Artistic Statement

My work has developed along conventional contemporary - classical lines. I received a good basic education in the 18th-19th century Western classical masterworks, and my music grows out of that tradition. It has been supplemented by explorations of the Jewish liturgical tradition and the folk music of Greece, Italy, Russia, Southeastern Europe, and the Middle East.

I enjoy the challenge of using instruments in unusual combinations: SATB chorus with soprano saxophone or percussion battery, a duet for percussion and bass trombone, music for dance with clarinet, piano and tabla.

When writing, I often use preexisting material—folk melodies, literary influences, and, for vocal or choral music, the texts. I am most interested in communicating with my listeners by using musical language familiar to them, then adding something new—more complex harmonies, elements from a different musical tradition, or departures from the expected formal structure.

Since I am a performer as well as a composer, I understand the occasional need to write within the parameters of limited rehearsal time and modest technical accomplishment without “writing down” to the performers. I work rather slowly, striving for a balance of well-grounded formal structure with effortless flow from one event to the next.

I believe that music is a language based on nostalgia—remembered sounds which evoke other places, times and emotions. While writing accessibly, I try to find something unusual to say, something unique, magic, that bypasses intellect and goes straight to the heart.