A 20', single-movement string quartet about grief and loss of innocence. Awarded an American Composers Forum Jerome Commissioning Award.
2001
Solo Instrument
Ballade
6' work for solo piano, in homage to Chopin and Debussy.
2021
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Caritas
A song for soprano, harp, and string quartet -- or, soprano, piano, and string quintet -- with text by Sarah Kirkland Snider, based on prose by Hildegard von Bingen.
2024
Chamber Ensemble
Caritas (for chamber ensemble, arr. w/no voice)
An instrumental-only arrangement of a song inspired by the writings of Hildegard von Bingen.
2006
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Chrysalis (for soprano and two violas)
4' for soprano and two violas; text by Ivanna Yi. About discovering one's identity.
2015
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Chrysalis (for soprano, violin, and cello)
(2006, Arr. 2015.) 4' song for Soprano, Violin, Cello. Text by Ivanna Yi. About discovering one's identity.
2011
Chamber Ensemble
Daughter of the Waves
9' work for mixed chamber octet
2011
Chamber Ensemble
Daughter of the Waves (for sextet)
9' work for mixed sextet (with two doubling players.) See octet version for non-doubling players.
2005
Orchestra
Disquiet
(2005, rev. 2012) 14' work for full orchestra. A meditation on unspoken words.
2024
Orchestra
Drink The Wild Ayre (for string orchestra)
Drink The Wild Ayre (for string orchestra) is a 12:30 piece for harp and string orchestra that is, by turns, dancing, elegiac, mysterious, fiery, and rhapsodic.
2023
Chamber Ensemble
Drink the Wild Ayre (for string quartet)
A lyrical and rhythmically-challenging single-movement piece for string quartet.
2021
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
Eighteen Million Six
A New York building reflects on its current and past history -- an elegiac, wistful, devotional song for soprano, tenor, and piano.
2018
Orchestra
Dance
Embrace
Embrace is a 39-minute narrative ballet choreographed by British choreographer George Williamson, the inaugural commission of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s new Ballet Now program.
2023
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
Everything That Ever Was
An elegiac, lyrical song for soprano, baritone, and piano about the weight of the past in relationships, on a poem by Tracy K. Smith.
2024
Orchestra
Eye of Mnemosyne
A 22' eight-movement orchestral work about memory, innovation, and cultural transformation, with optional film by Deborah Johnson.
2017
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Five High-Voice Songs from Unremembered (high voice + octet + live electronics)
(2012-2013, arr. 2016) Duration: 23′. Words by Nathaniel Bellows. Songs: I. Prelude, IV. The Guest, V. The Slaughterhouse, VII. The Swan, VIII. The Witch
2020
Orchestra
Forward Into Light
15' work for full orchestra inspired by the American women's suffrage movement; a meditation on faith, doubt, and what it means to persevere.
2011
Choral/Vocal
Here
7:15 work for SSAA Chorus. Text by Nathaniel Bellows. A meditation on identity, home, and place.
2025
Opera/Music Theater
Hildegard
A two-act chamber opera on a libretto written by Sarah Kirkland Snider.
2015
Orchestra
Hiraeth
27' work for full orchestra and optional film by Mark DeChiazza. A meditation on home, memory, loss, and nostalgia.
2027
Choral/Vocal
Honora Te
‘Honora Te’ is a 7.5-minute work for SSA and piano, commissioned by Voces Solis, based upon music from my 2025 opera, ‘Hildegard.'
2006
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
How Graceful Some Things Are, Falling Apart
4' song for soprano, mezzo, or tenor and piano. Words by Jonathan Breit.
2019
Chamber Ensemble
If you bring forth what is within you: Suite from Blue Hour
18', six-movement work for dectet based on music from The Blue Hour.
2025
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
"In This Dirt, This Soil" from HILDEGARD
An aria from the HILDEGARD opera; text by Sarah Kirkland Snider.
2005
Chamber Ensemble
In Two Worlds
9' nonet for mixed chamber ensemble. A reflection on the process of transitioning from life to death.
2026
Orchestra
Dance
Iris
6' -- a short, colorful opener -- by turns introspective, ebullient, and joyous.
1998
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
Mad Song
Words by William Blake.
2025
Orchestra
Marmoris
11' impressionistic orchestral tone poem, inspired by the sea and oceanic movement.
2018
Choral/Vocal
Mass for the Endangered
A 45', six-movement Mass for SATB Choir + 12 instruments on text by Nathaniel Bellows and the traditional Latin, on the subject of endangered animals and the global environmental crisis.
2023
Dance
Note to Choreographers
2025
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
"Only Souls" from HILDEGARD
A short aria from the opera HILDEGARD; text by Sarah Kirkland Snider.
2023
Chamber Ensemble
O Sweet and Beloved Mother
A 7' lyrical work for chamber ensemble that is by turns introspective, mysterious, and dream-like, inspired by musical quotes by Hildegard von Bingen.
2015
Choral/Vocal
Ouroboros
An 18' work for SSA Chorus, string quartet, two percussion. On text by Nathaniel Bellows about grief and the circular nature of time.
2020
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
O Virtus Sapientiae
An original arrangement of the 12th-century chant by Hildegard von Bingen, for soprano and string quartet.
2011
Chamber Ensemble
Pale as Centuries
8' work for mixed quintet.
2019
Chamber Ensemble
Parallel Play
5:30 for flute and piano, or flute and marimba
2006
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
Passenger Seat
3:30 song for high voice (soprano, mezzo, or countertenor) and piano. Words by Noah Dobin-Bernstein.
2019
Opera/Music Theater
Penelope (for mezzo-soprano, sextet, and live electronics)
(2008, arr. 2019) Best arr. for staged/semi-staged productions. Duration: 60′. 11-song cycle (with three instrumental interludes.) Words by Ellen McLaughlin. Songs can be performed separately.
