This live performance from 2006 captures the meditative atmosphere of flickering candles that inspired the tune. From Karen Ashbrook's CD "Spring Will Come". Karen Ashbrook, hammered dulcimer Paul Oorts, harp guitar

In the latest recording of "Candles", pianist Jacqueline Schwab uses my tune as a springboard for her imagination, combining both the rhythmic drive and atmosphere of the previous interpretations while creating something entirely her own. Jacqueline is best known for her work with filmmaker Ken Burns, most notably on the soundtrack of his acclaimed documentary "The Civil War".

For the opening track of his CD "Chameleon", Alexander Mitchell transformed my slow, atmospheric waltz into something more energetic and improvisatory, with a dash of Latin flavor. Alexander Mitchell, violin and percussion, Paul Oorts, mandolin, Dave Wiesler, piano, Ralph Gordon, bass

Commissioned by the BSO On The Go outreach program, this piece combines a traditional Irish slow air, jig and slip jig with a simple pentatonic melody designed for easy execution by 4th grade recorder players. It is performed here by Trio La Milpa (Katherine Needleman, Sandy Lisicky, Michael Lisicky) and students from Grace Episcopal School in Silver Spring, MD.

This memorial to a departed friend was composed spontaneously at the piano and later arranged for the Baltimore Mandolin Quartet. Here the BMQ performs it at the 2011 Classical Mandolin Society of America convention in Baltimore. David Evans and Laura Norris, mandolins, Jonathan Jensen, mandola, Tony Norris, guitar.

This mazurka in traditional Italian style was written for mandolin virtuoso Carlo Aonzo. Here he performs it in concert at An Die Musik, accompanied by myself on mandola and Tony Norris on guitar.

A friend described for me a memorable midnight swim in a country pond where she felt the stars were right overhead and that she was swimming down the length of the Milky Way. She asked me to write her a tune with the title "Swimming Down The Stars", and this waltz was the result. Here it is performed at a mandolin convention by an orchestra of 150 amateur mandolinists and guitarists.

A tongue-in-cheek tango treatment of five themes by J. S. Bach: Concerto for two violins, a fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Partita for solo violin in E, Brandenburg Concertos #3 and #5. Jonathan Jensen, composer and double bass, Jonathan Carney and Igor Yuzefovich, violins. Originally composed and performed as an encore piece for a BSO concert.

One of Astor Piazzolla's best-known tangos. Jonathan Jensen, arranger and double bass, Jonathan Carney and Igor Yuzefovich, violins.

One of several short "curtain raisers" commissioned by the BSO for their 75th anniversary in 1991, this is what I call a freeze-dried pops concert, which quotes over 30 show tunes, old standards, movie themes and light classics in 6 minutes.

In November 2001 the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra embarked on a European tour with our music director, Yuri Temirkanov. As the 9/11 attacks were still fresh in everyone's minds, Maestro Temirkanov wished to end our concerts with an appropriately solemn, yet uplifting American folk melody. I created an arrangement of the Negro spiritual Deep River that was played as an encore for most of our tour concerts. After performing this in Berlin we heard someone shout "Wunderbar!" from an upper balcony, which was one of the proudest moments in my 30+ years with the BSO. Yuri Temirkanov leading the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

A setting of Sarah Teasdale's poem "Christmas Carol", performed by the Intermediate members of the Children's Chorus of Maryland. Below is the text: THE kings they came from out the south, All dressed in ermine fine; They bore Him gold and chrysoprase, And gifts of precious wine. The shepherds came from out the north, Their coats were brown and old; They brought Him little new-born lambs-- They had not any gold. The wise men came from out the east, And they were wrapped in white; The star that led them all the way Did glorify the night. The angels came from heaven high, And they were clad with wings; And lo, they brought a joyful song The host of heaven sings. The kings they knocked upon the door, The wise men entered in, The shepherds followed after them To hear the song begin. The angels sang through all the night Until the rising sun, But little Jesus fell asleep Before the song was done.

Tom Hall, director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, heard my setting of Christmas Carol and asked me to arrange it for chorus and orchestra. It was performed at the BCAS annual Christmas concert at the Basilica this past December.

The first letters of each line in this acrostic poem by Lewis Carroll spell the name Alice Pleasance Liddell, a young girl who inspired his "Alice in Wonderland" tales. In my setting of the poem I have tried to capture the innocence and fleeting pleasures of childhood. (Recording from Hal Leonard website - performers unknown)

A piano rag from 1987, composed and played by Jonathan Jensen.

An extended number that begins behind the scenes, just before Schaefer makes good on his promise to jump into the seal pool if the National Aquarium isn't completed on time. He’s dressed in the soon-to-be-famous vintage bathing costume, and his lady friend Hilda Mae Snoops hands him the inflatable duck that will complete his transformation from a gruff, intimidating politician into a lovable clown. She comes to a realization about her role in his life - not as Mrs. Schaefer, but an important partner for him nonetheless. Schaefer greets the cheering crowd and takes his celebrated swim, with some patter taken verbatim from the actual event. Afterwards he reflects on how the crowd loved his antics, and how performing such stunts might prove a useful way to advance his agenda while masking his insecurities

One of several reprises of "I Believe" - this one sung by proud citizens at the opening of Harborplace. Sung by Wendy Baird, Adele Russell, Jim Knost and Rich Espey.

