The story of Persephone and Hades is one that has been reinterpreted since it’s conception. Yet the perspective is always from the Groom (Hades) or the Mother (Demeter) instead of the main character. Her own story is defined by those who have control over her. This orchestral piece explores the power struggle that may be within herself being torn between two roles, two worlds, and two people.

There is a state of limbo in November. When the cold has chased away the fiery colors, but the pristine snow has yet to fall. The greys and browns blend together in a still sepia tone, signaling the end but not yet the beginning. The chamber orchestra wanders through a decaying landscape, contemplating the space between.

Through the orchestra, I wanted to recreate this feeling of intimacy that many people know but may not know how to express. To recreate the understanding that one can reach out in the dark and touch someone in love and trust. The awareness of one’s internal walls floating in weightless space. The feeling of gliding in the endless blue, with gold stars blushing fuchsia. Euphoria.

The summers in Japan bring the story of “The Hundred Demon Parade”; a procession of demons called yokai that will spirit away those unfortunate enough to be out after dark. The solo flute acts as the lone traveler at dusk swallowed up by the joyously corrupted chants and distorted synthesizers.

The words of William Butler Yeats reverberate through this piece for soprano voice. This interpretation of the poem “Everlasting Voices” calls out across time and space, as if trying to reach in connection with every aspect of existence. A blend of the old mystic traditions and the new.

Solitude is not a sudden state of being. It’s something that creeps into your space and into your mind. This piece for solo cello traverses through the phases of experiencing loneliness. From the sinking sorrow to the desperate panic, the cello

When the first frost of winter comes, it seems to cover everything including the moon and stars in the sky. The strings of the piano quintet swirl the the clouds into a stilling darkness, while the piano sprinkles and glides the frost.

This piece was conceived from a recurring dream where a golden field waves in painted strokes against a scarlet sunset sky was the inspiration. The chamber orchestra breezes from shining ambience to the spiralling shade while the guzheng rhapsodizes brush strokes.

An etude for solo guzheng, fingers glide across the strings like a flowing river.

A solo accordion paints a gothic picture where shadows dance and play. The contrast between creeping lament and startling waltz spiral together just as darkness can imprint anything onto one’s mind.

A reference to both the Book of Revelation and the sociological term “Forcing the end”, the title tells of the state of mind for this piece. As the violence of religious nationalism has erupted all over the United States, so have stories of those who have deconstructed from these ideologies. A piano quartet sets the stage of both the folky smokescreen and the internal discordance.