Dr. BEN MORRIS
benmorrismusic.com | bmorriscomposer@gmail.com (+1) 973-722-0460 | 621 Mr Henrys Drive, Nacogdoches TX 75965
EDUCATION
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 2022
D.M.A. in Music Composition with ATLAS/Cecil Effinger Technology Fellowship Composition studies with Carter Pann, Annika Socolofsky, and Michael Theodore
Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Houston, TX 2017
M.M. in Music Composition with Brown Fellowship Composition studies with Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, and Pierre Jalbert
University of Miami Frost School of Music, Miami, FL 2015
B.M. summa cum laude in Music Composition and History with honors Composition studies with Lansing McLoskey, jazz studies with Gary Lindsay, Bryan Lynch, and Martin Bejerano, film music with Carlos Rafael Rivera
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX 2022-present
Assistant Professor of Composition
Undergraduate and Graduate Courses
Applied Composition Lessons, Orchestration, Jazz and Pop Analysis, Jazz Piano, Jazz Improvisation, Thesis Advising, Music Entrepreneurship, Post-tonal Analysis, Composition
Studio Class, and Film Music
Master’s Theses: Primary Advisor
Nga Ma Chan (2026): “J-Pop Reimagined: A Fusion of the Royal Road Progression and Japanese Pop in Contemporary Orchestral Composition.”
Hugh Taylor (2026): “Bass and Drum Grooves in R&B: Analysis and Composition.”
Leigha Turner (2026): “Architecture as Frozen Music: An Original Wind Ensemble Work Exploring Architectural Metaphors in Contemporary Music ”
Nicholas Knirk (2025): “Spirit Suite: An Original Jazz Manouche Composition for Large Ensemble ”
Jason Ronnie Whitt (2025): “Metamorphosis: An Original Jazz Guitar Concerto Exploring Improvisation and Polystylistic Compositional Strategies in the Cross-genre Concerto.”
Victorino Perez (2025): “A Comparison of Traditional Típica Style Salsa Piano Accompaniment and Latin Jazz Comping.”
Matthew Delcambre (2024): “The Scream Notation System: A Notation System for Screamed Vocals.”
Jimmy Bartley (2024): “Digital Orchestration in Media Composition: Creating an Ideal Mockup.”
University of Colorado Boulder School of Music, Boulder, CO 2019-2022
Instructor of Record
Basic Composition, Aural Skills, Applications of Music Technology, and Film Scoring
Boulder Philharmonic Emerging Composers Program, Broomfield, CO 2020-2022
Individual Mentor for emerging composers at Legacy, Skyline, and Boulder High Schools
Rice University Shepherd School of Music, Houston, TX 2015-2017
Graduate Assistant and Instructor of Record, Brown Teaching Fellow
Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program, GA for Undergraduate Theory, Cross-cultural Asian Music, and Creativity Up Close, and Electronic Music Lab Assistant
SELECTED WORKSHOPS and ADDITIONAL STUDIES
NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Composer Mentorship Program 2025-2026
Unheard-of//Ensemble Collaborative Composition Initiative Workshop, San Antonio, TX 2025
BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, New York, NY 2024-present
WORKSHOPS and ADDITIONAL STUDIES
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International Trombone Festival Composers Workshop, Fort Worth, TX 2024
Composing in the Wilderness, Denali National Park, AK 2023
Colorado Lullaby Project, Entrepreneurship Center for Music, CU Boulder, CO 2021
CU Boulder New Opera Workshop, mentorship with Gene Scheer and Jake Heggie, CO 2021
Sibelius Academy Creative Dialogue XII Workshop, Santa Fe, NM 2020
Red Note New Music Festival Workshop, Normal, IL 2020
Fulbright Grant, Norwegian Academy of Music, study with Helge Sunde, Oslo, Norway 2017-2018
Aspen Music School, Susan and Ford Schumann Center for Composition Studies, CO 2018
International Gugak Workshop at the National Gugak Center, Seoul, South Korea 2017
University of Nebraska Lincoln Chamber Music Institute Workshop, Lincoln, NE 2017
American Composers Orchestra Jazz Composers Institute + Reading Sessions, New York, NY 2016
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Yaddo Artist Residency Fellowship, Saratoga Springs, NY 2026
Visby International Centre for Composers Residency, Visby, Sweden 2026
Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Artist Residency, Taos, NM 2025
Soaring Gardens Artist Residency, Laceyville, PA 2024
ATLAS B2 Creative Residency, Boulder, CO 2023, 2022
I-Park Foundation Residency, East Haddam, CT 2021
Westben Digital Performer-Composer Residency, Campbellford, ON 2020
Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts Residency, Saratoga, WY 2019
