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Solo Instrumental

Temptress (2020) 12:00

for violin

Premiered by Teagan FaranTemptress was an interesting experiment for me as a composer, as it was an opportunity to explore the possibility of translating the musical hallmarks of progressive metal, such as fast, syncopated notes, bass ostinati, and irregular rhythm, onto a single instrument—a very high-flying one, at that. I was initially uncertain of... Read More
Premiered by Teagan FaranTemptress was an interesting experiment for me as a composer, as it was an opportunity to explo... Read More

Lament and Judgment (2015) 7:00

for piano

Premiered at Pepperdine University, April 8th 2017 by Louise Lofquist, piano This piece was originally conceived as the beginning of a sonata on the theme of the apocalypse. I have always been fascinated by the study of religions; particularly their eschatology. This work was specifically inspired by the Revelation of John, with its effective drama and s... Read More
Premiered at Pepperdine University, April 8th 2017 by Louise Lofquist, piano This piece was originally conceived as t... Read More

Sinful Sonata (2015) 5:30

for piano

Like Lament and Judgment, this composition was originally conceived as part of a sonata on the apocalypse. The sextuplet figure from the first piece is transformed into an angular, rollicking bass ostinato, and the musical language becomes jazzier, reflecting the sinfulness that lead to mankind’s downfall. The piece lives up to its title in that it is indeed in strict sonata form, though I do indulge in a couple of stylistic variations in the development section. The coda is a bombastic, quasi-improvisatory section that includes, as good jazz often does, a couple of popular tunes in quotation—though not in the form one would expect.
Pepperdine University, April 8th 2017 by Louise Lofquist, piano Along with Lament and Judgment (2015), this composition was originally conceived as part of a sonata themed around the apocalypse. The sextuplet figure from the first piece is transformed into an angular, rollicking bass ostinato, and the musical language becomes jazzier, reflecting the sinf... Read More
Pepperdine University, April 8th 2017 by Louise Lofquist, piano Along with Lament and Judgment (2015), this compositi... Read More

Sorceress (2019) 10:30

for harp

Sorceress was written out of great love for a person no longer in my life—it is both a reflection of my feelings towards this person when I wrote it, as well as an emotional landscape unto itself. Upon completing the piece, I became overwhelmed with emotion and began sobbing—something I've seldom experienced with a piece of mine. I had written t... Read More
Sorceress was written out of great love for a person no longer in my life—it is both a reflection of my feelings t... Read More

Twilight Tune (2019) 6:30

for piano

Premiered at the Impulse New Music Festival 2019 by Marc Evanstein, piano For my entire adult life, I have considered myself a nocturnal being. Even when I get regular sleep (a rarity for most working musicians I know), I often find myself feeling truly alert and alive when night falls. As a result, music that is evocative of the night has always felt th... Read More
Premiered at the Impulse New Music Festival 2019 by Marc Evanstein, piano For my entire adult life, I have considered... Read More

Solo Vocal

The Lord's Prayer (5:30)

for soprano

Samantha Sayar, soprano Lucas Fox, piano The Lord’s Prayer was one of my most pleasurable writing experiences that I can remember. Soprano Samantha Sayar approached me with an idea I found incredibly meaningful and enticing: her grandparents are Lebanese, and she wanted my help in crafting a piece that she could sing in Arabic that they would connect with... Read More
Samantha Sayar, soprano Lucas Fox, piano The Lord’s Prayer was one of my most pleasurable writing experiences that I c... Read More

Why won't you let me look right at you

for soprano

Premiered at the Sao Paolo Contemporary Composers Festival by Chloe Boelter, soprano and Leandro Roverso, piano Death comes for us all, but how should we face it? Do we run? Or might some welcome it with a smile? When Susan sent this provocative text to me, I thought immediately of the Germanic literary trope of welcoming death as an old friend, or like ent... Read More
Premiered at the Sao Paolo Contemporary Composers Festival by Chloe Boelter, soprano and Leandro Roverso, piano Death co... Read More

Pretty Girl

for soprano, mezzo, and piano

Premiered at the Kennedy Center Feb. 14th, 2022 Katerina Burton, soprano Amber R. Monroe, soprano Robert Ainsley, piano Lyrics: Pretty girls don’t suffer no fools We make ‘em, we don’t follow no rules One look at you, I knew your heart in an instant The fire in your voice, How it glittered like a thousand jewels You line your eyes like a qu... Read More
Premiered at the Kennedy Center Feb. 14th, 2022 Katerina Burton, soprano Amber R. Monroe, soprano Robert Ainsley, pia... Read More

Concrete Sea (2020) 8:00

for soprano

Premiered by the Cincinnati Song Initiative by Shannon Cochran, soprano and Christine Lalog, piano Lyrics by the composer: I am a drop in a concrete sea Not a sea of tranquility, But the torrent of life, with its countless terrors Beating me battered, leaving me lost in the errors Of my ways Oh, won’t you hold me through the storm? Won’t s... Read More
Premiered by the Cincinnati Song Initiative by Shannon Cochran, soprano and Christine Lalog, piano Lyrics by the comp... Read More

