorale with conductor Joshua Habermann, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Commissioned by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, this choral suite reimagines six folk songs, hymns, and spirituals to trace America’s complex journey through sacrifice, oppression, healing, and hope. From the solemn invocation of Prepare Me One Body to the triumphant finale Shine!, each movement offers a vivid vignette—ranging from lullabies of quiet resistance to the rhythmic urgency of the Underground Railroad. Through intimate solos and stirring choral textures, the work transforms collective memory into a shared musical testimony of resilience.

God Is a God (2025)
for Baritone Soloist & SATB Choir

Text: Traditional
Duration: 4 minutes
Premiere: March 21, 2025, American Spiritual Ensemble, Lexington, Kentucky

Adapted from the composer’s 2018 setting featured on the Grammy-nominated album Lord, How Come Me Here?, this SATB arrangement of God Is a God is anchored in quiet strength and unwavering hope. Reflecting the faith of the enslaved in a God who had delivered others before them, the piece honors a legacy of resilience through spiritual expression. Commissioned by the American Spiritual Ensemble, it carries forward the enduring power and dignity of the Negro spiritual.

He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands (2025)
A Cradelsong for SATB Choir & Piano

Text: Traditional
Duration: 5 minutes
Premiere: Sunday, June 22, 2025, Green Lake Festival Chorus and , Ripon and conductor John Hughes, Wisconsin

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands is often performed with joy and energy, but this arrangement reimagines it as a quiet lullaby—rooted in the resilience of the enslaved. Framed as a tender prayer from parent to child, it offers an intimate meditation on divine care, whispered rather than proclaimed. Adapted from my original version for mezzo-soprano and piano, the piece invites reflection through stillness and quiet strength.

Left Foot, Right Foot (Follow the Drinking Gourd) (2019)
for SATB Choir

Text: Traditional
Duration: 4 minutes
Premiere: 2019, Kingwood Oxford High School Choir

Reimagining the folk song linked to the legend of Peg Leg Joe, this piece draws on the coded messages of Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd to tell a story of resistance and escape. Blending history and folklore, it transforms song into a vehicle for liberation—where melody becomes map, and music becomes freedom’s guide.

Voices Rising (2019)
for SATB Choir

Text: Glenn Spitler
Duration: 5 minutes
Premiere: November 28, 2021, Hinsdale Chorale, LaGrange, Illinois

Set to a reflective poem by Glenn Spitler, this work explores the interplay between sound and silence, music and meaning. It begins amid the clatter of daily life, gradually giving way to a contemplative soundscape where voices rise in harmony and stillness. In its final moments, silence itself becomes a source of peace and resonance.

Sing Dumb (2016)
for SATB Choir & Percussion

Text: Tiffany Eberle Kriner
Duration: 8 minutes
Premiere: November 14, 2016, Wheaton College Concert Choir, Wheaton, Illinois

This a cappella SATB work with percussion was created in response to a season of national tragedy, institutional upheaval, and personal bewilderment. Rooted in the phrase “sing dumb”—to hold one’s peace—the piece wrestles with the tension between silence and expression, layering dense, image-rich language with reverent, textured sound. Not a protest, but a deeply human reckoning, it confronts loss, complexity, and the mystery of a triune Creator.

Ev’rytime I Feel The Spirit (2015)
for TTBB Choir

Text: Traditional
Duration: 3.5 minutes
Premiere: March 19, 2016, Wheaton College Men’s Glee Club, Wheaton, Illinois

Electrifying in character, this setting of Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit captures the vitality of the spiritual with rhythmic drive and stylistic flair. It opens with a propulsive musical depiction of a train, echoing the vivid imagery of the text, before shifting into a spirited jazz section featuring a walking bass line. The result is a joyful, high-energy celebration of faith and movement.

Deep River (2014)
for SSAA Choir

Text: Traditional
Duration: 5 minutes

This arrangement of Deep River offers a peaceful reflection on faith and hope, with slow, expressive piano writing that serves as both partner and backdrop to the voices. Written for the Wheaton College Women’s Chorale, the setting honors the profound spiritual and historical roots of the Negro spiritual. In the tradition of Burleigh, Dett, and Price, it stands as both a remembrance and a reverent offering in the ongoing lineage of Black musical expression and liberation.

My God, I Love Thee (2011)
for SSAA Choir

Text: Latin, 17th century; Translation by Edward Caswall (1849); Melody: First Mode
Duration: 5 minutes
Premiere: April 9, 2022, Wheaton College Women’s Chorale, Wheaton, Illinois

This SSAA setting of My God, I Love Thee reflects on the mystery of divine love—a love that gives everything and asks nothing in return. Anchored in the text’s theme of selfless devotion, the music offers a solemn, graceful response to Christ’s suffering, inviting both singer and listener into quiet contemplation.

