Large Mixed Ensemble (6-14 players)
Note from the Composer: Greetings conductors, performers, and programmers! I have been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic ensembles over the years, and I can’t wait for you to hear the results of our larger collaborations. If you are interested in a work but require a different instrumentation, reach out! Substitutions are usually free, and arrangements cost a fraction of a full commission. If you can’t quite find what you’re looking for here, feel free to contact me anyway - I’m always happy to recommend works by other living composers. Happy wandering!
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Our Little Secrets for mixed wind octet (2018, rev. 2020)
Available instrumentations listed below. Advanced and beginner versions available for all instrumentations:
2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets, alto saxophone, 2 bassoons
2 flutes, oboe, english horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets, alto saxophone, bassoon, and bari sax
other instrumentations available upon request - usually for no additional charge!
Duration: 4’45”
Commissioner: NEXT Commissioning Consortium
Our Little Secrets was originally commissioned by the NEXT Commissioning Consortium, which aimed to provide flexible instrumentation works at various difficulty levels. In composing this work, I was captivated by the idea to include a few musical "secrets" that are passed between voices. The secrets tiptoe in and out, their details changing slightly or becoming more exaggerated each time they are confided.
Advanced versions are appropriate for players at Grade 4 and above, though some Grade 3 players may find this an approachable project over the course of a semester. The beginner version is approachable for Grade 2 players, and includes restricted ranges and simplified rhythms.
Pricing
Digital: $35
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
Our Little Secrets for brass ensemble (2018, rev. 2022)
Available instrumentations listed below. Advanced and beginner versions available for all instrumentations:
3 trumpets, 3 horns, 3 trombones, tuba
3 trumpets, 3 horns, 3 trombones, bass trombone
other instrumentations available upon request - usually for no additional charge!
Duration: 4’45”
Commissioner: Pacific Brass Ensemble
Our Little Secrets was originally commissioned by the NEXT Commissioning Consortium, which aimed to provide flexible instrumentation works at various difficulty levels. In composing this work, I was captivated by the idea to include a few musical "secrets" that are passed between voices. The secrets tiptoe in and out, their details changing slightly or becoming more exaggerated each time they are confided.
Advanced versions are appropriate for players at the collegiate level and above, though some advanced high school players may find this an approachable project over the course of a semester. The beginner version is approachable for most high school players (Grade 4 and above), and includes restricted ranges and simplified rhythms.
Pricing
Digital: $35
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
Passing Through for mixed wind octet (2013, rev. 2020)
Duration: 9’15”
Originally written in 2013, Passing Through explores a series of textures through simple-but-elegant musical gestures. Starting with a slow, almost meditative opening section, the winds fade in and out, creating the effect of a single, ever-evolving instrument. The flutes and clarinets soon take over as a plodding motor, allowing for the other voices to sing expressively over the ensemble. This culminates in a palpable outburst of energy, echoing the fading ideas of the opening but at a greatly increased pace. Peppered with moments of ensemble arrivals, the piece marches into a sudden halt near the end, culminating in a final gesture that seemingly evaporates into thin air. The result is a dynamic work that showcases each instrument group, making it an ideal piece for any wind octet.
Pricing
Digital: $35
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
TAG for clarinet, alto sax, trombone, violin, cello, and vibraphone (2019)
Recording includes a brief introduction to the piece. Music begins at 2’02”.
Duration: 5’00”
Commissioner: New Mexico Contemporary Ensemble
Inspired by the children’s game, TAG uses quick hockets and playful gestures to create a single, ever-evolving instrument. The unusual instrumentation lends itself to unique and colorful combinations with surprising facility and depth. The end result is a dynamic and propulsive work with moments of lush, rich calm—making this unusual work a worthy addition to any program.
Pricing
Digital: $25
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
Sketches from Yellowood: All Aflutter for flute, clarinet in Bb, violin, viola, cello, piano, and vibraphone (2018)
Duration: 5’00”
Commissioner: Aspen Music Festival
I think most people have a “place” — a location so drenched in memories that the lace and its meaning to the individual have become intextricable from one another. For me, that place is Yellowood State Forest, located near Bloomington, Indiana. From the moment I was first taken through its dense flora on rambunctious gravel roads, I knew it was only a matter of itme before I wrote about Yellowood and my experiences there. In this first movement of a large work-in-progress, All Aflutter is about butterflies—both outside and within.
Pricing
Digital: $25
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
Broken Boomerang for flute, clarinet, viola, cello, piano (2014)
Duration: 5’30”
While I was getting coffee one summer, I saw some local kids throwing various discs, boomerangs, and other flight toys around a field. At one point, a cheap boomerang they had been playing around with snapped off at one end; the kids started flicking it around, trying to get it to return to them with varying degrees of failure. I started thinking about how to depict this struggle musically, and the result was this work. A large variety of textures flit and scurry as the main idea struggles to return, resulting in rhythmic-but-fragmented interruptions, lyrical-but-melancholic melodies, and a final outburst that leaves the listener with only cinders.
Pricing
Digital: $25
PDF includes a full score (transposing and/or in C) and individual parts for each player formatted for page turns.
Something to Prove for xylophone, two vibraphones, and three marimbas (2010)
Duration: 5’00”
Premiered as part of the Tanglewood Music Festival, Something to Prove is a ferocious work for mallet sextet. Beginning somewhat innocuously with soft, mysterious chord exchanges in the vibraphones, the full ensemble soon catapults the work into an explosive array of counterpoint and color—scattered with solo and group features throughout. The piece recalls its opening, culminating in a chorale-like passage with only the marimbas. This small moment of introspection grows dramatically to reprise the flurry of notes from before, ending with a dramatic series of solos, modulations, and a final punctuating gesture.
Pricing
Digital: $15
PDF includes a full score and solo parts for each performer, formatted for page turns.
COMING SOON: Efflorescence for flute, oboe, clarinet, string quartet, and piano (2021, arr. 2024)
The above recording is from a reading session by the Driftless Urban Orchestra.
This work is in three movements:
1. Herbs (4’15”)
2. Cycads (3’15”)
3. Succulents (5’00”)
Duration: 12’30”
Commissioner: Original - Colton Sprenkle (Website), Arr. - Cullan Lucas for Driftless Urban Orchestra (Website)
Commissioned by Colton Sprenkle as part of the Spring Forward commissioning series, this three-movement work is inspired by different plant forms. In the first movement, Herbs, a large variety of colors and textures are explored - capitalizing on both the lyrical expressiveness of the upper voices and the surprising facility of the low instruments. The end of the movement moves seamlessly into Cycads. This breezy second movement gusts and billows in a spirited sequence of trill-like figures and scalar passages, set against a series of lusher, melodic moments. The final movement, Succulents, offers nearly as many colors and textures as its namesake - percussive knocks, extreme registers, dynamic contrasts, and raw energy throughout permeate this final movement. The result is a complete showcase for the entire ensemble, sure to capture the imagination of any listener.
**Pricing
More information coming soon!
**Pre-orders will open January 2025
PDF includes a full score and solo parts for each performer, formatted for page turns.
Looking for more?
You may also find more works for mixed ensembles in the orchestra or band sections of The Library—or reach out to me directly! I can often change the instrumentation for no additional charge. If I don’t have what you’re looking for, I’m always happy to recommend other living composers who might have just the thing!
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