Dearest Muse (2020) 4:00

for baritone (or tenor) and piano

My dearest muse, your eyes are like the sun and the moon Your voice like the angels, when you speak the world ceases to move And nothing compares to the inspiration I find in your room Your Joy is my motivation When you smile my heart sings Your devotion to me is the sweetest caress In your bosom is my bliss Is our love as dear to you... Read More
My dearest muse, your eyes are like the sun and the moon Your voice like the angels, when you speak the world ceases to... Read More

Tarantula Hawk (2020) 4:00

for mezzo and piano (ver. for tenor available)

Lyrics by the composer: A flicker of wings, a flash of jet-black I was unprepared for such an attack Of vicious venom, so sweetly it slides Into the dark depths of my soft insides. You cut into me, sliced between my legs Planted your sole seed, can’t hear as I beg To be freed from this, my prison of flesh As I am consumed, down to ... Read More
Lyrics by the composer: A flicker of wings, a flash of jet-black I was unprepared for such an attack Of vicious... Read More

Bergmanden (The Miner) (2020) 10:30

for bass and piano (ver. for mezzo available)

Translation: Beetling rock, with roar and smoke Break before my hammer-stroke! Deeper I must thrust and lower Till I hear the ring of ore. From the mountain's unplumbed night, Deep amid the gold-veins bright, Diamonds lure me, rubies beckon, Treasure-hoard that none may reckon. There is peace within the deep-- Peace and immemorial sleep; Hea... Read More
Translation: Beetling rock, with roar and smoke Break before my hammer-stroke! Deeper I must thrust and lower Till I... Read More

Heart's Haven (2020) 4:30

for tenor and piano (ver. for female/treble belter available)

Lyrics by the composer: I used to feel like our love kept me sustained Thought it was paradise I used to feel fire coursing through my veins, But there was poison inside. I thought that we would be together, I wouldn’t have to walk alone. But they say hell is other people, So I’ll just burn here on my own. Can’t remember all the... Read More
Lyrics by the composer: I used to feel like our love kept me sustained Thought it was paradise I used to feel f... Read More

Elegy (2018) 4:00

for tenor and piano

Premiered at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium 2018 Lyrics by the composer: This flesh of mine is caught between one world and the other. A crimson thread ties me to this turbulent plane. Impaled, the ecstasy of Avila is denied me, as I am Buffeted by the tides of this boundary. They crash over me, like the funerary drums of my... Read More
Premiered at the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium 2018 Lyrics by the composer: This flesh of mine is caugh... Read More

Chamber Music

String Quartet No. I (2021) 27:00

for string quartet

This quartet is based on a song for singing cellist I wrote with and for my friend Miya Perry, to the following text: Glory girl, did you forget your name Did you believe in these grey droning halls The sun still rises, the bay still ebbs Nothing we lost is lost Glory boy, did you forget your name Did you believe in their sycophant calls The... Read More
This quartet is based on a song for singing cellist I wrote with and for my friend Miya Perry, to the following text: ... Read More

Overdrive (2019) 10:00

for string quartet

Premiered by the JACK Quartet Overdrive is a progressive metal song for string quartet. It was inspired by the music of Periphery, a band which uses detuned, extended range guitars to create dense, high-octane music. This piece uses brutal, unpitched string techniques to imitate the sounds of metal. Often, the appeal of listening to metal lies in hearing... Read More
Premiered by the JACK Quartet Overdrive is a progressive metal song for string quartet. It was inspired by the music ... Read More

Empress (2019) 12:30

for bass clarinet and piano

Written for Emmalie Tello Premiered by Emmalie Tello, clarinet and Yifei Xu, piano Generally, I tend to come up with titles for my pieces early in the writing process. It is my way of distilling the heart of the piece into a single, poignant word or two, a mantra through which I focus my creative energy. However, with this piece it was different - I ago... Read More
Written for Emmalie Tello Premiered by Emmalie Tello, clarinet and Yifei Xu, piano Generally, I tend to come up with... Read More

Paradise: Found (2015) 5:30

for string trio

This piece is inspired by the music of the Sufi Muslims, particularly that of the incredible Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. This specific work was originally conceived as the final movement of a set of three pieces, each a hymn without words, inspired by the devotional poetry of the Sufis, the ghazal, and the epic song form, the qawaali. Ghazals are character... Read More
This piece is inspired by the music of the Sufi Muslims, particularly that of the incredible Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan... Read More

Izgrejala (2018) 5:00

for clarinet, cello, and bassoon (ver. for brass trio available)

Premiered May 12, 2018 at the Czech Center New York This piece was written for the second annual European Literature Night at the Czech Center in New York City. The work was to be played as a commentary on the book Dancing Bears by Polish author Witold Szabłowski. The first ten chapters of the book talk about the tradition of training dancing bears in Bu... Read More
Premiered May 12, 2018 at the Czech Center New York This piece was written for the second annual European Literature ... Read More

