Two Grotesque Songs from Death's Jest-Book Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803-1846) attended Oxford and showed early promise as a writer. But he abandoned writing and left for Europe to study medicine. He was obsessed with the idea of discovering the secret of life and death. (This was, after all, the era when Mary Shelley was writing Frankenstein.) If he ever discovered the secret of life, he failed to reveal it before or after he committed suicide. His preoccupations are evident in his play Death's Jest-Book, a work which he never completed. The play is filled with many lyrics, including these two grotesque songs. The New Cecilia tells how the wife of Saint Gingo is granted the miraculous power of farting hymns. The New Dodo embodies the themes of death and rebirth which are so important in Death's Jest-Book. In this song, an aborted fetus imagines coming back to life as any one of a number of creatures: a crocodile, a hedgehog, and a snake are among the possibilities considered. But none of these is sufficient, so it decides to be reborn as a New Dodo, and imaginary being with the attributes of many creatures. These songs were among fifteen songs and choruses written for a production of Death's Jest-Book in 2003. The play was performed at UCLA, Fordham University, and in Grasmere, England on the 200th anniversary of Beddoes' birth.

The Fire Suite: Phoenix Rising is the final movement of a three movement orchestral suite called “Fire Suite.” The first two movements, Smoke and Mirrors and Ashes Falling were previously premiered by the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra. The story of the mythical phoenix bird rising from the ashes is not only found in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also occurs in many other cultures including Egyptian, Greek, Chinese and Indian. Phoenix Rising begins with slow, mysterious music which brings to mind crackling, sizzling ashes. This section gradually builds layer upon layer as it finally grows into a huge crescendo. The Allegro commences as the phoenix takes wing soaring above a driving bass line. Soon a new joyful section is heard in the brass which using a hemiola rhythm. This transforms into a similar figure in the woodwinds which modulates through many variations. Now an energetic fugue based on the earlier bassoon line begins. This quickly combines with previous melodic and rhythmic passages as it reaches a forceful conclusion. This piece was made possible by a Creative Connections Award from Meet The Composer.

Dancing on the Brink of the World: San Francisco - 1600 to The Present, a 14 Movement piece on the history of San Francisco - 1600 to the Present. Seven other movements have been performed in previous SFCCO concerts. This piece was made possible by a Creative Connections Award from Meet The Composer.

10. Golden Gate Bridge - 1930’s

The Golden Gate Bridge was completed after more than four years of construction at a cost of 35 million dollars, and opened on May 28,1937, ahead of schedule and under budget, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event. The bridge's 4,200-foot long main suspension span was a world record that stood for 27 years. It’s design features an Art Deco theme. Wide, vertical ribbing on the horizontal tower bracing accents the sun's light on the bridge, and the towers that support the suspension cables are smaller at the top than at the base, emphasizing the tower height of 500 feet above the roadway.
On opening day my father was the first motorcycle rider to cross the bridge, and 50 years later, in his 80's, he led the 1987 anniversary parade, once again on a motorcycle. The Golden Gate Bridge is a beautiful work of art, as well as one of the world's greatest modern architectural masterpieces. The music here reflects not only the grandeur of the completed bridge, but also it’s construction.

Ha-Me'aggel (one who draws circles) for Orchestra was originally written for my quintet (woodwinds, trombone, cello, koto and percussion), the Cooke Quintet. The group recorded this work on An Indefinite Suspension of The Possible released on my label Black Hat Records. It has four sections, which in the original version could be played in any order, a form known as circle music. I felt that this piece would adapt well as a Concerto for Saxophone or Orchestra, though I had to make the form less flexible for an orchestra. There is some freedom to allow different instruments be featured but in tonight’s concert alto sax (Michael Cooke), clarinet (Jonathan Russell), piano (Alexis Alrich) and timpani (Victor Flaviani) are featured instruments. The melodies in the piece were written using a Klezmer scale, which made me think of the story of Onias (Honi) Ha-Me'aggel, a first century Jewish scholar who drew a circle and placed himself in the center of it, praying for rain and whose prayers were mysteriously and immediately answered. My prayers where also answered, as this piece was made possible by a Creative Connections Award from Meet The Composer.

Grace under Fire & March of Destiny by Harry Bernstein

Grace under Fire, written for flute and piano, is inspired by a cancer episode as well as by the healing process enhanced by "Art for Recovery," an art therapy program at UCSF-Mt. Zion cancer center. The main theme recurs several times in the piece, never quite ending where it should. Finally, the last statement in the piano, joined by a kibbitzing flute, brings this musical and personal journey to a close. That journey had been at times both reflective and searching, concluding in a positive manner--marked "clear sailing."

March of Destiny may seem to be a grandiose title for a piece proceeding mostly in a regular rhythm of four beats per measure following an introductory fanfare. It appears to have been inspired by the unending high school graduation ceremonies at which I played a bit too often, where the marching graduates heard endless processionals, including the Huldigung's March (or Hommage March) from Edvard Grieg's "Sigurd Jorsalfar" Suite. The nobility of the model is here undercut by the dissonant and slightly mocking setting. These pieces were made possible by a Creative Connections Award from Meet The Composer.