Vocal Works

Operas
For Solo Voice
Choral Works

For Orchestra
Concertos
For Solo Piano
Chamber Music

Vocal Works

Operas

VS. -- an opera for the sake of argument. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Original story and libretto by Rick Huff. Soprano, mezzo, tenor, 2 baritones, flute, clarinet, bassoon, bass, piano. Duration: 1’15”

The Immature Burial. A Gonzo Opera from the Crypt in one act. Original story and libretto by Jonathan David Dixon. Tenor, baritone, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, bassoon, electronic keyboard.

The Other Side of the Veil. A Halloween Gonzo Opera in one act. Original story and libretto by Jonathan David Dixon. Tenor, baritone, mezzo-soprano, viola, clarinet, bassoon, electronic keyboard.

Blind Cupid On-line: The Dating Opera. A Gonzo Opera in one act.Duration: 1:05 Libretto and original story by Miffy Gevaar Baritone, mezzo-soprano, tenor (1-4 singers can play this role), soprano (1-4 singers can play this role), flute, clarinet, bass, piano.

Down on the Pharma: the Medicine Show. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto and original story by R Michael H. A pointed satire on Big Pharma. For tenor, (Doc Charletayne), baritone (Drug Doug), soprano (Adicta), mezzo (Mypilla), piano, bass, flute, clarinet.

Cyber Mom. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto and original story by Janice Leber. For soprano, mezzo, baritone, piano, bass, clarinet.

#trialbytext. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto and original story by Janice Leber. For soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, 2 baritones. Clarinet, double bass, and piano.

Baggage. A Gonzo Opera in 2 acts. Original story and libretto by Rick Huff. Principal roles: tenor, mezzo-soprano / also soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones. Flute, clarinet, bass and piano.

Adonais. Opera in 2 acts. Libretto by Carla Maria Verdino-Sulllwold, based on the poetry and letters of John Keats and his circle. Principal roles: tenor (Keats), mezzo-soprano (Fanny). Also for soprano, contralto, 2 tenors, 3 baritones and chorus. Orchestra: 2322/22/harp/strings.

Cellular World. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto and original story by Janice Leber. For soprano, mezzo, 2 tenors, baritone. Flute, clarinet, double bass, piano.

All the Right Moves. A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto by Thomas B. Woodward from his original prize-winning play. For soprano, mezzo, 2 tenors, baritone. Flute, clarinet, bassoon, string bass, piano. Duration: 50 min.

Love at the Kitty Cat Hotel. A Gonzo Opera in three acts. Libretto and original story by Janice Leber. For soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone. Clarinet, oboe, cello, string bass and piano. Duration: 90 min.

And the Winner Is ... A Gonzo Opera in one act. Libretto by Thomas B. Woodward from his original prize-winning play. For mezzo, baritone, soprano, tenor. Piano, bass, flute, clarinet and bassoon. Duration: 50 min.

Sappho of Lesbos. An opera in three acts based on the novel Sappho, the Tenth Muse by Nancy Freedman. Libretto by Nancy and Benedict Freedman. Mezzo-soprano, baritone, tenor, alto, 7 sopranos, 1 high soprano, mixed chorus (including several short solo parts).

La Llorona. An opera in three acts, based on the play by Rudolfo Anaya. Libretto by the author. Soprano, boy soprano, tenor, mezzo-soprano, 2 baritones.

Too Much Coffee Man. The first comic-strip opera, in two acts, based on the satirical cartoon character of Shannon Wheeler. Libretto by Shannon Wheeler, Damian Willcox, Carolyn Main, and the composer. Mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone. Clarinet, bass, piano.
Watch animation clip

GASP!. A comic eco-operetta for children about the science of air and atmosphere!! Original story & libretto by Rick Huff.

Bartleby, The Scrivener. An opera in two acts, based on the short story by Herman Melville. Libretto by Erik Bauersfeld. For baritone, tenor, baritone, bass, and medium orchestra.

Diary Of A Madman. One-act opera based on the story by Gogol. Libretto by Erik Bauersfeld. For tenor, baritone, soprano, bass and medium orchestra.

Goblin Market. One-act opera based on the poem by Christina Rossetti. For mixed chorus, soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone with bassoon and piano. (Additional instruments may be added.)
Duration: 45 minutes.

Under A Halogen Sun. An opera in three acts. Original story and libretto by D. S. Black. For soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, 3 basses, chorus (with short solo roles for chorus members), and medium orchestra. Four excerpts recorded on ARIAS CD. Hear sound clip

The Furnished Room. An opera in one long act, based on the short story by O. Henry. Libretto by Richard Kuss. For tenor, 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano; 2 contraltos, boy soprano, baritone, bass and medium orchestra.
Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Mezzo-soprano excerpt on ARIAS CD.

The Pied Piper. An opera in one act based on the poem by Robert Browning.Libretto by Adam Cornford. For mixed chorus, soprano, tenor, baritone, piano and flute. (Additional instruments may be added.)
Duration: 1 hour. Soprano excerpt recorded on ARIAS CD. Partial recording available. Hear sound clip

Theater Works

Bury My Name. A theater work in two acts for baritone/actor and piano, or baritone and speaker and piano in 2 Acts.
Proposing Edward de Vere as the true author of the works attributed to Wm. Shaksper of Stratford.

Music:

1. Introduction (Arrangement of "The Earl of Oxford's Marche" by William Byrd)
2. "Come, thou Monarch of the Vine" (Anthony & Cleopatra)
3. Labour's Reward (Edward de Vere)
4. "We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us" (Henry V)
5. "Alas, poor Yorick (Hamlet)
6. Bylbis and Caune (Ovid -- translation credited to Arthur Golding, but likely at least in part by Edward de Vere)
7. "While You Here Do Snoring Lie" (The Tempest)
8. "Imagine that you see the wretched strangers" (The Boke of Sir Thomas More-Anon, but thought to be written by Shake-speare)
9. "A Fool, a Fool, a Motley Fool" (As You Like It)
10. Lord's monologue (Taming of the Shrew)
11. Good Friend for Jesus' sake forbear (Shaksper's Epitaph)
12. Mad scenes (King Lear)
13. Sonnet 72 (Shake-speare)

Otter's Odd Adventure -- an original satire for narrator /comedian and orchestra, written with Adam Cornford (2222/433/tym.,perc./strings)

The Curious Conundrums of Dexter Fitzkibble Music accompanying the stage play. (Flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, bass). One act.

Out of the Clauset (An off-season Kris mess) for narrator and instrumental ensemble. Story by Rick Huff. One act.

Fundamentals. A theater/performance work written with Adam Cornford.
Hear sound clip 1. Hear sound clip 2.

Ad Nauseam. A theater/performance work written with Adam Cornford. Hear sound clip.

For Solo Voice

Vocalise No. 1 - Navigating a Dew-Starred Laughing Labyrinth for coloratura soprano and piano.

Granola Boy for tenor and piano. Setting of a sonnet by Jonathan David Dixon

Gothic Hauntings for tenor and orchestra. Settings of Annabel Lee and Dream-Land by Edgar Allen Poe, and La belle damn sans merci by John Keats.

Sonnet 72 for tenor and orchestra. Setting of the work by Shake-speare –€・last movement of Symphony No. 17 "Oxford."

Mutability. for tenor and string orchestra. Setting of a poem by Percy Shelley Written for Brian Cheney

On Turning 70. Setting of a satirical poem by Kip Allen, for voice and piano.

As I Lay on Yoolis Night. An arrangement of the traditional carol, for soprano, string quartet, flute and bassoon. Written for Deborah Domanski.

Do Not Weep, Maiden. A setting of the anti-war poem by Stephen Crane for baritone and string orchestra or piano.

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! A setting of speeches from Shake-speare's King Lear. For baritone, tenor and orchestra (or piano reduction). (Can be done with just baritone.)

Love's Kaleidoscope. A love-song-cycle for Soprano and Tenor with string orchestra or piano reduction.

1. To the Virgins / Upon Julia's Clothes / Chop Cherry (Robert Herrick) (Tenor)
2. Matin Song (Thomas Heywood) (Soprano)
3. The Passionate Shepherd to his Love (Christopher Marlow) (Tenor)
4. Love is Enough (William Morris) (Duet)
5. Never Love Unless (Thomas Campion) (Soprano)
6. Longing (Matthew Arnold) (Tenor)
7. Echo (Christina Rossetti) (Soprano)
8. Return (John Wilmot) (Tenor)
9. Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor (John Dryden) (Soprano)

From a Distant Mesa. For tenor and orchestra (commissioned by Jerry Hadley).

1. Spider Woman (Adam Cornford)
2. Cancion al Rio Grande (Rudolfo Anaya)
3. Being the Waters (V. B. Price)
4. (2222/433/per./strings)
6. Duration: 45 minutes. Hear sound clip

   Wordless Duets for soprano, tenor, and piano.

   The Real Shake-speare. A cycle of 5 songs, settings of poems by Edward de Vere, whom many believe to be the writer of the Shake-speare plays and sonnets. For voice and piano.

   1. I am Not as I Seem to Be
   2. Revenge of Wrong
   3. Were I a King
   4. Reason & Affection
   5. Labour and Its Rewards
   1. Duration: 15 minutes.

   2. Cat Stories. A song-cycle of poems about cats for voice and piano.

      1. Verses to a Cat (Shelley)
      2. The Owl & the Pussycat (Lear)
      3. On the Death of a Cat (C. Rosetti)
      4. Cat Stretching
      5. The Cat and the Moon (Yeats)
      6. Elegy to a Favourite Cat (Gray)
   3. Duration: 16 minutes.

   4. Six Wordless Arias for voice and piano (written for Deborah Benedict).

      Kubla Khan. A setting of the poem by Samuel Coleridge for bass and orchestra. Also in piano reduction.

      The Song and the Slogan. A setting of poetry by Carl Sandburg. For orchestra with harmonica, solo cello. Version for flute, oboe, French horn, harmonica, banjo, cello, piano and tenor. (Commissioned by Jerry Hadley for performance in 2000.) EMMY WINNER FOR BEST MUSIC, 2003
      Duration: 35 minutes. Hear sound clip.

      Illinois Farmer. Setting of a poem by Carl Sandburg for voice and piano. (Commissioned by Jerry Hadley for performance in 1998.)
      Duration: 4 minutes. Hear sound clip.

      Who's Who. A satirical song-cycle from a text by Denise Mordecai for voice and piano.
      Duration: 4 minutes.

      La belle dame sans merci. Setting of a poem by Keats for tenor and orchestra. Also in piano reduction.

      Music, when soft voices die... Setting of a poem by Shelley for voice and piano.

      To His Coy Mistress. Setting of a poem by Andrew Marvell for tenor and piano.

      Bittersweet Dreams. Three poems by Christina Rossetti for soprano and piano. (Written for Deborah Benedict.)

      The Houses of Iszm. Setting of a poem by Adam Cornford for tenor and orchestra (or piano). (Written for Jerry Hadley.)

      Ozymandias. Setting of a poem by Shelley for male voice and piano. Best performed by baritone or bass, but appropriate for tenor as well (in transposition).

      Jabberwocky. Setting of a poem by Lewis Carroll for male voice and piano. Best performed by baritone or bass, but appropriate for tenor as well (in transposition).

      Lines to a Reviewer. Setting of a poem by Shelley for voice and piano.

      Contemporaries for Voice and Piano. Setting of found texts for voice and piano.
      (Recorded on the BACAT CD -- ARIAS.)

   5. Personals Hear sound clip
   6. Disabling a Computer with a Hammer or Other Heavy Blunt Instrument is Still Legal in Most States
   7. Language of the Bard
   8. You're Going to Need a Lawyer!

   Songs of Innocence & Experience. A complete setting of the poem cycles by William Blake for four voices and orchestra. (Also in piano reduction.) (Excerpts recorded on the BACAT CD -- ARIAS.)

   The Songs of Innocence are also intended to serve also as "training songs" for singers, just as are the classical Italian arias, and can be performed individually.

   Songs of Experience. excerpt for tenor and orchestra "Little Girl Lost / Little Girl Found / The Tyger".

   Three Blake Songs. For soprano and string orchestra. Version for soprano and piano; and for soprano and string quartet (arrangement made for Deborah Benedict).

   Annabel Lee.A setting of the poem by Edgar Allen Poe for tenor and piano. (Written for Jerry Hadley.)

   She Walks in Beauty. A setting of the poem by Byron for tenor and piano.

   Vocalise No. 3. Virtuoso work for soprano and piano, or mezzo-soprano and piano.

   In proud and glorious memory. Setting of anti-war poems by Siegfried Sassoon for baritone and string orchestra with snare drum and tympani.Could possibly be performed with piano and percussion.

   Choral Works

   I Weep for Adonais/The breath whose might I have evoked... Two choruses from the opera Adonais for mixed chorus and orchestra, or piano reduction. Text by John Keats.

   There was a naughty boy.... Setting of a poem by Keats for mixed chorus and piano.

   The Jumblies. Setting of a poem by Edward Lear for unaccompanied mixed chorus.

   Hyacinth Moon Reflections. Setting of 6 poems by Abbot Small, for unaccompanied mixed chorus.

   Song of the Shepherds. Christmas work--setting of a poem by William Morris. (Arrangements for solo singer and piano, and mixed chorus and piano). Recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic, conducted by Robert Ian Winstin (Holidays of the New Era - Volume Two).
   Duration: 3 minutes.