The CATWALK Institute Residency, Catskill, NY 2019
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Residency, Nebraska City, NE 2018
SELECTED AWARDS and COMMISSIONS
One Ounce Opera’s 5th Annual Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Opera selected composer 2025
Central Texas SongSlam Competition at Baylor University, 2nd prize 2025
Rapido! Competition Finalist and Performance with Atlanta Chamber Players 2024
Musiqa Catalyst Commission 2024
ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composer Awards and performance at the Newport Jazz Festival 2023, 2019
Dairy Arts Center 30 Under 30 Award 2022
Glimmerglass Opera Commission for The Rip Van Winkles 2022
The American Prize, First Place in Theatre/Film/Opera Division for Las Auténticas 2022
Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra Prize and Commission 2021
Washington National Opera American Opera Initiative Commission 2020
Playground Ensemble Colorado Collaborators Concert Commission 2020
New York Youth Symphony First Music Jazz Commission, Grand Prize and Honorable Mention 2020, 2016
Downbeat Awards, Best Large Ensemble Jazz Composition, Graduate Division 2020, 2016
Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) Commission 2020
AWARDS and COMMISSIONS
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David P and Susan W Wohlhueter Jazz Composition Contest, Ithaca College, Honorable men. 2019
Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, Honorable Mention 2019
International Society of Bassists David Walter Composition Competition, Grand Prize 2016
Da Camera and Foundation for Modern Music Commissions for the Houston Museum of Fine Arts 2016
Frost School of Music Orchestra Composition Competition, Grand Prize Winner 2015
ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award for Stiltsville Concerto 2014
Klezmer Company Orchestra Composition Competition, Prize and Commission 2014, 2013
Festival Miami (Frost Music Live) Emerging Composers Concert, Competition Winner 2013, 2012
New Jersey Music Educators Association Young Composers Award 2010
GRANTS and FELLOWSHIPS
Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Research and Graduate Studies Project Grants 2024-2026
Stephen F. Austin State University Professional Development Grants 2022-2026
Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA) Artistic Innovations Grant for commission with Loop38 2023
Stephen F. Austin State University Cole Faculty Excellence Grant 2023
The Allied Arts Denver Grant for Colorado Sky 2022
American-Scandinavian Foundation Grant for dissertation research 2021
Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant, CU Boulder, for dissertation research 2021
Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research Grant, Eastman School of Music 2020
Fulbright Study/Research Fellowship, Norwegian Academy of Music 2017
SELECTED FESTIVALS
University of Georgia New Music Festival, Athens, GA, performance of Ymir’s Bones 2026
Source Song Festival: MN Song, Minneapolis, MN 2025-2026, 2021
Opera Austin Festival Aria Stage, Austin TX, performance of “Today the Sun Rose” from Las Auténticas 2025
Festival of Contemporary Artists in Music, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 2025
Boston Singers Resource FUSE: Collaborations in Song Festival, Boston, MA 2024
Gene Harris Jazz Festival Clinician and Adjudicator, Boise State University, Boise, ID 2023
highScore Music Festival, Pavia, Italy 2016
New Music on the Point Festival, Leicester, VT 2014
Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, New York, NY 2013
PRESENTATIONS, ARTIST TALKS, and CONFERENCES
“Collaborating with Dancers ” University of Houston Comp. Seminar, Houston, TX (Jan. 29) 2026
“Landscape and Music ” University of Denver Comp. Seminar, Denver, CO (Jan. 15) 2026
“Colorado Sky: A Shadow Puppet Opera and other works with Laura Fuentes.” National Opera 2026 Association New Works Expo, Fairmont-Copley Hotel, Boston, MA (Jan. 10).
“Longleaf: A Multimedia Ecological Work.” Keynote Talk at Big Thicket 50th Anniversary 2024 Symposium, Big Thicket National Preserve Visitor’s Center, Kountze, TX (Oct. 12).
“Creating Longleaf: A Multimedia Work.” Washington State U. Comp. Seminar, Pullman, WA (Oct. 4). 2024
PRESENTATIONS, CONFERENCES, etc.
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“Composing Subpar Parks: A New Work for Musiqa ” Rice U. Comp. Seminar, Houston, TX (Sept. 19) 2024
“Genre Blending and National Identity in Norwegian Jazz at the Punkt Festival.” International 2024 Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers Symposium, Vanderbilt U., Nashville, TN (May 16-18).
