Little Suite for Two Bassoons (2014) is actually a two bassoon version of Little Suite for Bassoon and Bass Clarinet that I wrote for my friends Shannon Lowe (bassoon, Univ. of Florida) and Peter Geldrich (clarinet, Valdosta State University). The two bassoon version was premiered at the 2016 IDRS Conference in Columbus, GA where my friend Rayne Pawlowski played the other bassoon part.

In the first movement you’ll hear influences from Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments. Around that time there was a year that I played that piece about 4 times. One of the times I was playing contrabassoon, and for like the first whole page you basically get to sit there and listen to the Eb clarinet play really loud bird sounds. After one such rehearsal, I sat down for several hours and sketched out much of the thematic material for that movement.

I’ve performed that piece a few times over the years with some of my close bassoon friends, but it was an amazing and humbling honor to be able to record it with my teacher, Mike Harley.

Sonata for Unaccompanied Bassoon (2018) - This is the most recently composed piece on the album, and it is definitely the most serious of them, and representative of some of my more mature writing. The publisher of this piece (TrevCo Music) asked me for a program note, and... I just couldn’t write one that didn’t sound like a theoretical analysis of the piece. (If you want to know about the theory behind this piece, by all means, send me an email!). If you imagine the three movements of this piece as three episodes in a story, the first movement has that feeling you get when you’re overwhelmed with anxiety and too many things to do and a lot of responsibility. The second movement is a lyrical movement, and it’s and aria that’s more of a lament than a love song. The third movement is a dance that uses the octatonic scale, so something always seems a little off. One of my bassoonist friends heard this piece and told me that “it explores the technical and lyrical limits of the bassoon”. I think in hindsight, at least when considering unaccompanied bassoon music written using a tonal framework, that is perhaps true. I wrote this piece primarily for me to play, but I hope many other bassoonists find a lot of enjoyment in performing it over the years. Perhaps someday it will become a staple of the unaccompanied repertoire for bassoon, along works by Willson Osborne (Rhapsody), Harrie Janssen (Sonata), and others.

Duo for Oboe and Bassoon (2015) was premiered at the 2016 IDRS Conference in Columbus, GA by myself and my friend Aaron Woodman (oboe). It’s a study in miniature forms, and follows a 3-movement structure that resembles the Classical concerto; the first movement is very academic, the second movement is lyrical, and the third movement is a party. There really aren’t a lot of duos for oboe and bassoon. I really enjoy playing George Rochberg’s Duo, and a few other pieces for oboe/bassoon, and I wanted to write a duo that was equally enjoyable to play, but as fun as possible (and perhaps at times a bit tongue-in-cheek).
On the album I’m joined by my friend Brian Lyons (Augusta Symphony, Georgia Southern University), who I was playing with regularly in a reed trio in Augusta, GA with clarinetist Taylor Massey.

Comic Suite No. 2 for Clarinet, Viola, and Bassoon (2017) - This is quickly becoming my favorite small chamber ensemble to write for. The “comic suites” all started in 2012 when I was a student at Penn State University. Backstory; I really like the Calvin and Hobbes comic series written by Bill Watterson. I got this crazy idea to “interpret the comic strips as music”, and I love small forms so it seemed like a fun idea. The first suite was originally for clarinet, viola, and cello, but I’ve since rearranged it to the standard instrumentation for these suites. (cl./vla./bsn.) Now it’s 2020 and I’ve written 4 comic suites with various numbers of movements.
The magic of this piece wouldn’t have been possible without the excellent playing by my friends Arthur Ross (viola) and
Taylor Massey (clarinet), both of whom I play with in the Augusta Symphony.

Weekends for clarinet and bassoon (2011) - This piece is, for lack of better words to describe it, a romp. The original title was “College Weekends”, which explains why the nights sound wild and Saturday morning sounds a bit... hungover. Taylor Massey (Augusta Symphony) joined me again to bring to life the shenanigans of this piece.

Four Sketches for Bassoon and Piano (2010) is my op. 1, if such a catalogue were to exist. I’ve written other pieces for bassoon and piano, but I included this piece because it means a lot to me. When I wrote it, I was 23 years old, and I had a lot to say. And I guess if I scroll through this page, I still kind of have a lot to say, at least as far as music is concerned. Yoan Penev is an excellent pianist, and working with him was an absolute delight, because he understood how fun this piece is, and he plays in a way that it shows.