Graduate School Application Portfolio
Live Performances
The following pieces were all performed by ensembles of various sizes and experience levels. The highlighted performances by the Ardelia Trio, Imani Winds, the William and Mary Symphony Orchestra, and the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra show a progression in expressing musical ideas during my growth as a composer from 2022 to 2024.
The Magician
The Magician is an excerpt from Harmony of the Spheres written for the Ardelia Trio and performed on November 3, 2022.
The ensemble consists of Janey Choi (violinist), Clara Yang (cellist), and Jihea Hong-Park (pianist). This piece was the first to be performed live and provided a push to work on engraving.
P R O G R A M N O T E S
“Uranus pulls out all the stops for his magic show. While the setting is modest, the quality of the tricks leaves the audience transfixed each time, and Uranus's enthusiasm is infectious. For his final trick, he astounds the audience by producing Jupiter and Pluto, as if by magic, to the center of the ballroom…”
Quintette Tardif
(Saturn Arrives Late)
Quintette Tardif (Saturn Arrives Late) is an excerpt from Harmony of the Spheres written for Imani Winds and performed on April 6, 2023.
The ensemble consists of Brandon Patrick George (flute and piccolo), Toyin Spellman-Diaz (oboe and English horn), Mark Dover (clarinet and bass clarinet), Monica Ellis (bassoon), and Kevin Newton (horn).
This piece was the second performed live and demonstrated an improvement in engraving. The performance provided insight into the nuances of woodwind scoring, especially how much time performers need to change instruments.
P R O G R A M N O T E S
“Venus, Uranus, and Neptune discuss Saturn's absence over dinner. Neptune and Uranus exchange their theories for the cause. Neptune's are grounded but subtly imply catastrophe, while Uranus's are more lighthearted and witty. Venus occasionally chimes in with her own, suggesting she's merely on her way. Saturn pulls back the curtains to the dining room and trudges directly to their table. Some of her moons follow. Shocked and concerned by Saturn's weariness, the others ask where she's been.
Saturn relays to the group that on her way to the festival, she happened upon a group of inner solar system soldiers near the palace's perimeter who appeared to have recently met their demise. Being that one of Saturn’s responsibilities is to harvest and collect dying or lost souls, the unexpected run-in with so many fallen soldiers has left her overworked and weary. Mars, walking past, overhears Saturn’s description of the fallen soldiers and begins to panic. He begs for a more detailed explanation, but Saturn is just as ignorant of the ultimate cause as he is. In his panic, Mars rushes to Jupiter and begs him to call off the rest of the festival.”
Harmony of the Spheres
Suite no. 1
Since the performance of Quintette Tardif, the majority of the time composing was for the complete Honors thesis project, Harmony of the Spheres, which required a performance of the piece. The William and Mary Music Department hosted a composition competition, the reward being a live performance. The suite of four complete movements won the contest, and from January to March 2024, the William and Mary Symphony Orchestra rehearsed.
During the rehearsal period, I learned many valuable lessons about performing an original piece with a 90-piece orchestra, the most important being that the performance will not sound like the playback on a DAW immediately. Admittedly, I was spoiled by the previous live readings, as those performances involved smaller ensembles of professional musicians. Coordinating 90 or more people playing 26 different instrument types proved challenging, but by March, we began to embrace the music, and the final performance on March 7, 2024 was a success. We got through it in one piece.
After gaining feedback from the musicians and conductor, I revised the four movements for the final project. Most notably, I reworked the ending of the fourth movement, Comet Shoemaker Levy-9, as I felt the orchestration and composition were lacking and warranted a rewrite. The attached audio includes the rewrite, rendered using Muse Sounds, spliced at the point of change (reh. E in the score).
I have also provided a render of the full suite using Muse Sounds for reference.
Harmony of the Spheres, especially the movements in the suite, references The Planets, Op. 32 by Gustav Holst and Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 by Sergei Prokofiev.
The complete piece is uploaded on the following page and consists of 23 movements. The piece lasts an hour. If possible, please listen at your discretion.
M O V E M E N T S
Arrangements for the Festival - 0:00 - 3:14
Pluto - 3:32 - 6:38
Moonlets - 6:51 - 8:11
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 - 8:22 - 10:43
General Lafayette’s
Quick Step
This orchestration was the final assignment for an orchestration class taken in the spring of 2024 with Dr. David Grandis. The anonymous reference piano piece consisted of a melody and countermelody with no other accompaniment, so additional composition was required for the orchestration. The Williamsburg Youth Orchestra performed the piece for their Fall Concert alongside the orchestrations of other students in the class on November 10, 2024.
I have also provided a render using Muse Sounds for reference.