Commuting Music - 2025
for Trumpet, Alto Saxophone, and Vibraphone

I. In a Mostly Straight Line

II. Traffic Jam

III. Only Five Over the Limit...

This three movement piece tells the story of the omnipresent American commute and was written while studying with Dr. Chen Yi.

Two Songs of Emily Dickinson - 2025
for Mezzo Soprano and Violin

I. Pain is an Element of Blank

II. A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree

“Pain Has an Element of Blank” serves to reflect on physical and chronic pain and is inspired by my own experience with hand pain stemming from a performance injury. There is agony and frustration throughout the piece mixed with moments of blank where the pain momentarily disappears.  “A Drop Fell on the Apple Tree” is a text painting through and through, coloring Dickinson’s evocative words with violin pizzicato and double stops to depict the nature scenes as they occur in the music. Text by Emily Dickinson.

Scrolling Twitter - 2021
for Piano Trio

Twitter is, at this point in time, what I’d like to call one of the cesspools of the modern world. It’s a gathering of some of the worst people in the world as they argue over often trivial matters to no avail or progress. The piece begins with opening the app, a foreboding prelude to the events to unfold. Then we encounter the opposing opinions of two users, who are interpreted by the violin and cello respectively. The piano drops out as the violin and cello discuss their opinions, trying to reach agreement. They fail and ignite a grand but pointless Twitter War. Finally, the war dies away leaving only a feeling of disgust and a bizarre desire to open the app yet again. 

Sacrilegious Scherzo - 2020
for Two Violins

This composition was featured on the channel Twoset Violin! They are a pair of violinists who make amazing videos about classical music. They held a “competition” to have fans submit their own compositions and the winners would be featured in a video. I wrote this piece ONE DAY before the deadline in a matter of hours… and I had a week to do so… Anyways... For this piece, I wanted to write something in contrast to my previous pieces which were mostly classical styled by doing something darker. The name comes from the scherzo form of course but also the unconventional measures this piece takes. There are two sections to this piece. The first section switches frequently between 3/4 and 6/8 and features hints of chromaticism. The second section is like a lullaby with the two violins echoing each other with sections in 3/4 and 9/8. The first section returns at the end like a coda. But that’s not all! In this piece I’ve hidden five Twoset references to various videos over the years. 

Fugue for the Kansas City Chiefs - 2021
for String Quartet

Written in honor of the Chiefs Super Bowl run in 2021 that was unfortunately unsuccessful...