Vocal Chamber

Glory (2021) 4:30

for singing cellist/voice & cello

Text: Glory girl, did you forget your name Did you believe in these grey droning halls The sun still rises, the bay still ebbs Nothing we lost is lost Glory boy, did you forget your name Did you believe in their sycophant calls The moon still rises, the bay still flows Nothing we lost is lost Miya Perry Glory was written with and for my... Read More
Text: Glory girl, did you forget your name Did you believe in these grey droning halls The sun still rises, the bay ... Read More

Mukhannath Songs (2018) 18:00

for treble voice, electric guitar, string quartet, and soundtrack

Mov. I livestreamed May 27th, 2021 as part of the Beth Morrison Projects: Next Gen Competition Performed by Contemporaneous, with Amal El-Shrafi, soprano conducted by Kamna Gupta Translation: I. I draw a picture of her in the dust and cry, my heart in torment. I complain to her about her: for she left me, love-sick, badly stricken. I complain of a... Read More
Mov. I livestreamed May 27th, 2021 as part of the Beth Morrison Projects: Next Gen Competition Performed by Contemporan... Read More

Undress yourself… (2018) 15:00

for flute, tenor, string quartet, double bass, and soundtrack

At some point during my studies in Arab music it occurred to me that I, as an artist, could no longer fail to address the dire political state of the region from which this vast, enchanting musical tradition has developed. In light of the ongoing Syrian Civil War and the resultant global migrant crisis, I felt a moral imperative to add my voice to the issue... Read More
At some point during my studies in Arab music it occurred to me that I, as an artist, could no longer fail to address th... Read More

Film Score

A Little Princess ~ Finale (2016) 2:30 - Co-written with Jared Chance Taylor

for Flute, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, 2 Percussionists, SATB choir, 2 Violins, Cello, and Double Bass

Premiered April 4th, 2016 by the Pepperdine Pickford Ensemble conducted by N. Lincoln Hanks Finale to the film A Little Princess.... Read More
Premiered April 4th, 2016 by the Pepperdine Pickford Ensemble conducted by N. Lincoln Hanks Finale to the film A Litt... Read More

A Little Princess (2016) 23:00

for Flute, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, 2 Percussionists, SATB choir, 2 Violins, Cello, and Double Bass

Premiered April 4th, 2016 by the Pepperdine Pickford Ensemble conducted by N. Lincoln Hanks This music was composed for the central portion of the Mary Pickford film, A Little Princess. It accompanies the portion of the film where the heroine tells a an extended tale from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves to her fellow schoolgirls. Fittingly, much of the mu... Read More
Premiered April 4th, 2016 by the Pepperdine Pickford Ensemble conducted by N. Lincoln Hanks This music was composed f... Read More

Choral

A Portrait in Greys (6:00)

for SSAA Choir

Jens Ibsen · A Portrait in Greys
Premiered by the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, March 19th, 2022 Text: Will it never be possibleto separate you from your greyness?Must you be always sinking backwardinto your grey-brown landscapes—and treesalways in the distance, always against a grey sky? Must I be alwaysmoving counter to you? Is there no placewhere we can be at peace tog... Read More
Premiered by the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, March 19th, 2022 Text: Will it never be possibleto separate you f... Read More

Trace the Sky (2020) 22:00

for SATB Choir and Soli

Trace the Sky is about one of my life’s most enduring loves: birding. When I was a kid, I would voraciously sift through field guides as if they were novels, constantly studying the pages in an attempt to soak up all the information my eager mind could. My interest would wane somewhat with age, but in the last few years I have rekindled my passion for birdi... Read More
Trace the Sky is about one of my life’s most enduring loves: birding. When I was a kid, I would voraciously sift through... Read More

How god comes to the soul (2014) 5:30

for SSAATTBB choir + SA soli

Premiered April 7th, 2017 by members of the Pepperdine Chamber Choir, conducted by Jens Ibsen Performed December 9th, 2020 by the NEC Chamber Singers, conducted by Erica J. Washburn I come to my beloved as the dew upon the flowers. Welcome, my precious dove. You have flown so keenly over the earth that your feathers reach to heaven. Mechthild vo... Read More
Premiered April 7th, 2017 by members of the Pepperdine Chamber Choir, conducted by Jens Ibsen Performed December 9th, 2... Read More

Orchestra

Sakawa (2020) 33:00

for orchestra

Jens Ibsen · Sakawa (Scenes I-IV)
Sakawa is a symphonic ballet in nine scenes, performed attacca. The title refers to the Ghanaian subculture of internet scammers, dubbed Sakawa Boys, who seek to increase their fortune through supernatural means. The story is a Faustian tale of a young Ghanaian man whose ambitions of becoming a high-rolling internet scammer cause him to strike a bargain wit... Read More
Sakawa is a symphonic ballet in nine scenes, performed attacca. The title refers to the Ghanaian subculture of internet ... Read More