As I continue to march forward as a composer, I have found my normal composition style of bouncy John Adams-esque patterns, consonant tonal sounds, and “whimsical + adventurous” music becoming increasingly unsatisfying to write. Lessons with Kamran Ince have been framed around the idea of pushing my comfort zone and trying things completely different. "Bizarro" is the first project where I have dived fully into this notion of reframing my writing completely willingly.

The development of this work was extremely difficult, as I really had no idea what it was going to be until deep into the writing process. I had never written anything completely out of my style, so it took a few tries to build up the overarching theme of the piece. As it went on, I embraced the feeling of making everything sound weird or more dissonant than I am normally comfortable with.

Coming into this work, I had high expectations for myself. There were 3 driving factors that gave this project momentum and weight:

1. This is of my favorite ensemble setups and something I wanted to create a fitting, original, creative, and worthy work for the instrumentation.

2. As an accepted fellow for the 2023 Imani Winds Festival, this piece would mark my Juilliard premiere (something I feel holds a special energy in the quality I was expected to put out).

3. The excitement to write for my friends in the Highland Quartet after excitedly hearing them perform Chris Evan Hass’s “Volcanish Ash”.

Every single sax quartet that I could find on the internet was listened to and influenced some part of this work. There was a 3 month gap between projects as I experienced burnout, in which time I listened to as much music as I could handle. Machine Girl, the Omori Soundtrack, all saxophone works found on Murphy Music Press, and George Gianopolous’s YouTube channel served as vital inspirations for this work.

As I wrote it, I started to entertain the thought of using extended techniques, as I felt it would take the timbral atmosphere to another level. For reference, I have exclusively written music that allows for immediate computer playback. This was the first time I wanted to push myself to get into writing many of these awesome techniques I see across scores or play on my own instrument. I used to play saxophone, so I worked within my memory to mentally map out the sounds, physical technique, and difficulty monitoring.

Each movement takes on a different characteristic, each having a different gimmick that adds to the bizarro feel of the piece (down to the name). The cover art is what an AI site came up with from the word “Bizarro” on its first try; the art perfectly captures the mood I hope to achieve.

Salome - the Strauss opera

Nosferatu - the old Dracula film

Makutu - another name for a witch, which is another name for a Siren (like the monster)

This work was a massive undertaking and one I confidently say I am NOT sure anyone else will like. Regardless, it is important to me and important to my growth. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy “Bizarro”.