2010
Dance
Penelope: Instrumentals
Instrumental-only tracks from Snider's acclaimed album, Penelope, performed by Ensemble Signal.
2010
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Penelope (mezzo + 10-person mixed ensemble + live electronics)
(2008, arr. 2011) Duration: 60′. 11-song cycle (with three instrumental interludes.) Words by Ellen McLaughlin. Songs can be performed separately.
2010
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Penelope (mezzo + chamber orchestra)
(2008, arr. 2010) Duration: 60′. 11-song cycle (with three instrumental interludes.) Words by Ellen McLaughlin. Songs can be performed separately.
2019
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Penelope (mezzo + septet + live electronics)
(2008, arr. 2019) Identical to sextet arr but with guitar/egtr. Duration: 60′. 11-song cycle (with three instrumental interludes.) Words by Ellen McLaughlin. Songs can be performed separately.
2019
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Penelope (mezzo + sextet + live electronics)
(2008, arr. 2019) Best arr. for staged/semi-staged productions. Duration: 60′. 11-song cycle (with three instrumental interludes.) Words by Ellen McLaughlin. Songs can be performed separately.
1999
Solo Instrument
Prelude
3:30 work for solo piano
2013
Choral/Vocal
Psalm of the Soil
7:30 song for male vocal nonet, optional piano. Text by Nathaniel Bellows, about American immigrants working in the agrarian tradition of years past.
2027
Choral/Vocal
Rien qu'une étoile
A mysterious, impassioned, dramatic work for choir and ensemble, on an interleaving of poems by French Surrealist poets Céline Arnauld and Robert Desnos.
2011
Choral/Vocal
Scenes from Unremembered
Five songs (18') from Unremembered, arranged for choir/vocal octet and piano.
2015
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Selections from Unremembered (soprano, tenor + mixed quartet + live electronics)
(2013, arr. 2015) Duration: 18′. Five songs from Unremembered. Words by Nathaniel Bellows. Songs: 1. The Guest 2. The Slaughterhouse 3. The Girl 4. The Swan 5. The Speakers
2006
Chamber Ensemble
Shiner
6:30 work for trombone, harp, viola, and marimba.
2015
Orchestra
Something for the Dark
A 12' work for full orchestra on notions of resilience, inspired by a poem by Philip Levine. The 2014 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Elaine Lebenbom Prize Commission.
2004
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
Stanzas in Meditation
11' work for two sopranos and harp. Text by Gertrude Stein from her eponymous poem. Music about alienation and forgiveness. Yale University John Day Jackson Prize for Best Chamber Music Composition
2004
Choral/Vocal
Stanzas in Meditation
11' work for two sopranos (can also be SSAA choir) and harp, words by Gertrude Stein. Music about alienation and forgiveness. Yale University John Day Jackson Prize for Best Chamber Music Composition.
2011
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Taking Turns in My Skin
16' set of songs for soprano and mixed nonet. Text by Ivanna Yi, on the theme of identity.
2017
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
The Blue Hour
70' collaborative song cycle for mezzo and string orchestra, co-composed with Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, and Caroline Shaw. Text by Carolyn Forché.
2012
Solo Instrument
The Currents
7:30 piece for solo piano commissioned for the American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Competition.
2025
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
"The Fire of Vermillion" from HILDEGARD
A short aria from the opera HILDEGARD; text by Sarah Kirkland Snider.
2022
Solo Instrument
the plum tree I planted still there
A 4' work for solo piano, written for Adam Tendler's 'Inheritances' project. About the way that natural landscapes from our past can feel both grounding and surreal.
2004
Solo Instrument
The Reserved, The Reticent
10' work for solo cello, inspired by a poem by John Ashbery.
2018
Solo Voice(s) (a cappella or one instrument)
The Swan
An arrangement of "The Swan" from Unremembered, 4', for mezzo-soprano and piano.
2006
Chamber Ensemble
Thread and Fray
4:30 work for bass clarinet, viola, and marimba.
2015
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Three Songs from Unremembered (soprano + chamber orchestra + live electronics)
A set of three songs from Unremembered for soprano and orchestra: The Guest, The Swan, The Witch.
2017
Chamber Ensemble with Solo Voice(s)
Unremembered (3 voices + chamber octet + live electronics)
An hour-long song cycle for three vocal soloists, chamber ensemble, and electronics.
2017
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Unremembered (3 voices + chamber orchestra + live electronics)
2013; arr 2017. Words by Nathaniel Bellows. An hour-long, thirteen song cycle for three vocalists, chamber orchestra, and electronics. Songs can be performed separately.
2015
Dance
Unremembered: Instrumentals
Instrumental-only versions of all tracks from the acclaimed Unremembered album.
2013
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Unremembered (seven voices + chamber orchestra + live electronics)
2013; arr 2017. Words by Nathaniel Bellows. 57'; Thirteen Songs for seven voices, chamber orchestra, and live electronics. Songs can be performed separately.
2006
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Until I Became Human
Two songs, 12', for mezzo, viola, and orchestra. Conceived for youth orchestra. Words by Ivanna Yi.
1. Violin 2. Chrysalis
2026
Orchestra with Solo Voice(s)
Urge
A 20' lyrical and dramatic work for baritone and orchestra on a bespoke poem by former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith.
2015
Chamber Ensemble
You Are Free
A 6:15 work for Pierrot + percussion. Optional field recording ("tape") accompaniment.
2018
Choral/Vocal
You Must Feel with Certainty
Text by Hilma af Klint, translated by Christine Burgin. 7' for SATB chorus and percussion.