Program Notes: I will never forget my summer job of 1998. As I filled out an application to work at the semi-trailer factory in Terre Haute, Indiana, I had no idea how much this job would impact my life. For two months, I worked at the end of the production line sanding, hammering, caulking, painting, and cleaning the inside of the trailers. I quickly found that I was out of my element. The work was rough, the plant was hot, and the hours were long. However, I learned many things about myself, the employees at the factory, and in general......life. First Day is a tribute to the first time I walked into the plant. As I entered the building, it was difficult to ignore the variety of sounds coming from the people and the machinery. There was one sound in particular that caught my attention. Everytime a trailer was moved from one station to the next, an alarm that sounded the notes G-D-C warned the workers. The sound, imitated by the marimba, was in a seven pattern. The thing that made this interesting was that there were two of these alarms (one for each production line). They both blared the same pitches in a seven pattern, but they sounded at different speeds. The contrasting speeds created rhythmic patterns that were beyond analysis. In First Day, the marimba keeps the above pattern constant while the vibraphone manipulates it in a number of ways. In addition to these instruments, temple blocks, brake drums, tom-toms, gongs, sizzle cymbals and a hand-cranked siren (used to imitate the lunch siren) are used.

Program Notes: When I called my mother to tell her about my unpleasant first day on the job, she said, "Welcome to the Real World." I thought this was a fitting title for the second movement. This movement is slow, reflective, and blatantly tonal. I incorporated a simple four-part marimba chorale and a cadenza that expands on the chorale. This movement features solo marimba accompanied by a second marimba, vibraphone, and bells.

Program Notes: One day on the job, as I was painting the inside of a trailer, I was unintentionally Locked In! by another employee. For the first five minutes I was calm. By the tenth minute I was a little uneasy. When fifteen minutes rolled around, I was cussing up a storm and trying to figure out how long I could possibly go without eating. My yelling and pounding didn't help due to the factory noise, but I tried anyway. Finally, the person that locked me in realized his mistake and opened the door. In this movement, a slapstick used at the beginning and end represents the trailer door as it is locked and unlocked. Two other instruments are introduced: claves and hi-hat cymbal. The movement builds in intensity and concludes with a short statement in the marimba and temple blocks that I borrowed from another composer. It expresses my reaction as I was released from this unfortunate situation.

Program Notes: Cypress Lake High School has a black box theatre with a series of catwalks above it. I thought it would be a good idea to write a piece of music that focused on the listening process. This piece was performed above the audience in complete darkness. Over Your Head is literally performed over your head, so I thought it would be appropriate to include topics that I don't completely understand. In the middle of this piece, the performers chant phrases related to difficult math problems, philosophy, the origin of life, and even taxes. Hopefully this piece challenges the audience and promotes music that we do not listen to on a regular basis. I was impressed with the musicians that performed this piece. Since the piece was performed in darkness, it had to be memorized. The musicians were far from each other, so they had to listen closely to make this work. The musicians also contributed to the composition by coming up with phrases of their own.

Program Notes: This piece was written by a former student as a music theory assignment. I was particularly impressed by his combination of instruments--tuba and marimba. This was a lot of fun to play.

Notes: This was an assignment given while working on my Masters degree at UCF. I took a Bach MIDI file, put it in Garageband, and manipulated the sound, reverb, echo, and pan.

Notes: This is a bit of an inside joke. When teaching new rhythms, I tend to "sing" them. When I do this, the students sometimes give me "the look." I decided to use a steel band rhythm (Gi-Gi-Gah) as the underlying motive in this piece. It's short and sweet. Enjoy!

Notes: My 3 year old nephew and I were having fun with Garageband software. He was more interested in the microphone. Enjoy!

Notes: After the huge success of the first recording session, my nephew (now 4 years old) and I decided to try it again. There is a surprise in the middle. Enjoy!

Notes: This music was inspired by a school fieldtrip to the Yangshuo region of China. I wanted to capture a peaceful and contemplative mood.