My newest piece, Onami, was inspired by Hokusai's famous painting
"The Great Wave", for Composers Concordance's program about
"Water and Space",
along with works by 4 other composers inspired by 4 other visual artists.
It will be performed on
Sunday, November 15th, 2026, at 7pm,
at Westbeth, 55 Bethune St. in New York City
It's FREE!
(Space is limited, so I recommend getting there 15 minutes early so you don't end up sitting behind a column)
I am currently working on a choral commission for Marc Tolo, an arrangement of a Sibelius theme for which he has written a poem. Although Tolo's initial inspiration was 9/11, the text is broad enough to be applicable to any man-made tragedy--of which there are far too many in recent decades.
My last piece, "Father-Daughter Dance", was presented
as part of an evening called Timbre Tantrum: Violas
by Composers Concordance
Saturday, March 14th, 2026, 7 pm
Rhythmic Arts Gallery
175 E. 105th St. between Lex & Third Ave, New York City
It was an arrangement of a jazz song I wrote 45 years ago (I was a jazz singer when I wrote it) and a song my jazz musician father wrote 69 years ago (that's where I got the jazz from ;) through my current classical lens. True to the theme of the evening, it was arranged for violas, accompanied by electric guitar, acoustic bass, and percussion--an unusual band--not exactly jazz, not exactly classical, either.
Also on the bill: 8 other living composers!
To hear a snippet of the (admittedly messy!) performance click the link below.
"Letter from Edith", my last major work, about German-Jewish philosopher Edith Stein, who was murdered at Auschwitz,
took place on Thursday, October 30th, 2025,
at the Riverside Church in New York City.
Edith's powerful message was done justice by mezzo-soprano Olivia Ericsson, who also sang selections by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, as well as Dachau Lied, a devastating song written by composer Herbert Zipper and lyricist Jura Soyfer while they were interned at the Dachau concentration camp.
Also included in the program was an excellent solo cello recital by Ben Capps, featuring compositions by Bach, Britten,
and Miecyslaw Weinberg.
The concert was full, in spite of a day of driving rain and high winds, and the audience responded with great enthusiasm. To hear an excerpt of "Letter from Edith", please visit the video page. Click below to see the whole thing.
As part of a program called Prism, my violin-piano duet, "El Toque de la mano de un hombre" (Spanish for "The Touch of a Man's Hand") was premiered by Jai Jeffreys on piano and Machiko Ozawa on violin, and presented by Composers Concordance on
August 30th, 2025, 7 pm, at Steel Wig in Manhattan