My "Bestiary" album is a collection of four pieces: "The Eye of Phoebus" (suite for orchestra), my "Suite for Piano", the "Symphony of Seasons" for large orchestra, and my orchestral suite "Bestiary".

The "Prelude" opens "The Eye of Phoebus" suite with driving, exciting momentum.

The "Passacaglia" from "The Eye of Phoebus" suite is, true to its name, a series of variations upon a ground bass.  The music is slow, wistful, and lovely.

"Phoenix" conjures wonder and anticipation.  The music surges until, midway, descending chords indicate the immolation of the firebird.  The music builds once more and the phoenix bursts into renewed life, hearkens to the herald's trumpet, and flies away.

Chimera -- a beast with a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail -- brays its throaty welcome (the goaty part, of course), and prances blithely about.  A few bars of blustery chords characterize the lion's regal head -- but the goatiness reasserts itself until it dissipates in an expressive variation.  The prancing returns, but concludes with counterpoint, a snaking flute line of 16th-notes.

Sea Serpents slithers near the sea floor, searching for prey.  In a sudden mood of carefree abandon it shoots toward the surface, playing and plunging amongst the waves.  The humor passes and the serpent returns to the inky depths, lurking, biding....

Dragon lurks in his gloomy cavern.  He slinks and he stalks.  His covetous-heart goads him to venture forth to slay and to steal, for he must increase his hoard of gold and gems and glittery things for which he has no use.  He bides and broods.  His terrible roving eye flashes with the fires that burn deep within.  He slinks.  He stalks.  He bides.  He broods.

The "Symphony of Seasons" is built upon a simple, hymn-like melody "An Anthem for Autumn".  The theme is transformed throughout the symphony, commencing with the seven variations of "Autumn".

"Ark" is the piano arrangement of the final movement of the piano quintet "Short Stories".

The "Agnus Dei" was arranged for solo piano from its original setting as the final movement of the "Missa humanis" (mass for choir and chamber orchestra).

This is the cover image of the animated film.

This is the animated film that tells the tale of Princess Paliné (pronounced "Palinay"), "who learned the seven words that stay a dragon's hunger and cool its fires, thus saving her land from the great fire-serpent Malinon, when all the knights and paladins proved luckless." The film was created by composer Karen Amrhein, who wrote the music and story, animated the film, and produced and directed it.  The narration is provide by the composer's husband, Stephen.

This is the first movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

This is the second movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

This is the third movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

This is the fourth movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

This is the fifth movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

This is the six (and final) movement of the suite for chamber ensemble of the music for "Princess Paliné".  The music is used in both the film and in the narration piece for narrator and chamber ensemble.

"Fresh Produce" contains seven of my musical works.  This generous release includes almost eighty-minutes of delightful music.

"Little Nemo in Slumberland" was initially composed for Harlan Parker and the Peabody Wind Ensemble, and later arranged and expanded for orchestra.  My symphonic poem is based on the groundbreaking comic strip by Winsor McCay created just ten years after the invention of the American comic strip.  "Little Nemo" ran from 1904-1915 and depicts the nightly adventures of a little boy whose dreams take him to Slumberland.  Each adventure comes to an abrupt end when Nemo invariably falls out of bed.
    My symphonic poem is prefaced with an optional Fanfare for trumpet quartet, followed by the ballet proper: introductions to the principal characters (King Morpheus, Little Nemo, Flip, The Princess, and Doctor Pill) and an Adventure. After Nemo falls out of his bed with a crash, the ballet concludes with a gentle chiming of the clock, followed by an optional Farewell for trumpet quartet.

"Themes and Variations" consists of six variations on a solo violin theme and the subsequent themes that arise from the primary.  The music is performed by Nicholas Currie and Lisa Rehwoldt.

"Hamilton Street Concerto" is a concerto sandwich of orchestral bread and solo filing: three orchestral movements — I. (Allegro comodo), III. Autumn Woods, and VI. (after Purcell) — are separated by two solo episodes and an episode for flute and guitar called "Two, for Moonlight".  The final movement "(after Purcell)" has its starting point, structurally speaking, in the last movement of Purcell’s "Sonata for Trumpet and Strings".
     I’d have been unable to write this work without the help of my friend Oscar Lopez Plaza.  I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to work with such a fine musician, during both the writing and recording processes.  Oscar performs on the guitar, accompanied by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Written for my friend Nicholas Currie and the Mariner String Quartet, my second quartet opens with a brief Fanfare, begun initially as a work for brass and revised and expanded for this string quartet.  Two introspective movements follow, the second a dream dance that I liked so much I also used it in my "Variants" for flute & guitar and strings.  "Variations" reworks material from the preceding movements before concluding with a return to the Fanfare.

I wrote "Event Horizon" after reading William J. Kaufmann’s "Black Holes and Warped Spacetime".  The title of my piece is taken from the term that astronomers use to describe the perimeter of a black hole.  In theory, all matter and energy that crosses this threshold cannot escape the unimaginably immense gravitational pull of the hole.  The event horizon is, quite literally, the point of no return.

The four brief pieces for piano and string quartet that comprise my "Short Stories" are inspired-by and evocative-of four short stories I wrote: "The Feeding Groves", "Gathering Bowl", "False Prophet", and Ark.  This is the first of the four.

My three-movement Cello Concerto is an arrangement and expansion of my Euphonium Concerto.  The "Daydream" first movement is a fantasia on a hymn-like tune that concludes with the violas initiating the first "variation" — a brief canon in 5/8 time climaxing with the soloist's entrance.  The canonic music is reworked and reprised.  next comes a more pensive "variation", then brisk and sunny "strolling music".  The canon returns (in variation) and the music grows animated through to the finish.  The daydream vanishes.

Peabody alumna Natalia Vilchis is the soloist, accompanied by the Bohuslav Martinu Philhamonic.

I wrote "Event Horizon" after reading William J. Kaufmann’s "Black Holes and Warped Spacetime".  The title of my piece is taken from the term that astronomers use to describe the perimeter of a black hole.

This video includes a full performance of the three movement work, along with a page-by-page display of the full score.  The music is performance by clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, accompanied by Kirk Trevor and Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

My symphonic poem is based on the groundbreaking comic strip by Winsor McCay created just ten years after the invention of the American comic strip.  "Little Nemo" ran from 1904-1915 and depicts the nightly adventures of a little boy whose dreams take him to Slumberland.  Each adventure comes to an abrupt end when Nemo invariably falls out of bed.

The Harford Ballet company danced my "Little Nemo in Slumberland", and this video includes a full performance with the dance company, along with a page-by-page display of the full score. The music is performance by Kirk Trevor and Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Each movement of each of the works on "Short Stories" is an (admittedly abstract) short story of emotion.  In some cases ("An Avandalian Suite", for example) the music is inspired from actual short stories.  However you choose to describe it, whatever title you use, I hope that you enjoy "Short Stories", a generous release of almost eighty-minutes of original music for orchestra, for chamber ensemble, and for choir.

The Ouverture is a theme (really a motive) and variations, but also an exercise in rapidly shifting dynamics and textures.  The motive (an arpeggio of a m3, M2, M3, and m3) appears first in variation in the opening bars, and then is subsequently reworked until the Ouverture climaxes at a coda that fuses a two-voice fugue with elements from the introduction.

I had the impertinence to write my little mass after hearing a performance of Beethoven's "Missa solemnis", a work that, I regret to say, moved me in just one way, to compose a mass of my own: brief, rhythmic, and punchy — a humane mass.  I eschewed the repetition inherent in most masses, liberally cut
 from the Credo text, and turned to Bach for inspiration and instruction in part writing.

This serves as a tone-portrait introduction to my novel of the same name.

