Fun facts about Reflections:

• I intentionally composed most songs in a different key signature. Out of the fifteen songs, fourteen of them are in a unique key, meaning only two songs out of the whole album share the same key signature. This was to push myself forward and to challenge myself, as not all keys signatures are necessarily easy to play in. The difficulty of a key signature depends on the particular piece in question, the musician, and the instrument you are on.

• The unique key signatures found in Reflections are: A minor, B minor, Bb Major, Bb minor, C Major, C# minor, D minor, E Major, Eb Major, Eb minor, F minor, F# minor, G Major (twice), and Gb Major.

• I intentionally did not compose a single song in the key of C minor, as at the time that was my favorite and arguably my most comfortable key signature to play in. Again this was simply to challenge myself.

The Songs of Reflections:

1 A Small Prayer My very first composition. I wanted to say a small prayer over my journey forward.

2 Meadow Falls The song fades in as if you happened upon a beautiful waterfall surrounded by green grass and nature…

3 Per Diem A reminder to take life one day at a time.

4 Solitaire A song that represents the beauty found in gems and precious stones.

5 Diamond Keys I imagined myself playing on a piano made out of pure glass and diamonds…

6 Rumination To be in a state of deep thought.

7 Piano Painting An abstract composition in which the piano is my paint brush.

8 The Clock Tower The Clock Tower!

9 Street Lights A jazzy song I composed during my college years. I performed this for my Music Performance class and was met with a standing ovation from my peers and professors!

10 Odyssey Tells a quick story of someone on an adventure!

11 Shard of Glass Slightly jazzy piece that grows more contemporary over time. Explores both the beauty and the danger of a shard of glass.

12 Nightfall Inspired by the dimming, quieting night…

13 Serenity Lake The calming, soothing, relaxing place of zen…Serenity Lake…

14 The Man With The Echo This piece follows a Man who has an Echo. Anything he says or does, his Echo is always there to accompany him.

15 Catching Grace Best known as the song that will always make my mother cry no matter how many times she hears it. Catching Grace has been the only song that I have composed with my eyes completely closed the entire time. I was certainly feeling the music while recording this one. I imagine that grace is gently falling down from the sky, so much grace you can just reach out and catch it like you would snowflakes.

Continuance (2020)

Continuance is an album that I will always be proud of! The word “continuance” is formally defined as: the state of remaining in existence or operation, the extent of continuing, and the quality of enduring. The idea with this album was firstly to show the world that I am serious about composing, and secondly to create another 15 songs…this time bigger and better! My purpose was to really hone in on my melodic choices and chord structures, and it was with this album that my “sound” as a composer was solidified. At this point in my life, not only did I know that I could in fact compose songs, but I could create songs that people truly enjoy listening to! The compliments and excitement I received from others was and still is absolutely incredible, and it wasn’t long before I took that excitement and began working on my next project.

Fun facts about Continuance:

• I had already composed both the songs Sky and Song for Sorrows six years prior to the album ever being released. I had created them immediately after finishing my first album Reflections, and was still on a roll ;)

• I began production of this album immediately upon hearing about national lock down and quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. What better way to to spend your time indoors than by making music!

The Songs of Continuance:

1 As Time Passes A piece that explores the passing of time. The droning opening solo notes of the song set up its theme of time. As the song progresses it matures. It starts off with the innocent high notes in the beginning and works its way down to the expansive low notes in the middle and end sections. The droning notes of time can be heard once again towards the end of the song but in a very low register, suggesting that much time has passed up to that point.

2 Sky Isn’t the sky just beautiful?

3 Dark Heart This song demonstrates the beauty that can be found underneath one’s dark heart. The song is composed in C# minor which has a sad, dark tone. The ending section of the song introduces more and more Major and happy tones, suggesting that this dark heart may have found some light afterall…

4 Galaxy A fan favorite, this song is an epic adventure through the many stars and planets of space!

5 Illusions Not all things are as they appear. Some things are mere illusions…this song was composed with unpredictability in mind.

6 Mouse Musette A musette that follows the scurries of a mouse…or two!

7 Into the Horizon I imagine off in the horizon a giant sun. The second half of this song (about the 1:19 mark) reflects that giant sun pearing from over the horizon and boldly into your view as you travel directly towards it.

8 Light In The Night You are never in true, pure darkness. There is ALWAYS a light in the night.

9 Winter Waltz A fun, fancy waltz that takes you to a winter wonderland! Wait…some winters can be harsh…

10 Ringing Winds The melody throughout this song depicts winds that remind you of their infinite presence.

11 Polar Ice Can you imagine the ice caps?

12 Song for Sorrows This piece is an ode to one who has sorrows and regrets. It shows their conviction to such sorrows and their internalization of it.

