Concert Music

fog hovering above still water (2023)

In August, My family and I went on vacation to Maine and stayed in a cabin on Branch Lake near Ellsworth. I absolutely love Maine. I love the woods, the moss. the lakes, the squirrels, the trees, the hikes and the blue berries. While there, I did a number of field recordings of the dock, the woods, water that we encountered while hiking and even the loon calls. Upon returning to Philadelphia, I used these soundscapes to create a sound world for a new piano composition, the title of which came from a poem that I wrote while in Maine.

I have now created a new collection of pieces called “Poem Pieces”. This piece, “the waves shape the pebbles like clay” and “clay chess pieces litter my mind” are all included in it. I see “Poem Pieces” as a collection of solo piano pieces that feature soundscapes and are inspired by poems that I have written.

the waves shape the pebbles like clay (2023)

I see this piece as a companion to “clay chess pieces litter my mind”. Both piano compositions blend piano with soundscapes. In this piece, I specifically highlight a Eurasian Blackbird song that I recorded in Copenhagen. It blends beautifully with the melody that the piano is playing at that point in the piece.

This is a dreamy waltz that contains three distinct melodies. It was improvised, notated and recorded over the course of a week.

clay chess pieces litter my mind (2022)

My first solo piano composition since “Petals”. I composed this piece for my “little pieces of improvised sound” series. I especially loved interweaving the left and right hand in this piece, so there is a seamless, water-like, feeling to it.

It was quite enjoyable to return back to writing music out note by note. Since the start of the pandemic, I have mostly worked solely in Logic Pro, improvising and performing instruments and sounds into my computer. For this piece, I was able to separate myself from Logic and focus once more on the notes. It was really rewarding.

Lovingly Caught (From “The Angler”)

On November 7th of 2019, I was up late preparing for a recording session the next day. It was for the string ensemble parts of my score for Lucy and Maxim Nebeker’s short film “The Angler”. I had enlisted nine musicians from the University of Edinburgh (where I was earning my master’s degree) to take part.

On a whim, I decided to sketch out one last cue for them to play the next day. And that cue ended up becoming this string piece. It takes some melodic elements from the rest of the score but ultimately ends up having its own sound and its own feeling.

As I eventually assembled the score, utilizing the live strings, soundscapes, live piano, live tin whistle and flute and object rhythms, this piece became the sonic crux of the climax of the film. It morphed into a love song and effectively understored the horrifying ending.

To this day, I think this is some of the best string writing that I have done. It feels visceral and yet beautiful.

Petal #3 (For Orchestra) (2020)

While studying at the University of Edinburgh, I composed an orchestral adaptation of my solo piano piece from 2019 titled "Petal #3". This orchestral adaptation was composed specifically for the Composer's Orchestra at the university.

I took to original piano part, and added a lot of orchestral embellishment. I wrote five flute parts which was a fantastic experience. The parts are interwoven, and feature odd doublings at points and some dissonance. I utilized the muted sound of strings at the beginning, and played around with pizzicato textures. I also really experimented with the ostinato in the original piano piece, layering different instruments and really crafting an ever-changing, dynamic and never stagnant sound.

This piece was submitted as a part of my master's degree.

The Angst Trilogy (2019-2020)

All three of the pieces in “The Angst Trilogy” were composed as a part of my master’s degree in Composition for Screen at the University of Edinburgh. It was only after I finished all three pieces that I realized they were all connected.. Two of the pieces “Where am I and Why Do I Feel So Lonely?” and “Why Are You Talking to Me Right Now?” were workshopped by the London-based Plus Minus Ensemble, who were artists-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh.

All three pieces are dissonant and erratic. Though I adored my time abroad in Edinburgh, at points I did feel isolated, lonely and homesick. I channeled these feelings into a trilogy of orchestral works that demonstrate a deep feeling of angst and irritation.

I was not able to get these works recorded before having to leave Edinburgh in March 2020 due to the pandemic. So, you can listen to the Sibelius MIDI files, to at least get a sense of the works. I hope to get the three pieces properly recorded in the future.

PETALS (2019)

“Petals” is my first solo piano album. The concept of the album is that each track choreographs a petal falling from a dying flower. “Petals” also represents my style of composing for piano. I have been developing this style since the first composition I ever composed, back in 2008. It is exemplified by repetitive movement that builds on itself, as well as a lot of internal voices that interact and compete with one another.

tHE sTATE OF iNNOCENCE AND fALL OF mAN (2018)

For my English Honors Thesis, I wrote the first original score for the incomplete and unperformed 17th century semi-opera "The State of Innocence and Fall of Man" by John Dryden. My thesis was profiled for University of Pennsylvania's Power of Penn Campaign. I plan on getting the entire score recorded live in the future.

Sunrise (2017)

This string piece evokes a quiet morning, The moment the sun peeks over the horizon. It is quiet, serene and contemplative. The photo that I use for the track is of a wall on Capitoline Hill in Rome. The Mediteranean sun was traveling through a massive tree above me and hitting the deep yellowish wall at a certain angle to create this ethereal visual.

I recorded this piece in 2017, with two University of Pennsylvania students playing cello and viola. I had the cellist (Curtis Kuo) record a number of different tracks separately to create the feeling of a large ensemble.

The track was mixed and mastered by composer Stephen Barton.

St. Catherine's Hill (2017) 

Nicholas entered a contest to submit a soundscape for the student submission section of the Arthur Ross Gallery exhibit "Landscape/Soundscape". It features sound artists writing soundscapes for landscape photographs by professional photographers. The student exhibition is featured on a touchscreen monitor in the exhibit, and contains the work of 12 Penn students. 

Nicholas's piece is inspired by a photograph he took while studying abroad in London. It is of a group of trees on St. Catherine's Hill near Winchester, England. It is written for 3 strings (2 violas and 1 cello). 

Nicholas recorded the piece live with four Penn student musicians in February 2017. The piece was then recorded by the Daedalus Quartet in May of 2017. 

The Morris Arboretum Suite (2016)

Commissioned by the esteemed Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, this suite evokes 8 distinct areas of the beautiful natural space. The suite is a part of the "Creative Expressions Tour" at the arboretum, available to all patrons. I recorded this score live with 11 incredibly talented student musicians at the University of Pennsylvania. It has been performed three times on the arboretum grounds.

Snow and Ice (In the Woods During a Snowstorm) (2015)

Composed in January of 2015, this piece describes a snowstorm in the woods. As the piece begins, only a few snow flakes fall but soon the storm picks up. As the piece ends there is a climactic gust of wind which sends the storm away and the woods return to normal.