Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-128). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Vanderbilt University. / Includes bibliographical references (1 leaf at end).

Symphony no. 2 is a three-movement work for band. Each movement is dedicated to a pivotal figure in my development as a composer. The first movement is a march/scherzo based on octatonic collections, the second movement is a passacaglia modeled after the style of Philip Glass, and the third movement is a theme and variations written in my own personal style. Additionally, all three movements contain references to the hymn "Blessed Assurance" in gradually more obvious forms as the work progresses, although only the third movement includes an outright statement of the tune. This treatise consists of the full score for the symphony, followed by a discussion of the programmatic, formal, harmonic, and motivic elements of the music. / text

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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.