Premiered by the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
Seth Stewart, director
Brandon Rumsey, conductor

Score Samples:

Originally conceived as an extended, single-movement piece for large chamber ensemble, “Tides Inside” is my premier work for chamber orchestra. This summer, I heard the Ying Quartet perform Bartók’s fifth string quartet at Bowdoin International Music Festival. Full of energy, color, gesture, rhythmic contrast, and harmonic motion the piece struck me as a shining example of a complete work in the way that it encompassed a full spectrum of creativity. Inspired and moved by the completeness of this masterwork, I set out to innovate my personal process by first sketching a formal/dramatic structure and then creating a harmonic strategy which I derived from combining a beautifully consonant scale adapted from the Pelog gamelan scale and the dissonant octatonic scale.

The piece begins with three huge chords using intervals from my synthetic 10-note scale that I call pillar chords. Tones from the Pelog scale are suspended throughout the orchestra while improvisatory kaleidoscopic textures send the harmony spiraling into the next pillar chord. A rhythmic, dance-like passage sends the piece into motion as the primary motives are revealed. Eventually, a conflict is forged between jagged harmonic dissonance and the dream-like consonant gamelan harmonies. Juxtaposed, these pillar harmonies return three times in the form of resolute sections, which act as three formal delineations spanning the larger structure of the piece. Following the climax, the texture is scaled down to nothing but pizzicato in the celli and single harp pitches, which quickly build to a rolling conclusion.

“Tides Inside” represents a radical shift in my compositional work. Encompassing all that I find inspiring about the creative process, this work musically depicts a personal compositional breakthrough. Ultimately, it is a personal narrative about the power contained within the human spirit: I believe that no matter how difficult the situation, one may find healing and renewal through the discovery of their own self-empowerment.