My God, I Love Thee (2010)
for SATB Choir

Text: Latin, 17th century; Translation by Edward Caswall (1849); Melody: First Mode
Duration: 4.5 minutes

This SATB setting of My God, I Love Thee reflects on the mystery of divine love—a love that gives everything and asks nothing in return. Anchored in the text’s theme of selfless devotion, the music offers a solemn, graceful response to Christ’s suffering, inviting both singer and listener into quiet contemplation.

The Cook-Off (2023)
A Comedic Chamber Opera in One Act

Libretto: Mark Campbell
Orchestration: Sop, 2 Mezzo-Sop, Ten, Bar—1.0.0.Asax.0—0.0.0.0—Perc—Pf—Str

Flow, Riffs, and Running Bass (2025)

Orchestration: Vlc Solo—2.2.2.Bcl.2—2.2.2.1—Timp.2 Perc—Hp—Pf—Str
Duration: 10 minutes
Premiere: To Be Announced

A 10-minute concertino for cello and orchestra, composed for Gabriel Cabezas and commissioned by the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, Concert Artists Guild, Sphinx, and the American Composers Orchestra. The piece draws on rhythms, sonorities, and grooves from Black diasporic and Latin musical traditions, moving through a vibrant landscape of atmosphere, color, and kinetic energy. The cello shifts between lyrical passages and near-improvisatory riffs, while the orchestra responds with a driving, high-octane interplay.  

Under exclusivity until world premiere

A Mighty Long Way (2025)

Orchestration: 2.2.2.Bcl.2—4.3.2.Btbn.1—Timp.2 Perc—Hp—Pf(Cel)—Str
Duration: 15 minutes
Premiere: September 7, 2025, Lexington Philharmonic with conductor Mélisse Brunet, Lexington, Kentucky

Commissioned for the 250th anniversary of Lexington, Kentucky, A Mighty Long Way is an orchestral suite that delves into the city’s evolving story—its tensions, triumphs, and often-overlooked histories. From the pounding optimism of Hoofbeat Fanfare, a nod to Lexington’s equestrian roots, to After Bourbon, a celebration of Kentucky’s iconic export filled with lively grooves and communal joy, the work reflects on the region’s complex heritage. Cheapside turns inward, contemplating the painful legacy of one of the South’s largest slave markets, offering a meditation on the enduring effects of racial violence, inequality, and the ongoing need for collective reckoning. The final movement, Beyond Bluegrass, refracts fragments of “My Old Kentucky Home” through shifting harmonies, imagining a future that is both rooted in and renewed by the lessons of the past. Ultimately, A Mighty Long Way speaks to the universal struggle for justice, reconciliation, and healing—issues that continue to shape communities across the globe and challenge us all to confront our shared histories and build a more just and compassionate future.

Under exclusivity until September 8, 2025

Fractured Water (2024)
for Chamber Orchestra

Orchestration: 1.Picc.2.1.Bcl.2—2.2.2.Btbn—Perc—Str
Duration: 11 minutes
Premiere: October 18, 2024, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra with Jory Fankuchen, conductor, San Francisco, California

Originally composed as a trio with water percussion and later expanded for orchestra, this work explores the life cycle of water and the urgent realities of pollution and conservation. Inspired by the Chicago River—whose famously reversed flow echoes through the piece in moments of musical retrograde—it reflects on our shifting relationship with this essential resource through lenses of concern, conflict, and hope. Commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the work also draws on the spiritual Down in the River to Pray, offering a gesture of resilience amid environmental crisis.

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Stellar (2024)

Orchestration: 2.2.2.2—4.2.2.Btbn.1—Timp.2 Perc—Hp—Pf(Cel)—Str
Duration: 2.5 minutes
Premiere:

Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Stellar is a short fanfare-prelude dedicated to the students of Morgan Park High School on Chicago’s South Side. Inspired by Dr. Mae Jemison—the first African American woman in space and a Morgan Park alum—the piece plays on the dual meaning of “stellar,” evoking both celestial brilliance and human excellence. Bright, propulsive, and full of promise, Stellar celebrates the rising legacy of students reaching beyond the stars.

Two Black Churches (2024)

Orchestration: Baritone Solo—2.2.2.BCl.2—4.2.2.Btbn.1—Timp.2 Perc—Hp—Pf(Cel)—Str
Duration: 17 minutes
Premiere: May 18, 2024, Lexington Philharmonic with conductor Mélisse Brunet, Lexington, Kentucky

A two-movement work for baritone and orchestra that reflects on two devastating acts of racial violence in sacred spaces: the 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Setting poetry by Dudley Randall (Ballad of Birmingham) and Marcus Amaker (The Rain), the piece blends Black gospel idioms, symbolic musical references, and poignant lyricism into a meditation on grief, injustice, and faith. Originally composed for baritone and piano, it was commissioned by Will Liverman and later orchestrated through a co-commission led by the Lexington Philharmonic and the Oakland Symphony.

