piccolo

Huatzu Hill for soprano and chamber orchestra is a setting of four poems by Wang Wei, an 8th-century Chinese poet, as translated into English by G.W. Robinson. Three of the four songs depict landscapes near Wang's country retreat in the Wang River valley. The second song is a bittersweet farewell to a beloved friend. Huatzu Hill is scored for chamber orchestra and soprano soloist. It was premiered at the Composers Conference in Vermont and has been performed by the New England Philharmonic and the Berkshire Symphony. "A series of rich landscapes - the colors sharp, the feeling powerfully concentrated, the expression concise..." Boston Globe.

Huatzu Hill Excerpt

"Rima" for piccolo and piano is based on a character from William Henry Hudson's 1904 novel Green Mansions. Set in the Amazon, Green Mansions features the character of a girl-creature of the forest who communicates in a bird-like language. In Rima the piccolo portrays the character during the course of a day, from the first stirrings of dawn, through the animation of midday, to the bittersweet quiet of dusk. "Rima" was commissioned and premiered by the Piccolo Committee of the National Flute Association. It is used as a standard competition piece by the NFA. "...a significant contribution to the literature..." Flutist Quarterly. Recorded by Susan Glaser on Koch International Classics 3-7396-2-H1 and by Nicola Mazzanti on his self-produced CD "A Night with the Piccolo" available from CDBaby.com and from the artist.

A setting of the popular Hmong folk tale for narrator (narration is juxtaposed, not overlapping) and orchestra. Optional section features soloist on the qeej (a Hmong folk instrument) and children's dance group from the Hmong Cultural Center, St. Paul, M