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I was selected to be one of the three composers-in-residence for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra's Under Construction series in early 2008. The residency is an intensive experience working with this world-class group of musicians, who love fresh, new symphonic music. Residents write pieces for three concerts and have them realized by a full orchestra! See their website for details about the concert, the other residents, directions, etc.
A smaller (chamber) version of one of the pieces, Insecurity, was performed by the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra in 2005. A substantially-expanded version of the first movement was submitted to the Berkeley Symphony for entrance into the residency and was performed on February 24, 2008. More information is here.
In January, residents were also asked to compose two new pieces based upon themes ("dance" and "spring"). My piece based upon the first theme, The Spectator, was performed March 16 with Guillermo Figueroa conducting; the second piece, Deep Green Dream, was performed March 30 with conductor Laura Jackson. Program notes, the orchestral score and recordings are provided below.
Many thanks to Alexis Alrich and Phil Freihofner for reviewing and proofreading, as the music was written rapidly to meet the accelerated timelines.
The Spectator
On January 5, 2008, I learned that the biggest challenge of my residency with the Berkeley Symphony was to rapidly compose two new orchestral works during the month of January. On that morning I recall looking at a blank piece of paper, thinking, how to begin? Past experience suggested I would need at least a month to write each piece.
Fortunately the Berkeley Symphony had provided a starting point. The composition's theme for March 16, "dance," evoked some curious emotions in me. Rather than melodic lines for dancers, i.e., ones that could serve as an accompaniment to a dance, my mind drifted to the experiences and thoughts of those who observe dancers. This image developed into a very specific one: That of a shy wallflower at a school dance.
Melodies that are fast and flashy, or slow and contemplative, come easily to me. I often gravitate to one or the other extreme. So from a composer's viewpoint, I was interested in the personal challenge of writing a mid-tempo piece. I thought the above image would serve well as a visual and emotional springboard, as it conjures some sadness and timidity, but being a wallflower isn't a carefree or passive experience. Being a keen observer at a childhood social function is an active role, especially for a shy dancer who is striving to be noticed.
The Spectator strategically uses two apparently conflicting themes: the first, introduced by trumpet, is a somewhat dark, lugubrious one, and the second, introduced by clarinet, is more fanciful. After a harp-piano interlude, where dancers are quietly portrayed, the two themes re-appear. They ultimately become a duet for the entire orchestra.
Score 
(BSO recording from March 16)
Deep Green Dream
"Gardening and dreaming have the same transitory quality that makes them hard to describe from beginning to end. Putting the two together in a garden is doubly illusive."
- Ferris Cook, Garden Dreams
The finest aspect of being a resident of the Berkeley Symphony has been the opportunity to write for and experiment with the symphonic palette. And with the Under Construction series' daring promise to perform an adventurous new work, the temptation to compose something unusual is impossible to resist.
Deep Green Dream is a story built around the pulsatile fabric of all the basses in the orchestra: bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, trombones, tuba, timpani, cello, double bass, and even piano. None of these bass parts are identical; they interlock, exchange places, and have strategic intervals of silence. These eleven layers result in deep, profoundly organic, low tones along with complex upper harmonic textures that constantly weave among the other instruments.
The story is about a sleeping gardener: Feeling the warm afternoon sun, she nods off and begins to have a vivid dream of a dark, lush, green world. It is interrupted briefly, with a restless stir, but then she nods off again, and drifts back into the dream. The intensity of the verdant experience is even more vivid than before. Then she wakes suddenly, sitting up; she is not in the backyard, sitting in the sun. She is in bed, it is morning, and the alarm clock just went off.
As with The Spectator, Deep Green Dream uses an alternate-octave scale structure: three sharps (c#, d#, and f#) are used in every other octave. This results in a variety of chord augmentations and colors. On occasion, the octaves with the sharps are switched, causing abrupt diversions in melody and harmony.
Many thanks to the Berkeley Symphony, and its audience, for the opportunity to compose new works for a world-class orchestra.
Score (MIDI reference recording)