Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s most popular work, depicts a dystopia in which shallow materialism has completely consumed society, and anyone who tries to find any deeper meaning in life is a social outcast. The fire department is responsible for burning books, ensuring that no one questions a government that is careening toward nuclear war. The main character of the book, Montag, is one such fireman.

The first movement of this string quartet, “Martyr,” portrays Montag and his comrades invading a woman’s home to burn her books. The woman stubbornly stays in her home while Montag pleads with her to leave. Rather than give in, she sets herself on fire. The event leaves Montag shaken, and he saves a book from the flames.

In the second movement, “Denham’s Dentrifice,” Montag sits on a subway train, trying to read the Gospel of Matthew. While he tries to meditate on Jesus’ exhortation to “consider the lilies of the field,” an advertising jingle blares through the train. Montag becomes more and more agitated, until he finally leaps off the train and runs into the silence of the night.

In the final movement, “Mechanical Hound,” the fire department sends its hound to chase down Montag and kill him. The chase is broadcast on TV, a spectacle for the public’s entertainment. Montag escapes by leaping into a river. After fleeing into the countryside, he wanders through the serenity of nature. Despite the uncertainty of the future, he finally begins to feel truly alive and free.

(This piece has not yet been performed live. If you would like to purchase a score, please contact me.)

The Monkey King

In this piece, composed in the spring of 2019, I drew inspiration from a character in Chinese folklore called the Monkey King. Brash and tempestuous, the Monkey King constantly seeks more power and prestige. His chaotic, destructive personality leads the gods and spirits to declare war upon him and his followers, but he is so powerful that he bests them all in battle, one by one. Only when Buddha himself intervenes is the Monkey King finally defeated. This piece seeks to capture his complex personality, careening through passages of melodrama, playful humor, religious serenity, and war. It was premiered by Aubrianne Clark on flute and myself on piano for the SFA Composition Studio Recital on November 13, 2019.

Heracles at the River Styx

This piece imagines Heracles, one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, being forced to face his own mortality and cross the Styx into the Underworld. Although Heracles tries to fight the current, the gentle, hypnotic tide ultimately prevails, and the piece subsides into a calm, motionless conclusion. It was commissioned by Erasmo Herrera to be performed in his graduate recital on May 11, 2019. It was premiered by Mr. Herrera (euphonium) and Lucy Jackson (piano) on April 3, 2019, in the Composition Recital at Stephen F. Austin State University.