International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days, Delegate for Stephen F. 2024 Austin State University, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (June 22-30).
“Applying for a Fulbright.” Stephen F. Austin State University Office of International Programs 2024 Study Abroad Workshop, Nacogdoches, TX (Oct 23).
“The Rip Van Winkles and Other Works with Librettist Laura Fuentes.” National Opera 2024 Association New Works Expo, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (Jan. 3-6).
“Genre Syncretism and Nationalism in Norwegian Jazz, 1970-Present.” New Perspectives 2022 in Popular Music Research Conference, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway (June 1-2).
“Composing Ymir’s Bones: An Original Work for Big Band.” International Society of Jazz Arrangers 2022 and Composers Symposium New Music Workshop, University of Texas, Austin, TX (May 11-15).
“Collaboration in The Fall of Man: A Multimedia Opera.” Texas Tech Comp. Seminar, Lubbock, 2022 TX (April 15)
“Composing ’A Lost Pair of Kites’ from Pocket Guides.” Brush Creek Resident Artist Talk, Saratoga, WY 20182019 and Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Artist Talk, Nebraska City, NE (Sept. 20, July 17).
“Applying for a Fulbright.” University of Miami Frost School of Music, Coral Gables, FL (May 10). 2018
“Edvard, for Big Band and other works” Norwegian Academy of Music Jazz Comp Forum, 2018 Oslo, Norway (April 25).
PUBLICATIONS
“The Punkt Festival and its Antecedents: Genre Hybridity and Remixing as Vehicles for Defining 2026 Cultural Identity in Norwegian Jazz Life.” Jazz and Culture: Volume 9, Fall/Winter 2026 (in progress).
“Longleaf: A Multimedia Musical Composition about Longleaf Pine.” The Longleaf Leader, XVIII: 2025 Issue 1, Winter 2025.
Music published by Alias Press, an affiliated publisher of Theodore Presser Company. 2025 “Beta Drift,” “Bright Light at Russell’s Corners,” “The Hill of Three Wishes,” “Dust Storm,” “Sand Trap,” “Scree Scramble,” “Ymir’s Bones,” and “The Myth of Inexhaustibility.”
ACADEMIC and PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Stephen F. Austin State University (University-wide) Boren Scholarship Committee 2025
Rice University Representative for the Investiture Ceremony of President Neal Weaver 2025
Stephen F. Austin State University (School of Music)
Tuba/Euphonium Search Committee 2026
Musicology Search Committee 2025
Thesis Committees (15 to date) 2022-present
Comprehensive Exam Committees (7 to date) 2023-present
Recital Committees (8 to date) 2022-present Assessment Committee 2023-2025
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee 2022-2024
Graduate Committee 2022-2024
Discipline
Judge, Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) Student Affiliate Composition Contest 2026
Adjudicator, Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat 2026, 2025
Judge, Musiqa Emerging Composers Competition 2025, 2024
Judge, Western Washington University Orchestra Composition Contest 2023
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Freelance Composer, Producer, Orchestrator, Arranger, Copyist, and Jazz Pianist 2011-present Ben Morris Music, Nacogdoches, TX
Administrative and Musical Assistant
2019-2020 Light and Sound Scoring, New York City, NY
Composer-in-Residence and Teaching Artist
2016-2017 Da Camera Young Artist Program, Houston, TX
Orchestrator, Copyist, and Administrative Assistant
2012-2016 Michael Bacon Film Music Studio, New York City, NY
Archivist, Historian, and Honors Summer Research Fellow
2012-2015 University of Miami Richter Library Cuban Heritage Collection, Coral Gables, FL
SKILLS
Software and Platforms: Logic, ProTools, Cubase, Reason, Digital Performer, Reaper, Studio One, MaxMSP, WWise, FMOD, Sibelius, Dorico, MuseScore, Adobe Suite, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, QLab, Microsoft Teams, Brightspace/D2L, Canvas, Blackboard, Zoom, and Microsoft Office Suite
Languages: Intermediate French and Basic Norwegian
SELECTED WORKS LIST and PERFORMANCES
ORCHESTRA and LARGE ENSEMBLE
New Work (TBD) (sinfonietta)
2026 Commissioned by David Alan Miller and Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire, Albany, NY (6/26)
American Mosaic (22’00”) (concerto grosso for jazz sextet and wind ensemble)
2026 Commissioned by Tamey Anglley and the SFA Wind Ensemble for CBDNA Southwest (2/26)
The Myth of Inexhaustibility (20’00”) (concerto for soprano sax and wind ensemble)
2025 Consortium commission led by Bob Eason, Tamey Anglley, and the SFA Wind Ensemble (4/25)
Longleaf (60’00”) (trp, hn, tbn, perc, harp, string quintet, audiovisual multimedia)
2024 Commissioned and premiered by Loop38, Houston, TX (3/24)
The Hill of Three Wishes (7’00”) (orchestra – 2222/222/timp/1 perc/strings)
2022 Commissioned by Pro Musica Colorado Orchestra, Boulder, CO. Published by Alias Press (11/22)
Fractal Kennings (7’00”) (orchestra - 3333/4331/timp/3 perc/harp/keys/strings)
2018 Read by the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, Aspen, CO (6/18)
House of Stairs (6’50”) (orchestra - 2222/221/harp/keys/2 perc/strings)
2017 Performed by the Shepherd School of Music Chamber Orchestra, Houston, TX (3/19)
Beltway 8 (9’00”) (orchestra - 2233/4231/harp/keys/timp/3 perc/strings)
2016 Read by the American Composer’s Orchestra JCOI Readings, NYC, NY and Rice U. Orchestra (6/16)
Ceiba Pentandra (10’00”) (orchestra - 2222/4231/timp/2 perc/strings)
2014 Performed by the Frost School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Coral Gables, FL (2/15)
Stiltsville Concerto (17’50”)
2013 (double concerto for marimba, piano, and orchestra - 2222/4231/timp/2 perc/strings)
VOICE and OPERA
the meadow (4’00”) (tenor and pno)
2026 Commissioned by NATS Mentorship Program (Premiere 5/26)
New Song Cycle (20’00”) (SSAATB and Renaissance consort)
2026 Composed for Source Song Festival, Minneapolis, MN (Premiere 8/26)
VOICE and OPERA
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Two Sanders Songs (8’00”) (soprano and pno)
2025 Commissioned by Maggie Hinchliffe and Rosie Kearin, Waco, TX (Premiere 4/25)
The Crone Speaks (10’00”) (mezzo soprano and pno)
2024 Poetry by Katharyn Howd Machan, commissioned by FUSE/Catalyst New Music, MA (Premiere 5/24)
The Rip Van Winkles (60’00”) (opera in one act)
2023 Libretto by Laura Fuentes, commissioned by Glimmerglass Festival, NY (Premiere 8/23)
Colorado Sky (30’00”) (shadow puppet opera for three vocalists and string quartet)
2023 Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere with Art Song Colorado, Denver, CO (6/23)
The Fall of Man and Other Tales (60’00”) (multimedia song cycle/music theatre piece)
2022 Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere at CU Boulder ATLAS B2 Black Box Theatre, CO (4/22)
Perspective (17’00”) (opera in one act)
2021 Libretto by Nnamdi Nwankwo, premiere at CU NOW (New Opera Workshop), CO (6/21)
Death, Inc. (4’00”) (soprano and pno)
2021 Text by Joyce Sutphen, premiere at Source Song Festival, Minneapolis, MN (8/21)
Las Auténticas (20’30”) (opera in one act)
Libretto by Laura Fuentes, premiere at Washington National Opera, Washington, DC (4/21)
My First Drawing (from The Little Prince) (6’00”) (soprano and vlc)
2021
2020 Commissioned by the Sohap Ensemble (1/21)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (6’00”) (baritone, bs tbn, cb)
2020 Commissioned by Erich Haller, soprano/cello version premiered by Sohap Ensemble (1/21)
Four Postcards (11’00”) (tenor and gtr)
2020 Commissioned by the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) (8/20)
Routine Surprise (11’00”) (sop and pno)
2020 Performed by Maureen Bailey and Maggie Hinchliffe, Boulder, CO (3/20)
People are Lights (5’20”) (baritone and vlc)
2019 Performed by Tim Wilfong and Laura Jacyna, Montreal, Canada (8/19)
Two Grandfathers (7’00”) (mz soprano, vln, gtr, harp, pno)
2017 Commissioned by Da Camera Young Artists, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, TX (4/17)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (5’00”) (soprano and vlc)
2016 Commissioned by the Da Camera Music Encounters program, Houston, TX (2/17)
