Night in the Caribbean whisks listeners and performers away to the sandy beaches and warm summer nights of the Caribbean Islands. With a Jimmy-Buffet inspired melody, this piece is bound to be a delight for all audiences.

Two Movements on December is a two-movement piece for cello quartet. This piece is a musical interpretation of the changes in nature between autumn and winter. The two movements (I. Waiting For... and II. The Origins of Winter) are linked by both musical ideas and their distinctive 3-part form. Listen to the piece here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLvyhF_Wo4Y

This piece pays musical homage to one of the most important albums of all time: The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Listeners are treated to a variety of musical bits and ideas, all worked into one coherent package, just like that treasured LP from 1967. 

Secondhand Newsstand combines bits and pieces of music ("old news") from a variety of genres and styles, and each section offers a highlight of the abilities of each instrument in the ensemble.

Many Years Ago Today is designed to reflect the innovations in studio recording being made in the 1960s. One particular group, The Beatles, have been rightly credited with pushing the limits of analogue recording capabilities, starting circa 1965 and particularly emphasized on their groundbreaking 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Complex studio tricks were employed throughout that album and those that followed suit, creating a unique sound that can only be described as purely magical. This piece adapts some of those unique sounds of the 1960s and 70s into the modern day. One highlighted instrument, the Mellotron, is a tape replay machine that produces such a beautifully imperfect timbre that perfectly encapsulates the auditory aesthetic of those decades past. And the distortion and reverb on the guitars only add to the semi-psychedelic atmosphere of this piece. Listen here: https://jssouders1.wixsite.com/website/listen

King's Quell is an augmented reality (AR) video game developed by Reilly Zink in which players compete against each other for magical resources. The music for this game is designed to capture its magical and mystic theme, with shifts in themes and intensity as the game. Find samples of this game's music here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UO2_wo0uU3Cskn6esj9Pl3vFOlX0bZyC?usp=sharing

Motion serves as an auditory accompaniment to the architectural exploration project of the same name by
Liz Fraka. The piece uses a wide variety of timbres and reverb to convey the exploration and consequential 
emotion of the human body in different spaces.

Train Through My Dreams explores the various timbres of the stringed instruments, accompanied by the piano. The piece makes use of small two or three-note motifs, and explores how they can be used in conjunction with one another. This piece is also characterized by its distinctive three part form, with each section offering a new texture from the strings.

Internal Conflict is a short film directed by Terrell Jackson II that visually represents the daily struggles of depression and anxiety. The accompanying score aims to introduce an auditory element to this representation, and is achieved through the use of harmonic strings, reverse guitar and percussion, and other aural oddities. Watch the short film here: https://vimeo.com/510878905

Mirage of Time takes listeners on a whimsical trip across three distinct musical worlds, each one flowing seamlessly into the next. A lullaby-type tune opens the piece, and builds in rhythmic interest before landing in an all-out rock-n-roll blues section. The opening guitar passage is used as a frequent thematic callback, and is quite distinctive due to the use of a delay pedal. The piece closes by recalling earlier material, completing the metaphorical time loop. The use of the electric guitar with effects pedals adds an eclectic, modern touch to blend with the clarinet and piano.

Canon for the Times is a piece written for the Olathe Northwest High School concert orchestra. It is reflective of the high and low points in the lives of all people, and its 3-part form symbolizes how we can overcome adversities of many kinds. The main theme is built on an arpeggio that ascends and cascades across the orchestra, creating a canon, and is intended to represent looking forwards to an ever-brighter future.

Sanctuary is another short film directed by Terrell Jackson II that explores the importance of escape from the various mental, physical, and emotional struggles people face in the real world. The unnamed main character finds comfort in a colorful abandoned courtyard, a type of sanctuary for herself. The score uses various orchestral samples played back through an old tape machine and eastern wind instruments to create a sonic sense of evasion from reality. Watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/569086802

Breakfast In Bed is a collaborative work between Emma Whitney and Jacob Souders, performed by Emma Whitney. The song uses a 70s inspired pop ensemble, and tells a narrative of the ups and downs of an unescapable relationship. Other performers on the record include Ben Whitney, Drew Swiecicki, Jacob Souders, Crew Shafer, Keegan Kaiser, and Josh Grimes. The record was engineered by Jacob Souders and was released on July 2nd, 2021. Listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3ssrSO4OIkvdl8DqoJQB8M 

In the summer of 2021, I got into open reel tape recording and my interest in the medium has grown exponentially since then. All three pieces in Acknowledgement Triptych, (Continuous Evolution, There Is More Than One Answer and The Pieces Aren’t Perfect) are for solo instruments plus an analog tape loop. As the performer plays, the sound of their instrument is recorded onto the tape loop and as the machine continues to record while looping, what was recorded three or four cycles ago will eventually become inaudible, replaced with new material, thus creating a lush soundscape that seems to grow out of itself. And by the end of the piece, the player’s entire performances will have existed on that little bit of tape at some point in time, but all that is left by the end are the quiet remnants of the last few measures

I find it weirdly metaphorical...

Expanded on the Horizon is a percussion quartet piece for two vibraphones, two glockenspiels, congas, bongos, and tom-toms. The piece was premiered by a student ensemble at the University of Missouri-Kansas City under the guidance of Sandbox Percussion. Full of rich harmony, rhythmic intricacies, and unique blending of textures, the result is a whimsical, psychedelic soundscape. Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/xDIpYBk-ZXI?t=2651

Flint Hills was perhaps the most difficult piece of music I've written, as I never had that "moment of inspiration" in the entire writing process. But nonetheless, I do genuinely enjoy the notes on the page. The quasi-minimalist patterns and grooves throughout the piece evoke the spirit of the Flint Hills in Kansas. Driving down I-35 from Emporia to El Dorado is perhaps one of the greatest sights the state (and this country) has to offer, in my opinion.