Consider the Lobster
A Concert of World Premieres
Senior Composition Recital
Saturday, November 22nd, 7:30pm
University of Arkansas
Faulkner Performing Arts Center
453 Garland Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Hong Kong (2020-2021) (2025)
for Fixed Electronics
Hong Kong (2020-2021) (2025) is inspired by Christopher Button’s photography series,
“The Labyrinth”, capturing Hong Kong’s underground metro in its most quiet and desolate hours, creating the effect of a liminal space—a space familiar and nostalgic, but also uncanny and eerie to the viewer.
To view Button's work, please visit the Blue Lotus Gallery.
(Headphones are recommended)
Microtonal Preludes:
I - Largissimo (2020;2025)
for Piano Duo
Microtonal Preludes is a current Work-In-Progress project for two pianos, with the second piano being detuned from a standard piano, allowing new possibilities in harmony. Each etude is an experiment and a challenge in various musical styles; each prelude is based on a piece or musical style, finding a way to mimic the original using this expanded layer of harmony. Prelude No. 1 (Largissimo) is based on Ivan Wyschnegradsky's (1893-1979) 24 Preludes in Quarter-tone System: Prelude No. 3. In 2022, Prelude No. 1 won the 2022 Penn State Ballora-Wang Young Composers Competition.
Dr. Xiting Yang, Piano
Katie Ethington, Digital Piano
Three Settings for Birds (2023;2024)
for Narrator, Flute, Viola, Violoncello, and Piano
I have always had a fascination with birds; ever since I was young, I remember every time I moved to a new state, I would make my parents buy me field guides of birds in the state, and from there I would try to identify the birds in my area based on their appearance and the time of the year.
Setting I – The Backyard, depicts a backyard with various species of birds coexisting—or at least an attempt—in a suburban setting; Setting II – The Beach, depicts a cold, grey beach, at night with a lone seagull, exploring the vast night; and Setting III – On the Bayou, depicts the tumultuous journey of the common loon.
Setting I – The Backyard [TIMESTAMP]
Setting II – The Beach [TIMESTAMP]
Setting III – On the Bayou [TIMESTAMP]
Sam Messick, Narrator
Charlie Grady, Flute
Angel Duron, Viola
Jonathan Lea, Violoncello
Katie Ethington, Piano
Chris Dorner, Conductor
Consider the Lobster (2025)
for Multimedia
David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) was an author known for maximalist writing, expanding a sentence to the fullest potential with a depth of context being provided, having elaborate details, descriptions, and the frequent use of figurative and complex language. In 2004, Gourmet food magazine published Wallace’s essay entitled “Consider the Lobster”, which recounts Wallace’s visit to the 2003 Maine Lobster Festival (MLF). Wallace’s essay challenges the reader to consider the (a)morality of agribusiness, and the (lack of) ethics they (as a consumer) typically hold when using these products, with the case of the humble lobster—"Is it all right to boil a sentient creature alive just for our gustatory pleasure?” Consider the Lobster (2025) was written in January 2025 in a period of 24-hours as I taught myself how to use a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for the first time. All speaking audio excerpts used are of David Foster Wallace reading this essay.
For a PDF of Wallace’s full text, please visit: https://faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/readings/lobster_dfwallace.pdf.
CONTENT WARNING: This video contains imagery of cruelty and abuse of animals that some viewers may find disturbing.
Short Pieces for Four Horns:
III - Rondo Naturel (2023)
for Horn Quartet
Short Pieces for Four Horns is an ongoing collection of pieces for horn quartet exploring different musical styles, genres, and techniques. Piece III: Rondo Naturel (2023) alludes to the piece's structure and the type of horns the piece should be performed on (or mimicking the types of horns). The horn’s range is large, and it sits perfectly within the harmonic series, allowing players access to a multitude of harmonics. Taking advantage of this, I decided to focus an entire piece on the horn’s capabilities within the harmonic series. Each horn is assigned a key/fundamental (either to be played on a natural horn of the respective key or using the valve combination to mimic the natural horn of said key) and confined to the harmonic series of that fundamental—hence “Naturel” or “Natural” within the title, in reference to both the types of horns used, as well as the fact that the harmonic series is naturally occurring. Using the harmonic series, an A-material is formed and always contrasted by an opposing material, with all the materials gradually becoming more varied with each repetition—the quintessential rondo form.
Hudson Worley, Chris Dorner, Ben Cartwright, Landon Geitzenauer—Horns
The Three B's (2023)
for Horn and Piano
The Three B’s (2023) is dedicated to Dr. Katelyn J. Jahnke, Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR). The inspiration for this piece began after her faculty recital, given in January 2023, on the program included Richard Bissel’s Song of a New World (2014), which she described as the dichotomy of two underrepresented aspects of horn playing: Utilizing the low range of the horn and the sound and language of jazz applied to the horn. With these two aspects in mind, writing for The Three B’s began, intending to fill a gap in horn repertoire. The title references three styles/eras of jazz: Blues; Boogie-Woogie; and Bebop. Three different styles—each with unique features—present a challenge to the preparation of this piece, along with the emphasis placed on the lower range of the horn.
Blues - [TIMESTAMP]
Boogie-Woogie - [TIMESTAMP]
Bebop - [TIMESTAMP]
Dr. Katelyn Jahnke, Horn
Dr. Xiting Yang, Piano