GALLERY

“Systems Used in Transmitting Messages Over Distances Electronically” is a piece for solo guitar, voice, and electronics. Throughout the improvised sections, I interact with custom software made in MaxMSP that processes the guitar signal while also controlling a modular synthesizer. The pitch content coming from the electronics is determined by a contrapuntal algorithm I developed that is based off of species counterpoint constraints, though generalized to include more possibilities of dissonance. As the piece progresses, we hear granular fragments taken from a song I have written as part of my "man, woman, friend, computer" project, and, near the end, I perform a version of this song accompanied by the meandering lines generated by the max patch.

I control the max patch with my custom built augmented guitar device GRADUS ("Gesture Responsive Analogue and Digital Untethered System"), which allows me to wirelessly communicate with the patch through a variety of gestures

“Systems used in transmitting messages. . .” is, of course, a response to this current situation that we are all in, which I take as a departure point to explore a little idea that I find appealling: how information becomes degraded through various technological means of conveyance.

“Perspectives on the Unique Privilege of Breathing” is a multimedia work for guitar and electronics created during an Artistic Residency with the Trillium Salon Series in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The audio reactive visuals were created using MaxMSP.

Call and Response was a collaborative community project commissioned by KMFA and Austin Classical Guitar. You can read a blog here that gives a more in depth description of the process of creating this performance. I designed an app that was used by myself and Invoke String Quartet to create a cohesive soundscape derived from existing musical recordings, which we then composed new music to. The performance leaned heavily on my GRADUS device, which allowed me to control real-time signal processing while cuing and manipulating/mangling audio files created by the Call and Response app.

This is a mixed set, mostly focusing on songs, from my project “man, woman, friend, computer”. I would only place it on that page, but, as it represents a bit of an unusual approach to interlacing classical guitar repertoire with improvisation and song-writing, I thought I’d include it here. . .

“The Labyrinth of Limitations” is youtube channel that is dedicated to exploring harmony, counterpoint, and a less conventional approach to music theory (and fretboard knowledge) that is strongly influenced by the ideas of Jazz Pianist and educator Barry Harris and music theorist and composer Dmitri Tymoczko. It is a place where I workshop curriculum ideas as I continue to research and develop concepts. This video is a brief improvisatory arrangement over the jazz standard “My Romance” wherein I put into practice the concepts introduced in previous episodes.