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.

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.

Tiempos del caos is a composition in five sections for chamber orchestra (28 players) and real-time computer-generated sounds, with a duration of approximately 15 minutes. A performer is required to control the computer-generated sounds which are produced using the software jMax. The inspiration for the form of the piece comes from my reading of the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The harmonic material is derived mainly from analyses of the acoustical properties of recorded instrumental sounds.

The Last Seven Words is an orchestral piece with double woodwind, double brass, and two sets of timpani. The duration of the work is seventeen minutes. The forty-six pages which precede the musical score present a discussion and an analysis of the composition. The purpose of this project was to provide the composer an opportunity to write an orchestra piece with a single scale and seven rhythmic patterns.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University, 1962. From the play by Federico Garcia-Lorca, translated by James Graham-Lujan & Richard L. O'Connell.

As Darkness Falls is a composition that explores our interaction with several aspects of darkness through the use of musical imagery. The imagery attempts to reflect the moods, feelings, and impressions of a person as he or she interacts with darkness. The non-programmatic character of the composition allows listeners to superimpose their own experiences onto the musical tapestry in order to manifest a personal connection between the listener and the music. As Darkness Falls is a composition scored for a minimum instrumentation of piccolo, 6 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 bassoons, 9 B-flat clarinets, B-flat bass clarinet, 2 E-flat alto saxophones, B-flat tenor saxophone, E-flat baritone saxophone, 4 B-flat trumpets, 4 horns in F, 3 tenor trombones, bass trombone, 2 euphoniums, 2 tubas, timpani, and 4 percussionists. The music consists of three movements (slow-slow-fast) lasting a total of approximately seventeen minutes. The duration of each of the three movements is six minutes, four and one-half minutes, and six and one-half minutes, respectively. The document also contains an analysis of the work by the composer. The analysis explores the compositional style of the work, focusing on musical aspects within each movement that were governing parameters in the compositional process.

Temporal Distortions is 18-20 minutes in length and is written for an orchestra including 2 flutes (2nd flute doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, 3 percussionists playing tri-toms, vibraphone, snare/tenor drum, medium suspended cymbal, Glockenspiel, bass drum, and large tam-tam; and multiple string parts for violin I a & b, violin II a & b, viola a & b, cello and double bass. Temporal Distortions was inspired by the theoretical concept of "wormholes" in space, where matter is warped through distorted passages connecting distant and diverse parts of the universe. The work is in three sections, connected without break. The first section, Space, emerges as a wide, expansive musical area where themes and gestures are freely presented. Gradually, these materials come into phase with one another, building to a climax. A transition follows, leading into the middle section, Wormholes, where the materials are frequently and suddenly transformed into other temporal elements. The third section, Comets, was inspired by the collision of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with the planet Jupiter in July of 1993. Driving, underlying rhythms propel the thematic material through a series of statements which split into more and more substatements. This leads into a turbulent, explosive section and a final wormhole which returns to the opening material. Five basic temporal elements -- sustaining, aligned/non-repeating, aligned/repeating, non-aligned/repeating, and non-aligned/non-repeating -- are derived and demonstrated. Relationships between these elements are examined, and basic transformations are discussed. These elements serve as the basis for a theory of temporal analysis applicable to both metered and non-metered music. Chapter I presents this theory, and Chapter II discusses its application as a compositional method in Temporal Distortions.

The Wanderer is an orchestra piece 18'42" in duration. The purpose of this project is to provide the composer an opportunity to express through music his experience with God, rebellion, and returning as the wanderering son did in the Bible's parable.

Breaking Through is a single-movement composition for symphony orchestra based on a fourteen-note melody. Every harmonic and melodic figure except the bass line is derived from this source melody. The structure of the work is based on a number of musical dichotomies that work on both local and large-scale levels. The local dichotomies contrast consonance with dissonance and ambiguity with clarity (in respect to texture and rhythm). The dichotomy of two-part form versus three-part form and the dichotomy of simplicity versus complexity operate on the large scale. The unity lended by the single source melody coupled with the contrasts furnished by the aforementioned dichotomies allow Breaking Through to be both coherent and interesting.

Extension is a three-sectional, one-movement composition for orchestra exploring various permutations of a single motivic unit. The central priority has been to present this motive in a variety of textural situations with a harmonic accompaniment evolving from a macrotonal to a microtonal setting. Some of the devices utilized to realize this priority are mixed-instrument timbral combinations, tone clusters, multiphonics for brass and woodwinds, multiple stops for strings, and superimpositions of multiphonics. Extension is unique in two areas. First, the evolutionary progression from a macrotonal to microtonal harmonic texture is made possible by expanding the priorities of instrumental performing. Second, the use of multiphonics for full orchestra is unique to this work.