Berio’s Sequenze are a profoundly influential set of works that explore the capabilities of various solo instruments, developing a unique language for each. The Sequenza for flute was the first of fourteen, originally published in 1958. I chose to read that original version instead of the later revised notation. 

UDel Senior Flute Recital (4/2025)

Robbie Strauss, flute

Escapade for Flute Quartet is a piece that uses it's repetition to its advantage. The climax of the first theme is withheld until the final time it is heard, creating the feeling of greatly increasing the excitement of it's arrival. The challenges of this piece lie in its elegant simplicity, as all players are forced to play in very exposed passages. This piece was commissioned by Abby Von Ohlen for her Senior Flute Recital at UD. (10/2024)

Abby Von Ohlen, flute

Yuki Seo, violin

Sophia Moreira, viola

Ray Pragman, cello

Duration: 6.5m

William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a poem which truly captures the essence of bittersweet. The poem describes a time he took an adventure with his sister, passing through nature before coming across a valley seemingly filled with daffodils. But, within the vivid imagery there are some important lines which reflect a keen sense of loneliness, as if the author is reminiscing and thinking about once what was. The Orchestration takes the listener to this contemplative place, stepping back to reflect on all of our daffodils that were so special to us. 

Ruth Wales Du Pont Collegiate Composition Competition Finals (3/23/25)

American Pops Orchestra

Susan Derry, soprano

Robbie Strauss, conductor

The Quartet on Four Notes is a work for string quartet that attempts to blur the line between violin and fiddle style playing through the vessel of a simple four-note motive. When violinist Dorothy Marks asked me to write the piece, she asked specifically for this sort of quartet. For me as a flute player, it was quite the unique challenge to navigate a totally different style of an unfamiliar instrument. But, I think the resulting piece speaks for itself.

UDel Composition Recital (10/2024)

Trellis String Quartet

Leo Matsuoka, violin

Dallas Noble, violin

Zach Levin, viola

Priscilla Kim, cello

Recorded and Edited by Yoshiaki Onishi