1. "Never Odd or Even" op.47 (2007) - My first piece for 2007. The piece, like the title, is a palindrome. Only not a literal one - it's an emotional palindrome that requires extreme sensitivity for the listener on many levels. Listen for the motivic transformations and the fugue. Dedicated to my fiancee - Denise Mahoney. (Performed by Lawrence Granger, Alex Kadarauch, Irene Gregorio, and Jeff Patterson)
2. "The Vertigo Series III. Confrontations" op.49 (2007) - There are many levels fighting for supremacy in this piece: a musical Confrontation. The original theme from the 1st movement ("Monolith" op.35), a new rhythmic motive that develops and encompasses all that cross its path, and a Spanish motive that becomes intertwined with the other 2 thematic ideas. They end up culminating into huge waves of gravitational harmony pulling you down into an abyss of musical infinity. (Performed by the CSUEB Percussion Ensemble directed by Arthur Storch)
3. "Without a Dream" op.50 (2007) - My friend, Rodrigo Cortes, has been asking me for months to compose a song for him to sing. This came to me as I was driving home, all I could think of writing was the saddest thing I could imagine: everything you ever thought you wanted is gone...now life is meaningless. (Performed by Rodrigo Cortes and Dominic Serrano)
4. "Emergence of the Kraken" op.52 (2007) - Another friend of mine, Israel Santiago, has been asking me to write a trombone choir piece. Rafael Hernandez (my Composition teacher at the time), wanted me to write using no references (piano, Sibelius, etc.) - only my internal ear. So this became an exercise in texture. It is also a tone-poem on Alfred Tennyson's "The Kraken". Dedicated to Israel Santiago and Andrew Walker. (Performed by the CSUEB Trombone Ensemble)
5. "De civitatibus" op.53 (2007) - For my last piece as a student at CSUEB I wanted to write something for a retiring professor, Dr. David Stein. He loves choral music and has been encouraging me to write more of it. Thanks to him I wrote "Lumen et Tenebras" op.45 which earned an award. The text is from JOB 24:12 and it is composed in the style of late Gesualdo. Carlo Gesualdo is a composer that caught my ear when I noticed the various similarities in our sound. (Performed by Amy Boyer, Mary Low, Liz Calame, Sean Cooper, Alex Kadarauch, and Nick Vasallo)