In a world of exhibition and conference projects (to use a sports metaphor), Short Work for Mixed Quartet is the former, which is to say, my approach here was developmental. I set out to explore the means by which I may weave motivic constructs (think melodic instances, harmonies, processes, etc.) between different musical moments, how these constructs motivate the build-out and progression of these moments, and vice versa. I like to treat my constructs as characters, and as such, develop them as you might expect in a movie, book, or some other narrative based medium–or at least that’s the hope. Doing so effectively, takes practice.

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Short Work for Mixed Quartet was commissioned by Copland House for its CULTIVATE 2025 Emerging Composers Institute. It was premiered by members of the Copland House Ensemble (Moran Katz, clarinet; Pala Garcia, violin; Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello; and Margaret Kampmeier, piano) on June 10, 2025 at Elebash Hall, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. CULTIVATE 2025 fellowships and commissions were supported by the ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Friends of Copland House, Jandon Foundation, and NewMusicUSA. Additional program funding was provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, ArtsWestchester, Elzbieta and David Grove Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts.