Some are new, some are not-so-new, but these are 10 pieces that have been resonating with both musicians and audiences for the past 1-2 seasons. 

ORCHESTRA

In the Still Early Light was commissioned for St. Olaf College's 2025 Christmas Festival by Dr. Chung Park, conductor of the St. Olaf Orchestra. Loosely based on the Austrian carol Still, Still, Still, the music aims to capture the beauty, peace, and stillness of early morning. 

Grade 4.5 Symphony Orchestra
4 minutes
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Ashley and I spent last week at The Ohio State University School of Music and the Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise doing a joint residency!

“In the Still Early Light” was recently named runner-up in the 2026 Heartland Symphony Orchestra composition contest. The orchestra received 180 entries from 10 countries.

Watch the stunning premiere of In the Still Early Light by the St. Olaf Orchestra. It is the first piece on the concert

In the Still Early Light will be premiered by the St. Olaf Orchestra, conducted by Chung Park at the St. Olaf Christmas Festival December 5th, 6th, and 7th. Watch and listen links below!

Covered Bridges was recently named to the 2025 Bandworld Top 100.

Covered Bridges (grade 3) was commissioned in 2024 by University of New Hampshire Graduate Students led by Kearsarge Regional High School Director of Bands, Sean Anderson (’22). The piece depicts travels along a quiet New England road. A companion piece to Aaron Copland's Down a Country Lane.

Branches, written this year for the ensemble fivebyfive, will be premiered on two performances, October 18th and 19th. In addition to the music written for flute, clarinet, piano, electric guitar and double bass, there will be dance choreographed by Ripp Greatbatch. And fivebyfive Executive Director Marc Webster will narrate a poem that Ashley and I co-wrote.

In April, I had a wonderful visit to my alma mater, the University of Miami. I was incredibly honored to be chosen as one of 100 alumni Centennial Medalists for the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

This piece is inspired by the quantum mechanics theory known as "many worlds," which suggests that each choice we make creates two new branches of reality happening simultaneously. 

Just before Thanksgiving, I visited the University of Central Arkansas where my good friend Michael Hancock and the Wind Ensemble were recording Fantasia on a Theme of Robert Schumann.