Piano Concerto

Piano Concerto is my first piece for large ensemble, a 20-minute work in sonata form that aims to bend but not break the expectations that come with the piano concerto genre. The first movement opens with a polytonal flurry of sixteenth notes, a verdant flute theme in E minor, and a mysterious F-sharp Phrygian theme in the piano. The second movement explores a tension between major and minor and features a forlorn theme in the strings in 2/4 + 3/8 + 3/4 time; this theme builds to a false climax, picks up momentum and tempo, and breaks free into a cathartic final statement. The third movement is a light rondo in the style of Ravel's concerto, playing with a rollicking, Spanish-influenced theme in the trumpet; it features a canon where this theme is played over itself at three different tempi.

I am eternally grateful to Dr. Mark Thomas and the Anthracite Philharmonic for premiering the piece in April 2017. It was such fun to play my own music for an audience with such an incredible group!