   To a Strange Land for children's chorus, based on poems written by elementary school children under the tutelage of Adam Cornford.
   Duration: 20 minutes.

   Vocalise No. 2 for male chorus.
   Duration: 8 minutes.

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   For Orchestra

   For Orchestra

   Dance of the Deranged Composer--A Halloween Hysteria (2222/423/2perc/strings)
   Duration: 5 min.

   

   Turtle Island – Symphonic Poem (2222/423/2perc/strings)
   Duration: 25 min.

   I Kishelamakank Dreams the World
   II War of the Giant Bear Tooth
   III The Turtle Becomes an Island
   IV Heroism of the Animals
   

   Yuletide Revels (2222/423/perc/strings)
   Duration: 6 min.

   

   La Llorona – Symphonic Poem (2222/4231/2 perc,xyl,tym,piano/strings)

   I Prelude
   II Inside the Temple
   III Blood is Everywhere
   IV Every Woman La Llorona
   

   Symphony 17 "Oxford Symphony" (2222/423/strings)

   I "A spirit raised from depth of underground"
   II "While counterfeit supposes bleared thine eyne"
   III "You are not ipse, for I am he"
   IV Sonnet 72
   

   Symphony 16 (2222/423/pno/strings)

   I Encroaching on whimsically unsustainable prerogatives
   II Abandoned clues leading to the Anaesthesia of self-knowledge
   III Weighing one's thoughts upon a hyper-active scale
   IV Pacification of the Under-Clichéd
   

   
   Hallucinations at the Bottom of the Sea for string orchestra

   Symphony 15 (four movements). (2222/423/pno/strings)
   I The Perpetuity of Invented Realism
   II Notice will Be Taken
   III The Momentous Light of an Alien World
   IV Horizontal Demons Suspended in Spider-Clusters of Luminous Eyes

   Symphony 14 (four movements). (2222/423/pno/strings)
   I. The Essential Power Paradigm of Updating Potential Professional Apoplexy.
   II. Liminal Illuminations Robed in Sunset Colors
   III. Soon to be Picturesque Ruins
   IV. Squirrels in Spaghetti

   Through the Gates Delinquent. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/snare, tym/ strings)
   Duration: 10:00 Hear sound clip

   The Vandalism of the Ozone of Human Desire. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/ tym/ strings)
   Duration: 8:15 Hear sound clip

   The Conductivity of Electric Reason Dismisses an Impossible Proclamation. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/ strings)
   Duration: 5:15 Hear sound clip

   Metaphorical Combustion Born of Clandestine Schizophrenia. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/snare/ strings)
   Duration: 4:00 Hear sound clip

   Intangible Gridirons Marking the Anesthesia of Self-Knowledge. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/strings)
   Duration: 8:00 Hear sound clip

   Let's Play with Matches on Company Time. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/piano, xyl, 2/ strings)
   Duration: 3:00 Recording: Czech Philharmonic

   Indulgent amorevolezza. (2,2,2,2/4,2,3/strings)
   Duration: 5:20 Hear sound clip

   Careening Over the Cliff of Pre-History (2,2,2,2/4,2/strings)
   Duration: 8:00 Hear sound clip

   Mind and matter glide swiftly into the vortex of immensity. (2,2,2,2/4,2/strings)
   Duration: 12:30 Hear sound clip

   Movement in which the Orchestra Sheds Its Skin. (2,2,2,2/4,2/strings)
   Duration: 4:00 Hear sound clip

   Symphony 13 (2222/423/pno/strings)
   I. The emotional geography of truth is a defensive and offensive pact simultaneously.
   II. The material of universality is the anaesthesia of self-knowledge
   III. Prohibited Diversions Distilled from Unknown Fruit
   IV. The Lascivious Grace of Nervous Dilettantes in Evening Wear

   Symphony 12 (2222/423/strings)
   I. An emotional map of the domination of commodities [8:00]
   II. Escaping the organization of re-processed images. [5:30]
   III. The weight of a mythical past lies festering on the future.
   IV. Irradiated Harmonies with which the Overcritical May Strangle Themselves [8:00]

   Symphony 11(2322/423/strings)
   I. All that was once lived has moved into its own re-presentation.
   II. Cardboard Control Panels Registering the Sound of Internal Transparency
   III. The Psychogeography of a Reconstituted Logos
   IV. Careen
   ing Over the Cliff of Pre-History