Hey the Gift, Ho the Gift (8’00”) (countertenor, tenor, 3 tbns, tba, organ)
2016 Performed at New Music for the Season, Houston, TX (12/16)
Bubbles in a River (10’00”) (bass voice, picc/a. fl, bsn, vln, vlc, cb, harp, pno)
2016 Performed by Alex Rosen at Rice University Composer’s Forum, Houston, TX (4/16)
Recurrent (9’00”) (soprano and perc)
2014 Commissioned by Resound Duo, Festival Miami Composers Concert, Miami, FL (10/14)
My Cathedral (4’00”) (SATB choir)
2013 Performed by ACDA (American Choir Directors Association) at Bede Chapel, Miami, FL, (5/15)
JAZZ—LARGE ENSEMBLE and COMBO
Dust Storm (5’30”) (big band)
Premiere at BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Showcase Concert, NYC. Published by Alias Press (6/25)
2025
Pocket Guides (60’00”) (debut album)
2022 Released on OA2/Origin Records (6/22)
Hadrosaur Patrol (7’00”) (big band and electronics)
2021 Commissioned by the Boise State Jazz Orchestra, Boise, ID (Premiere 4/21)
JAZZ
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Hvalsang (9’00”) (big band)
2020 Commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony Big Band, New York City, NY (Premiere 5/21)
Hongdae After Midnight (6’00”) (jazz combo)
Premiere at the Newport Jazz Festival by the Ben Morris Quintet, Newport, RI (8/19)
Edvard – Bryggen to Brooklyn (10’00”) (extended big band, field recordings, and video)
2019
2018 Premiere by the Mastodont Ensemble at Serendip Music Festival, Oslo, Norway (2/18)
Ymir’s Bones (6’50”) (big band – with combo version)
2017 Read by the NDR Big Band, Hamburg, Germany. Published by Alias Press (3/18)
Hawk Circle (7’00”) (fl, ob, cl, bsn, a. sax, trp, hrn, pno, cb, drums)
Performed at Roe and Penny Stamps Scholarship Concert, Miami, FL (2/15)
200 IM (25’00”) (two dueling jazz septets)
2015
2014 Performed at Frost School of Music Senior Recital, Coral Gables, FL (3/15)
Blue Zemer’l (4’10”) (Klezmer orchestra)
Commissioned by the Klezmer Company Orchestra at FAU in Boca Raton, FL (3/15)
Newport Fog (13’00”) (a. sax, t. sax, trp, gtr, pno, cb, drums)
Performed at Frost School of Music Junior Recital, Coral Gables, FL (4/14)
CHAMBER MUSIC
Jets of Enceladus (5’30”) (fl, pno)
Commissioned and performed by Michael Alampi and Maggie Hinchliffe, Glen Ridge, NJ (10/25)
Subpar Parks (7’00”) (fl, cl, vln, vlc, pno)
2014
2014
2025
2024 Commissioned and performed by Musiqa, Houston, TX (9/24)
Hallingdal Freylekhs (6’00”) (vln, vla, vlc, pno)
Performed by Atlanta Chamber Players, High Museum of Arts, GA (4/24)
Denali Mosquito Dance (6’00”) (fl, b. cl, vln, perc)
Performed by Corvus Ensemble at Composing in the Wilderness, Fairbanks, AK (7/23)
Ghost Figures (8’00”) (pno quintet + perc)
2024
2023
2021 Commissioned by the Playground Ensemble, Denver, CO (5/21)
Hypercoaster (8’00”) (sax quartet)
2021 Commissioned by ~Nois and CU Boulder, Boulder, CO (12/20)
Pando, The Trembling Giant (1’15”) (piano four hands)
2020 Performed by HOCKET, CU Boulder, Boulder, CO (12/20)
Smear Frame (6’00”) (fl, cl, e. gtr, cb, pno)
Performed by NOW Ensemble at Red Note Festival, Normal, IL (2/20)
Colorado Quandary (6’00”) (trp, hn, pno)
Commissioned by Maria Long at Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ (4/20)
A (Short) Story of Earth (10’20”) (fl/a. fl/picc, cl/b. cl, vln, vlc, perc, pno)
Commissioned by Boulder Altitude Directive (B.A.D.) ensemble in Boulder, CO (10/19)
Jejuholmen (7’30”) (fl/picc, cl/b. cl, vln, vla, vlc, perc, pno)
Commissioned by Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at Aspen Music Festival, CO (7/18)
The Dolphin Moments (9’30”) (narrator, harp, and cb)
Performed at Historiefortelling – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (4/18)
Hylestad (9’00”) (two narrators, trp, string quartet)
Performed at Musikkbaren – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (3/18)
Ice on Sand (5’10”) (santoor and pedal steel guitar)
Performed at Historiefortelling – Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (4/18)
2020
2020
2019
2018
2017
2017
