Order includes a digital download of PDF part for bass tuba, and a performance track.

Instrumentation: tuba and produced track

Duration: 3’ 23”

Program Notes: Jab Molassie at Daybreak (2023) is inspired by a traditional Trinidad and Tobago folkloric figure, often depicted as a devil or demon. In this piece, I have sought to capture the energy and spirit of J'ouvert which marks the unofficial start of Carnival. The tradition of J’ouvert goes back to 1838 and began as an act of civil disobedience known as the Canboulay Riots.

Canboulay, meaning burnt cane, is a precursor to Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival. This harvest festival is where calypso music has its roots. It was an artistic outlet for enslaved people to create and stage their own mini-carnivals. However, in 1881 the British colonial government’s attempt to ban the festival resulted in riots between Afro-Creole revelers and police. They banned percussion and animal skin drums which would lead to the innovations that gave birth to the steelpan.

In Jab Molassie you can hear the steelpan as well as popular calypso back-beats, which create the foundation of the work. The hope is that this piece transports the listener to the vibrant streets of Trinidad during carnival season, and evokes the joy, history, and excitement that is so characteristic of this beloved cultural event.

Commissioned by Steph Frye-Clark and ETSU as a part of the Research Development Grant, Amplifying Queer Composers.

Order includes a digital download of PDF parts for contrabass tuba, bass tuba, euphonium, and a performance track.

Instrumentation: tuba, loop pedal, and produced track

Duration: 6’ 54”

Program Notes: Vairo Boulevard (2023) was commissioned by Gretchen Renshaw James, my college roommate and tuba studio mate at Penn State University. The piece begins as a snapshot of Gretchen and I talking on our balcony as the sun sets and pays tribute to the stages of coming out and finding yourself. At first, the piece is introspective and self-searching, followed by pride and confidence in who you are; we then navigate through the excitement and complexity of queer relationships and finally gather at a place that feels self-assured and hopeful for the future. Vairo Boulevard explores sounds and genres created by or heavily influenced by queer Black folks. For many, this music (the club) is where they met their first love. This music saves lives, comforts folks in times of joy and pain, and serves as a gathering space for the community. 

Commissioned by Gretchen Renshaw James, Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Associate Professor of Music, Hendrix College. 

Order includes a digital download of PDF part for tenor saxophone, and a performance track.

Instrumentation: tenor saxophone, loop pedal, and produced track

Duration: 6’ 54”

Program Notes: Vairo Boulevard (2023) was commissioned byGretchenRenshaw James, my college roommate and tuba studio mate at Penn State University. The piece begins as a snapshot of Gretchen and I talking on our balcony as the sun sets and pays tribute to the stages of coming out and finding yourself. At first, the piece is introspective and self-searching, followed by pride and confidence in who you are; we then navigate through the excitement and complexity of queer relationships and finally gather at a place that feels self-assured and hopeful for the future. Vairo Boulevard explores sounds and genres created by or heavily influenced by queer Black folks. For many, this music (the club) is where they met their first love. This music saves lives, comforts folks in times of joy and pain, and serves as a gathering space for the community. 

Commissioned by Gretchen Renshaw James, Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Associate Professor of Music, Hendrix College. 

Order includes PDF score and parts.

Instrumentation: viola, piano

Duration: 3’ 18”

Program Notes: When Dark Clouds Linger (2022), was commissioned by a dear friend of mine and brilliant violist, Elise Frawley. We have known each other since our college days at the Manhattan School of Music and we've also performed and recorded together in my solo project tubafresh.

As I began composing When Dark Clouds Linger I started with these stunning and deeply dark chords that I would sit and play for weeks on end. Kind of stirring and sitting in the emotion and feeling that they created for me. I am infatuated with human vocal inflections and am always trying to recreate what I hear on my horn. A way that I have done that here is to overutilize the grace note. I found that it functioned beautifully in creating a song that nicely lends itself to the viola but feels more like the musician behind the bow.

Order includes a digital download of PDF score and parts.

Instrumentation: F horn, trumpet in Bb, trombone I, II, tuba, drum set

Duration: 3’ 17”

Program Notes: Mama D’Leau (2021) or Mother of the River is derived from folklore out of the island of Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations. She is the protector and healer of all animals that thrive and live in the water. 

We open the piece with movement similar to that of a slow-moving river. Steadily the water and living creatures become more active and playful with a bit of chordal dissonance and a melodic line in the trumpet that seem to easily flow over it all. 

This work is best executed with some experience in popular music but is a fun and energetic piece for players just diving into cross-genre works and is looking to explore a more creative approach to chamber music.

Order includes a digital download of PDF score and parts.

Instrumentation: tenor saxophone, trumpet in Bb, trombone I, II, tuba, drum set

Duration: 3’ 17”

Program Notes: Mama D’Leau (2021) or Mother of the River is derived from folklore out of the island of Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations. She is the protector and healer of all animals that thrive and live in the water. 

We open the piece with movement similar to that of a slow-moving river. Steadily the water and living creatures become more active and playful with a bit of chordal dissonance and a melodic line in the trumpet that seem to easily flow over it all. 

This work is best executed with some experience in popular music but is a fun and energetic piece for players just diving into cross-genre works and is looking to explore a more creative approach to chamber music.