   Hear sound clip Symphony 10(2232/433/tym. perc./strings)
   I. Intangible Gridirons Marking the Anesthesia of Self-Knowledge [8:00]
   II. Movement in which the Orchestra Sheds Its Skin [3:30]
   III. The Fractured Soul of Alienation
   IV. Currents of Bilocated Time Moving Epileptically To Create a Subconscious Paradox
   

   Hear sound clip Symphony 9(2332/433/tym., perc./strings)
   I. Through the Gates Delinquent [10:00]
   II. A Decision Forest Labyrinth of Untrammeled Contemplation [5:30]
   III. The Conductivity of Electric Reason Dismisses an Impossible Proclamation [5:15]
   IV. Driving the freeway of quantum gravity [6:40] Hear sound clip

   Symphony 8(2322/433/tym., perc./strings)
   I. The Vandalism of the Ozone of Human Desire [8:15]
   II. Indulgent amorevolezza [5:20]
   III. Metaphorical Combustion Born of Clandestine Schizophrenia [4:00]
   IV. Forgotten Ancestors Revealing Abandoned Clues Leading To Forbidden Caches [8:40] Hear sound clip

   Now the Harsh Land Unfolds its Secret Beauty. (string orchestra)
   Duration: 8 minutes.

   Fanfare Overture: Red or Green? (Commissioned by the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its 75th anniversary.) (2222/433/tym.,xyl.,3perc./strings)
   Duration: 6 minutes.

   Symphony 7(2322/433/tym., perc./strings)
   I. Mind and matter glide swift into the vortex of immensity [12:38]
   II. An interlude of self-infiltrated cosmography [5:00]
   III. Supressed transition that unites all contrasts [5:30]
   IV. A sojourn of an untaxed countenance delivered to a paradise of oblivion [8:10]
   

   Ode To The Furies(3332/433/tym.,xyl.,3perc.,piano/strings)
   Duration: 7 minutes.

   Symphony 6(2322/433/tym., perc./strings)
   I. Despite a Sense of Humor, the Double Negative Fails to Apply [12:50]
   II. The Irregular Conditional Past Subjunctive Third Person Singular Form of Twitter Is Always Difficult. [6:00]
   III. Deep impressions divorced from reverence [4:50]
   IV. Tumultuous preoccupation with Lurking Throughfares [10:30]
   IV. The Great Arches Hear sound clip

   Entrance to the City of Proud Fancy. (Commissioned by the Northwest Symphony to celebrate its 50th anniversary.) (3222/434/tym.,2perc./strings)
   Duration: 8 minutes.

   Symphony 5 "Sinawava Sinfonia"(3333/4331/tym., perc./strings)
   I. Entrance from the East
   II. Eagles' Landing
   III. The Narrows
   IV. The Great Arches Hear sound clip

   Dance Suite(2222/4331/tym., 2perc., pno/strings)
   

7. Duration: 25 minutes
9. Prelude
10. Hip Hop
11. Funky Chicken
12. Country Waltz
13. Slam Dance
14. Truckin'
15. Too Breezy for Funk
16. Boogie
17. Finale

Landscape of Enchantment. (string quartet or string orchestra)
commissioned by the New Mexico Philharmonic

Contemporaries for Cello and Piano.

Prairie Mother Suite for cello and piano. (Written for Barbara Hedlund.)

Duration: 20 minutes.

Soap Opera Septet for flute, violin, guitar, bass, xylophone/vibraphone, piano and tape recorder.
Based on actual TV soap opera broadcasts. Hear sound clip

Vocalise No. 1 for vocal soloist and computer controlled piano.

Fantasia for violin and computer-controlled piano. Same work as Vocalise No. 1 rescored for violin instead of vocal soloist.

Ghouls for French horn and tuba. Also arranged for cello and double bass, or 2 cellos.
Duration: 4 minutes. Published by Cellobration.

Trio for flute, viola, guitar. Also arranged for violin, viola and cello.

Fanfares for Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice for brass quintet.
Duration: 3 minutes each.

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For Tape Recorder

Snake Oil Symphony. (Recorded on Lutra LP) (In the permanent archives of the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges in the French National Library.) Hear sound clip

Soap Opera Suite.(Recorded on Lutra LP) Hear sound clip

Fundamentals. A theater/performance work written with Adam Cornford.
Hear sound clip 1. Hear sound clip 2.

Ad Nauseam. A theater/performance work written with Adam Cornford. Hear sound clip.

Tape Composition No. 5 "The Society Of The Spectacle"

Tape Composition No. 4 "Tortured By Demons"

Tape Composition No. 3 "At the Movies"

Tape Composition No. 2

Tape Composition No. 1