2017
CHAMBER MUSIC
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Uncontacted Peoples (6’00”) (five miniatures for brass quintet)
Commissioned by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chamber Music Institute (6/17)
Duet for Daegeum and Haegeum (2’00”)
Read at the International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, South Korea (7/17)
Puppies in the Snow (5’00”) (a. sax, cb, koto, gayagŭm, zheng, changgu)
Performed by IIIz+ at Hear and Now, Rice University, Houston, TX (9/16)
Sand Trap (5’00”) (fl and bsn)
Performed by Second Species at Hear and Now, Houston, TX. Published by Alias Press (10/16)
Agreus and Nomios (6’00”) (b. fl and ac. gtr)
Performed by unassisted fold at the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Canepanova, Pavia, Italy (8/16)
Bric-a-Brac (4’30”) (trp, perc, cb)
Performances at Rice Gallery and Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park, Houston, TX (4/16)
Latta at Valhalla (4’00”) (vln and pno)
Commissioned by Giancarlo Latta – The Encores Project: 16 Premieres, Houston, TX (4/16)
Giverny, Sunrise (3’30”) (vln and cl)
Performed at Hear and Now at Rice University, Houston, TX (4/17)
Aromatic (8’00”) (vla and pno)
2017
2017
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2015 Performed by Tonya Burton’s masters recital, Houston, TX (2/16)
Pastistio (9’30”) (cl, vcl, perc, pno)
Performed by Cadillac Moon Ensemble at Rice University, Houston, TX (1/16)
Muqarnas Projections (11’30”) (3 vlns)
2015
2015 Composed for Anila Agha’s Intersections exhibition at Rice Gallery, Houston, TX (11/15)
Bright Light at Russell’s Corners (9’00”) (5 cbs)
2015 Performed at Rice University Composers Forum, Houston, TX. Published by Alias Press (11/15)
Olduvai Gorge (6’50”) (vln, vla, vlc, hrn, ob)
2015 Read by Cleveland Orchestra chamber players, Miami, FL (1/15)
Manatee Matinee (5’20”) (e. gtr and perc)
Commissioned by the Living Earth Show for the 12 Nights Festival, Miami, FL (3/15)
Ecotone Mosaic (8’00”) (2 a. saxes, 1 bari. sax)
Performed at Frost School of Music Sax chamber concert, Coral Gables, FL (12/15)
Glassbottom (8’10”) (ob, b. cl, vln, cb, pno)
Performed at New Music on the Point, Middlebury Town Hall Theater, VT (6/14)
Citron et Ail (6’10”) (fl, ob, hn, 2 vlns, vla, vlc, cb)
Performed at the Festival Miami Emerging Composers Concert, Miami, FL (2/14)
Phragmites in the Storm (5’20”) (sax quartet)
Performed at SCI Winter Concert, Coral Gables, FL (2/14)
Orange Sky Silhouette (6’20”) (fl, ob, cl, bsn, pno)
Performed at Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival at Mannes College, NYC, NY (8/13)
Confluence (15’30”) (brass quintet)
Performed by the Stamps Brass Quintet, SCI Miami Concert, Miami, FL (3/14)
Shoreline Textures (12’00”) (cl, vln, pno)
Performed by the Pulse Trio at their Frost School of Music Residency, Miami, FL (4/13)
Cosmography (4’50”) (cl, a. sax, vln, vlc, cb, pno)
Performed by Frost School of Music Other Music Ensemble, Coral Gables, FL (4/13)
Grass, Wood, and Bricks (4’10”) (cl, trp, vln, pno)
Performed by Frost School of Music Other Music Ensemble, Coral Gables, FL (3/13)
2014
2014
2014
2014
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
CHAMBER MUSIC
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Wooden Angel (6’00”) (E.h. and pno)
2012 Performed at SCI Miami Fall Concert, Coral Gables, FL (9/14)
Winding (5’30”) (vlc and pno)
2012 Performed at SCI Miami Spring Concert, Coral Gables, FL (3/12)
The Failed Method (3’50”) (sop. sax, vln, pno)
2011 Performed by Kookaburra Trio, Coral Gables, FL (4/12)
SOLO
Scree Scramble (4’00”) (solo contrabass)
2020 Commissioned by the Robert Black Foundation and NMOP. Published by Alias Press (Premiere 7/20)
Map of My Room (2’00”) (solo guitar)
2020 Commissioned by the Sounding Board Project (Premiere 7/20)
Órnes Carvings (3’30”) (solo violoncello)
2020 Performed at the Sibelius Academy Creative Dialogue XII (Premiere 7/20)
Secaucus Junction (10’00”) (solo piano)
2020 Commissioned by Wesley Ducote, Miami, FL. Performance at New World Symphony Hall (4/22)