Here are pseudo-Renaissance dances written as incidental music for my novel "The Eye of Phoebus".  The diverse consort is flute, recorder, clarinet, percussion (claves, cymbal, small drum, tambourine, triangle, woodblock), and piano — performed by me!  The galliard, salterello, and pavane are standard Renaissance dance forms (if altered somewhat here).  The trebucher is my own form.

The video offers a complete recording, played as the full score is displayed.

"An Avandalian Suite" consists of four symphonic poems inspired-by and "reciting" four tales from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion.  I didn't want the trouble or expense of purchasing continual copyright permission for the names of the movements (and suite), so I gave them names of my own.

Written in memory of Phanos Dymiotis, a violinist and composer who was a member of the Mariner String Quartet, my string trio is perhaps my most sober work.

The video includes the full recording of all four movements, heard while the score is displayed, page by page.

The six Variants are intended to link almost seamlessly, though there is a short pause before and after Variant 4 — a variation itself of the Danse Rève from my String Quartet No. 2.  Each variant is a theme and variations unto itself, however material from one variant may be developed further in another.  Variant 5 is a fugue in Dorian mode with a passacaglia inside. The final variant is a joyous romp.

This YouTube video features a performance by flutist Kimberly Zaleski, guitarist Mark Edwards, and the strings of the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, while each page of the full score is displayed in co-ordination with the music.

I've made dozens of videos for YouTube that include full recordings of my chamber, orchestral, and vocal music.  Each video includes the music score, with each page of the score changing along with the music.  Often, classic artworks are also featured alongside the music score.  I invite you to visit my YouTube channel: @HappyLemonMusic

The link to the channel is:  https://www.youtube.com/@HappyLemonMusic/videos

At the YouTube channel @HappyLemonMusic you'll find dozens of videos I created, featuring full recordings of my chamber, orchestral, and vocal music.  Each video includes the music score, with each page of the score changing along with the music.  Often, classic artworks also appear alongside the music score.

The link to the channel is:  https://www.youtube.com/@HappyLemonMusic/videos

The YouTube link I provided for this media sample is for my piano suite "Dance Card".  (The "Add Remote Video" function of the Baker Artist website would not permit me to use the more general: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyLemonMusic/videos .)

Here are several characters (drawn by cartoonist Winsor McCay), alongside me (the composer) and a page from the ballet score.

This is the theme for King Morpheus, ruler of Slumberland.

This is an excerpt from the music that depicts The Princess entreating her father, King Morpheus, to bring Little Nemo to Slumberland.

This is an excerpt from Little Nemo's theme.

This is the conclusion of Tableau 1: The Princess dancing with Little Nemo.

This is the cover for the CD of "The Book of Jonah" Oratorio.

This is my YouTube video of the complete oratorio, with classic paintings of Jonah and Nineveh, alongside the full score, page by page.

Here is the three-minute Prelude (or overture) to "The Book of Jonah" oratorio.  The music captures the drive and excitement of "The Mariners Were Afraid" section of the work.

In this section of the oratorio, the mariners aboard Jonah's ship are terrified because the fierce tempest threatens to send them all to the bottom of the sea.  The ask Jonah about himself, and he confesses that the storm has come from God because Jonah has disobeyed God.  The mariners reluctantly cast Jonah overboard -- as he requests -- and the storm is stilled.

This is the chorus of thanksgiving that the mariners offer to God after their deliverance from the tempest.

This passacaglia (a series of variations upon a ground bass) serves as the "overture" to the third chapter of the story.

This is the beginning of the fourth and final chapter of the story.  Here Jonah pouts because God has relented and forborne to punish Nineveh.  Jonah complains to God, who responds tenderly by asking Jonah, in essence, have you any right to complain?  Should I not be merciful?

To cap-off the oratorio, I chose to re-set Psalm 139, and conclude with the great truth, expressed throughout the story in various ways: Where can I go from your presence, O God?  The oratorio ends with a final plea to God: Hold me.