Chamber Music

This piece was commissioned by Lineage Percussion for Shadows of Lakeland

I have been constantly aware of the presence of my ancestors in my life. The benevolent forefathers and foremothers are there to help, guide and assist. This piece is inspired by a poem by nayyirah waheed, which simply asks the ancestors to speak louder if you can not 'hear them'.

One of the hobbies that I (and a lot of other people) have developed during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic was cooking. I decided to set to music some of the recipes (created by my friend and colleague Carl Dupont) that I tried and mastered during this difficult time.

This piece is inspired by five Black Americans who have influenced me and my identity as a composer-Bessie smith, Maya Angelou, Ronald E. McNair, Cornel west and Herbie Hancock. Each movement is meant to embody the work and personality (as best as I can gather) through music. I want to not only pay homage to these giants, but offer a character study through music of their works.

Requiem for the Enslaved explores the sacred and historical, and honors the lives of those bought and sold. Original text by Marco Pavé.

A work for tenor saxophone, trumpet, drum set, bass, and piano.

I often heard the bible scripture, “Where two or three are gathered in my name I will be in the midst,” (Matthew 18:20) in my family’s small church where the attendance often was just my parents and my siblings. Hearing that scripture meant that there was a much larger purpose to being present in the small gathering

These are my feelings on the crimes of BOTH the oppressor and the oppressed in Baltimore and throughout the country.

As young boy, I worked with my grandfather during the summers paving driveways in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He was a task master. Things had to be done the right way and with haste when he asked for it in his own playful way. This piece, in its whimsical character, draws on inspiration from the colloquial phrase, Lickety Split, coined in the 1860s, meaning to do something quickly or in a hurry.

Journey is inspired by a poem by Narendra Kuppan. Composed with support from the National Orchestral Institute + Festival

This piece is an artistic reflection dedicated to those who have been murdered wrongfully by an oppressive power; namely Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

As the son of a Pentecostal preacher, no other memory stands out more than being a part of a “tarrying service”. The “tarry service”, usually on Friday nights, was for those members (mostly teenagers) who had not received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This piece was inspired by an interview with Oprah Winfrey

Commissioned by the Gabriela Lena Frank Music Academy in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Between 1916 and 1970, the mass exodus of African-Americans leaving the rural South, seeking homes in the urban West, Midwest, and Northeast became known as the Great Migration. Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s book The Warmth of Other Suns, I chose to bring these stories to life through the voice of a string quartet.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has continued to influence my social, professional and personal life in ways that I never imagined. Day to day life has been like a continuous “loop”; a never-ending quarantine loop. This piece reflects my feelings about the mandated stay-at-home order during this crisis.