While Schaefer is working 12 hour days to make Baltimore a great city, his lady friend is feeling neglected - and it doesn't help that her beau is still living contentedly with his aging mother. In a dramatic soliloquy she vents her frustration, quoting the title song and taking aim at a certain sartorial defect he has yet to remedy. Sung by Wendy Baird.

Dorothy, an African-American character, introduces this song as a challenge to Schaefer's focus on flashy downtown building projects. The problems she speaks of continue to haunt the city today. Sung by the composer.

The newly elected mayor is intent on shaking things up at City Hall. In the show's title song he tells a young staff member what he expects of her - and everyone charged with running the city. Some of his long-suffering office workers join in, as if to say "He's not kidding!" Sung by Jim Knost, Adele Russell, Rich Espey and Wendy Baird.

Hilda Mae finds she rather enjoys sharing the spotlight with Schaefer as he plunges into the whirlwind of campaigning. In her own version of the campaign song she lays out a vision of her expected role as the woman by his side. Sung by Wendy Baird.

Schaefer runs for mayor, with the help of political insider Irv Kovens and this rousing campaign song. Sung by the composer.

Back at the modest house he shares with his mother, Schaefer reflects on the declining fortunes of his city in 1969, his belief in its underlying strength and his desire to turn things around. Sung by Mark McGrath.

Early in the show City Council President William Donald Schaefer is at the undeveloped, decrepit waterfront with his longtime girlfriend Hilda Mae Snoops, when a frightened, lost out-of-towner appeals to them for help. Some disgruntled locals appear on the scene and express their low opinion of post-riot Baltimore. Schaefer is scandalized by this dreary assessment of his hometown but can hardly get a word in. Performed by Adele Russell, Rich Espey, Jim Knost and Wendy Baird.

The first public reading of the songs and script of Do It Now occurred almost exactly a year after Schaefer's death. For this occasion, some of the scenes and stage directions were condensed into narration read by Aaron Henkin of WYPR. The feedback we got from those in the audience encouraged us to continue with the project, while showing us what needed to be improved.

The Country Dance and Song Society promotes traditional Anglo-American folk music, social dancing and singing. On the occasion of their centennial in June of 2015 I wrote a song using the CDSS motto "spread the joy" as a title and theme. The song was recorded by several prominent singers and instrumentalists, and later formed the basis of a video slideshow. Note - "Chorus Jig" and "Rory O'More" are well-known New England contradances which have been danced for some 200 years..

Once at a folk festival parking lot I noticed that practically every car in the vicinity was a Toyota Prius. This seemed to call for a mildly satirical song, dedicated to tree-hugging folkies everywhere.

This song was written "on spec" for the Baltimore Symphony's Holiday Spectacular but did not make it into the show before the BSO ceased its annual presentation of this event. With the help of several photographers and a video editor I made it into a musical slideshow as a celebration of one of Baltimore's most endearing (and eye-popping) Christmas traditions. Sung by Jim Knost, Wendy Baird and Amy Greco Smith.

Created in response to an invitation by public radio's "Studio 360" for listeners to compose a new national anthem. Because the entries had to be submitted in video form, my song focuses on images of America's beauty, history and spirit which can be captured in pictures, even as they resonate in the mind. Wendy Baird, vocalist, Jonathan Jensen, piano, David Crandall, videography.

My father served as a navigator on a B-17 bomber in World War II. When his plane was fatally wounded by enemy fire its crew was forced to parachute to safety. As dramatic an event as this was, it was the transcendent vision he experienced as he fell to Earth that made the greatest impact on my father's life. I have retold his story in an unaccompanied ballad in traditional style. Sung by the composer.

The melody of this song came to me not long after I attended a concert by singer/songwriter Bill Staines, and was influenced by his gentle lyricism. The three-note phrase that begins the chorus suggested the words "take my hand", and thus it became a wedding song. Sung by the composer.

This was the winning entry in a contest for an advertising jingle put on by Community Forklift, an architectural salvage warehouse in Edmonston, MD. The song lists some of the items and services offered, and is being made into a video for the CF website. I modeled the song on the famous Rice Krispies "Snap, Crackle, Pop" commercial in which three successive tunes are heard individually and then combined. Sung by James Knost, Rich Espey and the composer.

When this brooding minor-key tune came to me some fifteen years ago, I knew it was meant to be a love lament or "torch song", but could make no headway in fitting it with appropriate lyrics. It was only recently, on a long bus trip, that I found the words that seemed to echo what the music was saying. I like to think Frank Sinatra would have enjoyed this one. Wendy Baird, vocalist, Jonathan Jensen, piano.

Aboard the troop carrier Dorchester on the night of February 3, 1943 two Protestant ministers, a Catholic priest and a rabbi performed an act of bravery and self-sacrifice that has enshrined them in lasting fame. On reading the story I was moved to celebrate their heroism in song. The chorus is made up of fragments of prayers in Hebrew, Latin and English. Sung (with overdubbed harmony) by the composer.

A song with video slideshow celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. (Sept. 2014) Vocals and bass by the composer, guitar by Alexander Mitchell. Video editing by David Crandall.