Poetic Afterthought is an original music composition for orchestra (2-2-2-2 / 4-2-2-1 / timp-perc / piano-harp / strings). The work comprises a cycle of seven orchestral pieces inspired by seven Chinese Classical poems. The seven orchestral pieces attempt to capture the moods and impressions of the poems while carrying hints of the original structures of the poetry as if the music speaks poetry itself.

Macula is a two-movement piece of music written for a mixed ensemble often instruments. The piece explores an aspect of visual perception in which an object seemingly becomes both larger and more detailed as it draws closer. This becomes a metaphor for the structure of the piece, where materials are gradually transformed and re-contextualized to suggest the notion of continually zooming in. The accompanying analytical paper gives a general overview of the procedures and techniques used to organize and compose the piece.

The Ghost in the Machine is a piece of music far large wind ensemble. This piece is concerned with the interrelationship between the perception of time passing in music and the level of perceived density of musical activity. Specifically, the piece is designed according to the notion that the higher the level of musical activity within smaller intervals of time, the higher the perceived level of density. The piece consists of a large-scale density envelope that spans the length of the entire piece, wherein the level of density increases gradually towards and decreases away from the climax point. The shape of this density envelope is reflected on smaller scales that operate at various levels of the music, all of which are discussed in detail in the analysis part of the thesis. These density envelopes are used as a means of structuring the listening process over the course of the piece.

Cachalote is a work for 17 musicians inspired by the study of social behavioral patterns in sperm whales. The distinctive series of clicks produced by these mammals, known as "codas," are their primary means of communication. These patterns manifest in Cachalote as a series of "sound objects", whose specific arrangement symbolizes communication, and underlines the musical discourse. The sound of field recordings provided further inspiration for the music's texture and orchestration. The composer's creation of an extra-musical narrative related to the lifecycle of sperm whales determines the appearance and ordering of the work's main gestures, and articulates the overall structure.

This thesis contains two volumes. The first is a written text that describes my compositional techniques in the context of an analysis of Codecs. The second volume is the score of this work. Volume one is divided into six sections: Introduction, harmony, rhythm and time, melodic materials, form, live electronics and future directions. Each section describes techniques and processes I developed throughout the compositional process. / Codecs was inspired by the subversive proliferation musical materials though the use of audio codecs. I developed compositional tools based on encryption and compression in order to explore the audio codec metaphor. / Volume two is the full score of Codecs, a work for large ensemble and live electronics. It is comprised of three sections and has a duration of approximately 14 minutes. The work is scored for flute (doubling on piccolo), oboe, clarinet in Bb (doubling on bass clarinet), bassoon, horn in F, trumpet, trombone, tuba, string quintet and percussion. Electronic drum pads and captured live sounds are used to control the live electronic elements.

This dissertation develops a synoptic approach to the systematic identification and comparison of the distribution of material from the model in the Kyrie and in the Credo of six parody masses of Palestrina, Lassus and de Monte, published between 1570 and 1600. These masses are grouped in pairs and each pair is based on a different model. Knowing that the compositional approaches to parody vary from one composer to one another, the objectives of this research are as follows: (1) comparison of the parodic approach of two composers in masses based on the same model; (2) comparison of pairs of masses, considering that Palestrina and Lassus treat two of the three models; (3) comparison of the three masses of Lassus written on three different models. / The synoptic approach to analysis is very interesting, because after the simultaneous identification of the motives in the model and in the mass movements (Kyrie and Credo), the entire complex of selected motives and their use in the construction of the modules become very easily detectable. The results of this research show that: (1) the model does not dictate the treatment, because the same model is treated differently by two composers; for instance, two masses of Palestrina based on different models are more alike, than those of Palestrina and Lassus based on the same model; (2) the model seems to be more attractive to the composer when it is one of his own compositions; for example, Palestrina borrows more material from his madrigal Io son ferito to build his Missa Petra Sancta, than Lassus does it in his Missa super Io son ferito ahi lasso based on the same model; (3) the style of the model does not determine the style of the mass; motifs from a non-imitative model can be treated in imitation in the mass, and (4) the sections of the Kyrie are more suited to formal development (generated by the repetitions of modules), than those of the Credo.

Acheron, River of Woe is a large-scale piece for wind symphony accompanied by an analytical thesis. It is a single-movement programmatic piece lasting twelve minutes scored for a wind symphony consisting of three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two bassoons, contrabassoon, E-flat clarinet, three B-flat clarinets, A clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, four saxophones, four trumpets, four horns, two trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, string bass, timpani, and three percussionists. This piece represents a journey on the River Acheron, inspired by quotations taken from several Greek poets of antiquity. The entire piece flows as one long, fluid stream of music, with different sonic currents, waves, and eddies moving through it. Modal theory governs its harmonic structure and is the foundation of the piece.

With Hecate Nocturne, I set out to create a unified piece of substantial length. The piece features certain sounds of British Columbia---birds, animals, wind, water, machinery, and folksong; their musical depictions represent a growing interest of mine, one which was expanded significantly in this piece. / The primary goal of the thesis is a close interconnection of all musical material, at all levels; that a limited pool of material could produce, through motivic development, all the components of the piece, from small to large. The secondary goal is to give the music a "sense of place" through depictions of natural sounds occurring---in this case---in British Columbia. The tertiary goal is to write musical returns, or recapitulations, that are always significantly altered from their original presentations, to give the piece a feeling of consequence or alteration. This last goal arises from the aesthetic application of some of the composer's philosophical beliefs.

Dialectics is a musical composition for 32-instrument wind ensemble. The materials and models used in the piece are based entirely on the harmonic series and on naturally-occurring acoustical phenomena that are stretched out in time, and that undergo a variety of transformational processes. A dialectic is created between two musical principles, each based in a different manner on the concept of reverberation.

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