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Original Guitar Compositions

Welcome to my composition page. Above is a list of some of my compositions that are available for download, both as audio files and sheet music. To learn more about these compositions and to listen to each, just click the name of the composition or scroll down this page. The first seven audio files are taken from my CD, "Chimaera," followed by more recent compositions. I will continue to add new compositions here as they are finished, and I am hoping to hear from you in my blog. You can comment either by going directly to Andy’s Journal or comment on a specific composition by clicking the “Comments” link associated with each. Keep an eye on this page for future updates, and I hope you enjoy my music!

About This Composition

From "The Insect Kingdom Suite," March of the Ants is a programmatic work, depicting the highly structured and soldier-like existence of ants. You can hear the ants working tenaciously, even rallying against enemies in battle, eventually marching on, nothing standing in their way.

Difficulty Level: Advanced

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About This Composition

From "The Insect Kingdom Suite," The Butterfly Princess is also programmatic. I used the Chinese modal pentatonic system to write this piece to convey a distinctly "Asian" flavor. You can hear a single butterfly in the beginning of the piece, but it eventually flies into a field of flowers and is joined by clouds of butterflies. The butterfly flies off on its own again and finally settles down on a flower.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Comments
About This Composition

Ash and Pixie Dust was written about contrast. I meant for the darker side of the piece (mostly carried in the bass line) to be represented in the title by the "Ash" while contrasted simultaneously by the lighter, more melodic line, the "Pixie Dust" (after Tinkerbell from Peter Pan--the dust that made everyone fly.)

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

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About This Composition

Pensatina is pensive, yearning, and even slightly lamenting. "Pensativa" is Spanish for "Thoughts" or “Thinker,” so I just changed the word slightly for aesthetics.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

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About This Composition

Ruckschlag is German for "frustration." I'm sure the music will make more sense with that in mind. I studied Bartok's compositional style during my graduate studies at Peabody, and used several of his stylistic elements in the writing of this piece.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

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About This Composition

Noctum is Latin for "Night." I intentionally worked on this piece only at night, hoping that would help convey the atmosphere of night-time. It was also an exercise for me, to see if I could keep the melodies simple and haunting, having no more than two lines weaving around each other at a time.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

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About This Composition

Scheeringa is actually the last name of a friend of mine, and I used the name because it sounded Irish to me, and very sprightly. It turns out, the name is actually Dutch! I studied Scottish and Irish music during my time at Peabody and tried to capture some of that flavor in this composition.

Difficulty Level: Advanced

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About This Composition

Drift grew out of a melody I wrote a while back when I was asked to compose some music for a production of King Lear. One of my main efforts in this piece was to maintain a mysterious, haunting mood, and I've also tried to use rhythmic pauses to greater effect here than I have in other pieces. Drift has a smaller sibling, called "Glide," which is a short Etude spawned by one of the passages in Drift. Glide is available as a free download.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate - Advanced

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About This Composition

Part 3 of "The Insect Kingdom Suite," Caterpillar Shindig is a programmatic work. I intended for there to be a progressive layering of activity, as if many caterpillars were crawling around, having a good time while feasting on plants. The music becomes very pulsating at times, and is very happy and upbeat.

Difficulty Level: Advanced

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