Smirr (2022)

Smirr has a couple of definitions depending on the area of Scotland, but the description I've come across that I enjoy is 'a trace of rain in the wind'. For this piece I focussed on blurred textures that evoke some of the sounds I associate with this particular weather. Blending different timbres to evoke the fine misty rain that reminds me of my new home in Glasgow, as well as my old home of Nova Scotia.

Homebody (2021)

Like many folks, my creative drive took a hit during 2020. The next year, I tried to create mini projects and studies for myself to get back into a more creative mindset. Homebody is a piece that came out of sampling improvisations, ambient sounds, and video from around my house.

Visions from Far Away (2021)

I took part in the Sō Percussion Collaborative Workshop in early 2021. One of our projects was to create an audio-visual work based around found sounds, inspired by the work of Bora Yoon. Working with Victor Cui and Parsa Riahi, we created a soundscape together working across time zones and continents, using visuals from our homes.

Squidward’s Lament (2019)

When thinking of clarinet in pop culture, Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants is what comes to my mind. For this piece, I imagined Squidward’s practice routine dealing with instrumental malfunctions, building confidence, and neighbourly distractions.

Shadows (2019)

Shadows was written for the 2019 LAMP Composers Academy. The aim was to write pieces inspired by the photography of Raoul Manuel Schnell. One of his photographs, Shadows, reminded me of a repeating quote featured in the film Inception:“You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope the train will take you, but you can't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter (…) because we'll be together." My piece explores feelings of expectation and excitement balanced with the dread of your wish not being what you hoped for.

Raoul Manuel Schnell’s work can be found here

Fragment Studies (2019)

Fragment Studies was my way of using small snippets of material and creating short solo piano etudes around them. It is an ongoing project, with two movements featured here.

Last Tango (2019)

Craig Rubadoux’s painting Last Tango, Hirtles Beach was the inspiration for this piece. The music and text are based off of my emotional response to the painting, as well as my own experiences walking along Hirtle’s Beach on a foggy day.

Test Drive (2018)

Test Drive for me is exactly as the title suggests: a driver walks up to a fun sports car, tentatively gets behind the wheel, then proceeds to rip down the roads in their fast new ride.

Test Drive’s first version can be heard here

Incoherent Images (2018)

My first string quartet was inspired by the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. I loved the playful and frenetic use of pizzicato in the symphony, as well as Tchaikovsky’s programatic notes about the symphony he sent in letters to his friend and benefactor, Nadezhda von Meck.

Audition (2018)

I was thrilled to get the chance to work with Quasar Quartet and wrote this short saxophone quartet for them when they visited my university. It was inspired by waking up late the day I had an audition for my Bachelor of Music. A progression of events from dreaming, to alarm, a mad dash to campus, and an on time arrival.