Pandemic Poems and Pieces (weekly 1’-2’ solo piano miniatures)
2020 Virtual premieres by Maggie Hinchliffe, Glen Ridge, NJ (3/20)
Nautilus Chambers (3’20”) (solo a. sax)
2013 Performed by Eliot Gattegno for his Frost School of Music residency, Coral Gables, FL (11/13)
Three Miniatures (9’35”) (solo piano)
2012 Performed at Festival Miami Emerging Composers Concert, Miami, FL (10/12)
ELECTROACOUSTIC, INSTALLATIONS, and MULTIMEDIA
Stomping Ground (8’00”) (cl, vln, vlc, perc, fixed media)
2025 Composed for Unheard-of//Ensemble at McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX (8/25)
The Last Mammoth of Wrangel Island (7’00”) (2 dancers, fls, viola d’amore, organ, perc, fixed media)
2025 Composed for PART Ensemble, Shepherd King Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX (8/25)
Longleaf (60’00”) (trp, hn, tbn, perc, harp, string quintet, audiovisual multimedia)
2024 Commissioned and premiered by Loop38, Houston, TX (3/24)
Convergent Evolution (7’00”) (t. sax and fixed media)
2024 Commissioned and premiered by David Bernot, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO (4/24)
Double Brood Invasion (6’00”) (bsn and fixed media) 2024 Commissioned and premiered by Cody Hunter, IDRS Conference, Flagstaff, AZ (7/24)
Gallantries (12’00”) (tuba and fixed media) 2024 Commissioned and premiered by Sam Ambrose, Appalachian State University, NC (2/24)
Explosions on a Sun 80 billion Light Years from Earth (7’00”) (horn and fixed media)
2023 Commissioned and premiered by Dakota Corbliss, Southeast Missouri State University, MO (2/24)
clear and calm pools of tremendous depth (8’00”) (percussion and fixed media)
2021 Commissioned and premiered by Christopher Eagles, recorded by Dr. Brad Meyer (3/22)
Communicating Gratitude (15’00”) (fixed video, t. sax, cl/bs cl/fl, trp/flglh, melodica/pno)
2020 Collaborative video for Westben Digital Residency, Campbellford, ON (6/20)
Outdoor Warnings (7’00”) (horn, a. sax, and fixed media)
2020 Commissioned by PIVOT Duo, Premiere @ USC, Columbia, SC (10/20)
Teen of the Aughts (8’00”) (drum set and fixed media)
2019 Commissioned by Brady Spitz, Rice University, Houston, TX (3/19)
ELECTROACOUSTIC, MULTIMEDIA, etc.
Beta Drift (6’30”) (trp in C, fixed media)
(continued)
2017 Commissioned by Derek Ganong and Fredericksburg Brass Institute, VA. Published by Alias Press (6/17)
My Dog Ate It (7’00”) (wind ensemble and video)
2017 Commissioned by the HSPVA Wind Ensemble, Houston, TX (Premiere 4/17)
Refuge for the Rain (0’00”) (site-specific installation - single channel video, stereo audio, props)
2017 Exhibition at the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX (5/17)
Mensis Exolvuntur Mundana (8’00”) (bass-baritone, soprano, live-processed trp and tbn, fixed media)
2016 Composed for the James Turrell Skyspace at Rice University, Houston, TX (4/16)
Einstein on South Beach (5’00”) (brass quintet and fixed media)
2016 Commissioned by Vice City Brass, Fredericksburg, VA (6/16)
Second Avenue Saturdays (7’00”) (brass quintet and fixed media)
2015 Commissioned by Vice City Brass, Fredericksburg, VA (1/16)
Noon Indian (9’10”) (multiple winds performer [bsn and s. sax] and fixed media)
2015 Performed by Keith Petersen at his master’s Recital, Coral Gables, FL (12/15)
Blue Spruce (8’10”) (2 perc and fixed media)
2015 Performed by the Scuffed Shoe Duet at Electric LaTex Festival, Houston, TX (11/15)
Oval BA (8’00”) (vlc and fixed media)
2015 Performed at the Frost School of Music Cello Studio Recital, Coral Gables, FL (4/15)
Psammosere (6’50”) (e. gtr and fixed media) 2014 Performed by Jonah Udall at Wynwood Arts Festival, Miami, FL (12/14)
FILM, THEATRE, and DANCE
Four Corners (90’00”) (dance fl, string quintet, and fixed media)
Choreographed by Karen Stokes. Premiere at Midtown Arts and Theater Center, Houston, TX (2/26)
2026
Feature and Short Film Collaborations with Gabriel Rhenals (misc.) (film scores) 2012-2026 Scores for various film titles, including Ask Delphi, State vs. Unknown, The Promotion, etc.
