Composition and Arrangement
"A Storm in a Virtual Forest"
Composition, mixing
This is an excerpt from a piece that is accompanied by a virtual experience, built in Unity by Merle DeWitt III. Designed as an "interactive installation", this is an experience that offers the viewer the ability to move around and listen with different perspectives to the sounds, which are all individually coming from separate floating objects. The viewer can manipulate the location of the objects, in turn changing the aural experience. This installation is a part of the Theatre In Flux experience put on by the University of California, Irvine drama department during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website for Theatre In Flux can be found here.
"Kiss From a Rose" // The WMU Broncords
Arrangement, music direction, soloist
In addition to composition, I love arranging music, particularly for vocal ensembles. In my time at Western Michigan University, I performed in and directed the WMU Broncords a cappella group, arranging many songs for the group, including All of Me by John Legend, Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus, Set Fire to the Rain by Adele, Happy by Pharrell Williams, Rather Be by Clean Bandit, and many more. Click below to view sheet music for this Kiss From a Rose arrangement.
"Meteors"
Composition, piano, drums, mixing
A project for a "responsive composition" class, this is an excerpt from a piece that was loosely inspired by the Dylan Thomas poem "Do not go gentle into that good night." More specifically, it was inspired by the stanza featured to the right - I imagined battle fields, explosions, soldiers with immense drive to survive, and tears being shed in final moments of their life.
"Specter"
Composition, guitar, drums, mixing
A fond part of my music background is hard rock/metal. I started drumming to metal music at age 14, and the energy I learned to channel will not easily be forgotten. I composed this song first on guitar, recording the rhythm tracks, followed by performing the drums. David Balanda plays the guitar solo. It's inspired by the idea of being in a foreign, cold environment while in the presence of some kind of specter, akin to the artwork to the left.