relent is a sacred work within the genre of interactive electronic music. the 20-minute composition is a multi-movement piece for four instrumentalists (saxophone, double bass, and two percussion) and computer that is inspired by the gospel message. relent is specifically about the gospel message that Christ died for man’s sins, rose from the dead, and through faith in him man can be reconciled to God. This project was an experiment in creating a work with a programmatic extramusical structure. in preparation for writing a piece based on Christian programmatic content, this paper presents an overview of research conducted on the intersection between art and Christianity referencing authors such as Harold Best, Nikolai Berdyaev, Hans Rookmaaker, Calvin Seerveld, Daniel Seidell, A. W. Tozer, Steve Turner, and Cornelius Van Til. This work was an experiment in trying to make very direct and specific musical ties to the narrative of the Gospel. Another highly experimental aspect of relent was in the way interactive electronics were used. Each acoustic instrument in the work has its own input and module within the Max patch, extending each acoustic instrument rather than adding an electronic accompaniment component. Additionally, non-traditional notation, both codified and real-time computer generated, improvisation, …

The poetry of Sumer, inscribed in cuneiform script on clay tablets dating from 2000 B.C., is considered humanity's earliest written literature. Hymns To Inanna is a three-movement, mixed media work based on adapted English translations from ancient Sumerian text. The text is sung by SATB choir and musically illustrated by harp, flutes, percussion, and computer-generated sound (on tape). My musical setting displays these hymns not as a reflection of antiquity but as a timeless expression of spiritual thought. Certain elements of the composition evoke associations with early culture and music. These components, however, are transformed or merged with musical characteristics of other eras, idioms, and forms thus representing a conceptual and stylistic "bridge" between past, present, and future.

White Dawn Streams is a composition for orchestra with tape. The orchestra includes woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (horns(2), trumpets(2), trombone, tuba), percussion (timpani, bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, timbales, temple blocks, suspended cymbal, triangle, xylophone), and strings. The tape was produced using a Synclavier digital synthesizer. The work consists of a single movement approximately eleven minutes in duration. The pitch materials in the work are derived from a single series of pitches and are used in a contrapuntal texture.

Of Variegated Shadows is an original composition for wind ensemble. The purpose of the composition is to contribute a work to college level wind ensemble literature which employs established instrumental techniques and explores the various colors or timbres of the ensemble. The work is a single movement of approximately 15 - 20 minutes duration. It is divided into three continuous sections, each reflecting a different character or mood. A transition couples the first and second sections and a coda concludes the composition with a brief return of the opening section. Textures of the piece are transparent with an emphasis given to the blending of different colors in the ensemble. Instrumentation includes antique cymbals, vibraphone and tam-tam to add subtle shades of color. Thematic materials woven into the texture are linearly constructed as well as vertically layered and fragmented. There is no order or system in which pitches occur, although intervals used reflect the motivic structures in the work.

Songs of Praise is a setting of four passages from the Psalms for soprano and chamber orchestra. The text is taken from Psalms 96, 114, 55, and 116 of the New American Standard Version, with each psalm scored as a separate movement. The duration of the work is approximately seventeen and one-half minutes. The instrumentation includes soprano, oboe, strings, and a percussion section of four players incorporating fourteen different instruments. The musical language employed is largely tonal, consisting generally of shifting tonal emphases achieved by exploiting the pitch relationships of traditional tonality. The movements are contrasting in character, according to the text, but generally of the same style. The vocal line predominates throughout spanning two octaves and a minor third from an A below middle C to a high C above the treble clef.

The Seven Last Words of Christ is a sacred cantata for SATB chorus with soloists accompanied by a woodwind quintet, brass quintet and three percussionists. The text employed in this work is based on the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the King James Version of the of the Holy Bible. The cantata consists of seven movements with an instrumental introduction and postlude, and has a duration of approximately twenty-seven minutes. The majority of the movements are slow in tempo, reflecting the somber mood of the text. The major goal of this work is to musically represent the drama and prevailing mood present at an event of extreme magnitude and importance in the lives of Christians around the world, and to provide additional literature for special church services through the use of individual movements.