13 Lost in Thought We have all been lost in thought at one point of our lives. What causes us to stay in a state of thinking? What do you do with your thoughts? Do they turn to actions or do they simply lead to more thoughts? This piece explores this phenomenon.

14 Distant Spirit This will always be known as the first song I composed a few weeks after my father had passed away. It is full of emotions, is a moment of personal healing for me, and is simply dedicated to him.

15 Field of Flowers The moment I first created the melody for this song I was absolutely in love with it and knew immediately that it HAD to be the last song on this album. It is so peaceful, moving, and is just lovely. Its project name for several months before I finally titled it Field of Flowers was “Sweet Melody in G”.

Dawn (2021)

Dawn is easily one of my most ambitious solo piano albums yet. It was created through the lens of you, the listener, being placed directly “into” the album in fantastical storybook fashion. You are the main character, the only character in fact as the first song title suggests (being that it is called Last Soul). You begin your journey Through the Trees (the title of the second song) and venture forward, making your way through all the different places and landmarks, and experience the hauntingly beautiful emotions that consume you, all until you finally reach the end of your journey; making it to Dawn…(the title of the last song as well as the title of the album)

Many composers, artists, authors, etc., describe their works as stories or journeys for their audiences to go on. This is true for them and the same is true for me and my works. Though for me, my previous two albums were first created, and the journeys that my listeners go on are simply a byproduct of the songs in that album. But what makes Dawn so special, is that the journey itself was created first in my mind, THEN the songs were composed specially to directly accompany that journey. Each piece was carefully crafted with an intended purpose, feel, and destination, even down to the titles of the songs themselves.

Fun facts about Dawn:

• Each song in the album represents 1 hour of time passing. The first song, Last Soul, takes place at 3PM. Each song thereafter takes place 1 hour after each other consecutively until the final song, Dawn, which happens at 5am.

• The album intentionally starts off very dark. This is to emphasize that the listener is to feel alone in their journey through the entirety of the album. As it progresses, especially towards the end, there are signs of light (with titles such as Moonlight, Waking the Fireflies, and Inspire) suggesting that the listener will in fact make it to the end of their journey.

• The word “Dawn” is best defined as: the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise, the beginning of a phenomenon or period of time, especially one considered favorable, and to become evident to the mind; be perceived or understood. I want my listeners to experience a journey in which it feels alone, where it feels almost magical, one in which perseverance is a huge key to their successes, and that there is light for them ultimately at the end.

The Songs of Dawn:

1 Last Soul You are the only person left…

2 Through The Trees And your journey awaits you through the trees…

3 Bernard’s Castle You happen upon a majestic and stunningly HUGE castle! Do you go inside?

4 When The Fog Comes Walking beyond the castle leads you to an open area where the fog begins to engulf you…

5 Forever Lost As the fog begins to fade away, you realize that you do not recognize where you are anymore. You begin to feel that you are forever lost…

6 Eventide The evening is upon you, and this is its theme.

7 Chasing Shadows A beautiful piece that explores you chasing the shadows of your surroundings in a dimming night. Is it possible that this will lead you to somewhere special?…

8 Road of Secrets Some things simply cannot be explained. You are now on the road of secrets afterall…

9 Enchanted Waters You happen upon an incredibly elegant view of many waters. The waters ripple lightly under the night sky, and they gently reflect the moon above. You can even hear the melody of this piece sounding from the water itself! Truly magnificent…

10 Moonlight You have spotted the now bright moon in the night sky and begin to head towards it, as it has been your only true sense of direction in quite some time. You even begin to run through the darkness all while under the lit moon in pursuit of an answer…

11 Passeggio This song is the theme to walking in stride. You are tired. You are very far from where you have started this entire journey, and you have not the slightest clue in how to return to the beginning. With the moon now behind you, you realize that at this point you may as well continue to walk forward…

12 Waking the Fireflies In the corner of your eye you spot a speck of light that just appeared suddenly. It catches your attention, and soon you spot another speck of light appearing in the corner of your other eye in the opposite direction. Then something truly amazing happens! Many lights suddenly appear and begin to glimmer, and you are now surrounded by glowing fireflies as far as you can see!

13 Inspire You feel an overwhelming sense of inspiration! For the first time in a long time you begin to harness the sense that you are in control and have the power to persevere and see this journey to its end, wherever that may be…

14 Final Hour Though your inspiration gave you that much needed boost to press onwards, going through the final hour is still proving to be challenging. You are quickly reminded that an idea is only as strong as the actions taken behind it. Simply feeling like pressing on is one thing, but the act of doing so holds far more weight. This is your final hour…what do you decide to do with this time?

15 Dawn With your head down, you slowly look up as you realize that the sun is beginning to show its face. Your world is becoming ever more illuminated and finally…you can see the light.