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Perusal Score

Zoom (2020)

Orchestration: String Orchestra & Percussion
Duration: 7 minutes

Composed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this work channels the whirlwind energy and cautious optimism of 2020. Inspired by the ubiquity of virtual connection—especially through Zoom—it captures both the joyful urgency of rapid scientific breakthroughs and the bittersweet feeling of being together while apart.

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Kutimbua Kivumbi (Stomp the Dust!) (2016)

Orchestration: 2.Picc.2.2.BCcl.2(Cbsn)—4.3.2.Btbn.1—4 Perc—Pf.Hp—Str
Duration: 10 minutes

Inspired by a sabbatical trip to Kenya, this vibrant work draws on the rhythms, timbres, and traditions of the Akamba people. Its title—a Swahili phrase meaning “stomp the dust”—evokes the dances performed on dry plains in hopes of rain. A violin solo leads the call, joined by layered voices and percussion that reflect the energy, complexity, and beauty of the composer’s experience.

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smooth • pluck • whirl (2025)
Etude for Unaccompanied Violin

Duration: 7 minutes
Premiere: June 4, 2025, Rabia Brooke, violin, Chicago, Illinois

This unaccompanied violin work unfolds across three interdependent sections, each exploring a distinct sound world while maintaining a sense of continuity. It begins with fluid lyricism and an understated groove, shifts into playful, percussive pizzicato textures, and builds toward a driving, staccato climax with relentless momentum. Balancing contrast and cohesion, the piece offers an evolving kinetic energy that is both expressive and exhilarating.

Crooked Shanks (2022)
for Piano

Mi Sueño: Afro-Flamenco (2021)
for Piano

Take it Easy, But Take It (2021)
for Violin & Piano

On a Painting By Henry Ossawa Tanner: The Thankful Poor (2020)
for Flute

Wunlit (2020)
for Horn

On a Poem by Miho Nonaka: Harvard Square (2013)
for Flute

ψαλμοὶ καὶ ὕμνοι καὶ ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί (2012)
for Piano

Excursions (2010)
for Trombone & Piano

Circleplay (2006)
for Clarinet & Digital Delay

Amazing Grace (2006)
for Piano

Queen Ufua’s Letter (2023)
for Soprano & Piano

Romance (2022)
for Tenor & Piano

Songs in Flight (2022)
A Song Cycle in 12 Movements for Soprano, Countertenor, Baritone & Piano

Three Psalmic Meditations (2019)
for Soprano, Alto Trombone [or Viola or Clarinet] & Piano

UNKNOWN  (2021)
A Song Set in Five Movements for Mezzo-Soprano, Two Baritones, Alto Saxophone, Two Violins, Cello, Bass & Percussion

Text: Marcus Amaker

Words Like Freedom (2021)
A Song Cycle in Nine Movements for Soprano & Piano

My Country (2020)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone & Piano

Two Black Churches (2020)
for Baritone & Piano

Text: Dudley Randall & Marcus Amaker

On Love (2013)
Song Cycle for Mezzo-Soprano & Piano

Three Negro Slave Songs (2013)
for Baritone, Viola & Piano

Be Still, My Soul (2013)
for Soprano & Piano

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (2018)
for Baritone & Piano

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands (2017)
for Baritone & Piano

I’ve Never Felt Such Love in my Soul Befo’/What Wondrous Love is This? (2018)
for Baritone & Piano

Shall We Gather at the River (2018)
for Baritone & Piano

Lord, How Come Me Here? (2018)
for Mezzo-Soprano & Piano

God is a God (2018)
for Baritone & Piano

Oh, Glory (2018)
for Mezzo-Soprano & Piano

Ride On, King Jesus (2017)
for Mezzo-Soprano & Piano

Balm in Gilead (2013)
for Baritone, Flute & Piano

Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray/Standin’ in the Need of Prayer (2013)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone & Piano

Deep River (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Ev’rytime I Feel the Spirit (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Great Day (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

I Want to Die Easy When I Die/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (2013)
for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone & Piano

Lord, I Want to be a Christian/Give Me Jesus (2013)
for Baritone, Flute & Piano

Oh, Freedom (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Steal Away (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Wade in the Water (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Were You There? (2013)
for Baritone & Piano

Gale and Zephyr (2023)
for Winds & Percussion

Heritage (2022) [This is Africa (2011), rev.]
for Concert Band

Honey Rock (2016)
for Concert Band

In the Midst (2014)
for Concert Band

Dialogue for Tuba and Band (2014)

Balm in Gilead (2007)

…tomorrow’s past (2006)

SICUT (2006)

Ye Banks and Braes (2004)

Ritual Dances (2003)