American River (90’00”) (documentary film score – 3 vln, vla, vlc, cl, mandolin, shakuhachi, gtr, cb, pno)
Premiere at the Montclair Film Festival, Montclair, NJ (10/21)
2021
Don Juan Comes Back from the War (120’00”) (incidental music) 2018
Premiere at Lenfest Center for the Arts at Columbia University, NYC, NY (3/18)
Inside out, outside in (5’00”) (site specific theater piece – 5 actors and audience) 2018 Premiere at Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway (1/18)
North Pond (75’00”) (one-act chamber musical)
Premiere at MATCH Theater, sponsored by Musiqa, Houston, TX (4/17)
Saving the Great Swamp (60’00”) (documentary film score – 2 vln, vla, vlc, cl, trp, pno)
Premiere at the MAYO Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ (12/16)
An Iliad (60’00”) (solo harp incidental music)
Premiere at the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX (3/17)
ARRANGEMENTS and ORCHESTRATIONS
2017
2016
2016
John Coltrane: Legacy (60’00”) (orchestra - 2222/233/3 saxes/timp/2 perc/harp/rhythm section/strings) 2024
Three arrangements performed by Toronto Symphony and Joe Lovano, Toronto, ON. Additional performances by Boston Symphony, BBC, Nashville Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony (5/24-5/25)
Swinging into Spring with Frank Shiner (60’00”) (orchestra – 2 trps/2 tbns/3 saxes/ rhythm section/strings) 2022
Arrangements of “It Had to Be You,” “All of Me,” etc. with Orchestra 914, Chappaqua, NY (5/22)
Brad Ross with Orchestra 914 (60’00”) (orchestra - 2222/221/harp/2 perc/strings)
Arrangements of Brad Ross compositions for Orchestra 914, Chappaqua, NY (Premieres 4/19-7/22)
2019
DISCOGRAPHY
CCI//Sessions, Vol. 7 with Unheard-of//Ensemble, feat. Stomping Ground 2025
Rhenals-Morris: Vol. 1 Collected Film Soundtracks, 2012-2025 2025
American River Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2024
Colorado Sky cast album with Art Song Colorado 2023
Pocket Guides debut album on OA2/Origin Records 2022
ONLINE: Musical Collaborations from the Pandemic, Boise State Jazz Orchestra, feat. Hadrosaur Patrol 2021
Teleconference with Vice City Brass 2021 terraform with PIVOT Duo (Dakota Corbliss and Matt Castner)
2021
North Pond: A Chamber Musical original cast album 2021
Saving the Great Swamp Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2016 16x16: The Rice Encores Project with Giancarlo Latta and Wesley Ducote 2016
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS and AFFILIATIONS
National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Affiliate Member 2025-present
National Opera Association (NOA) 2023-present
International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) 2022-present
International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) Texas Delegate 2022-present
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) 2012-present Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) 2012-present
REFERENCES
Stephen Lias Professor of Composition
Stephen F. Austin State University slias@sfasu.edu (936) 615-1665
Carter Pann Chair of Composition University of Colorado Boulder Carter.Pann@colorado.edu (303) 492-2173
Michael Bacon Film Composer Michael Bacon Music michael@michaelbaconmusic.com -0055 (212) 595
Anthony Brandt Professor of Composition and Theory Rice University abrandt@rice.edu (713) 348-2192
Karim Al-Zand Professor of Composition and Theory Rice University alzand@rice.edu (713) 348-3740
Lansing McLoskey Professor of Composition and Theory University of Miami lmcloskey@miami.edu (305) 284-4522