Quarantine Miniatures

The set of Quarantine Miniatures began as the world hunkered down in 2020 to ride out COVID-19. My many wonderful musician friends were seeing gigs dry up and jobs disappear -- but beyond that, we all shared a feeling of collective creative angst. With little in the way of creative outlets, how could we continue to do what we love? This project was born out of that moment. I wanted to create a shared body of work as a way to celebrate our community's hardiness in the face of these difficulties. All of these works were written free of charge and with no obligation for performances. If the musicians wanted to perform it live, or record and stream it, great! If they wanted it to be a piece they lived with and meditated on, great!

As can be seen from the list below, the project really grew; and especially after it was profiled in the Houston Chronicle, it expanded to musicians whose acquaintance I had not yet made -- and people all around the world. I also began to group the pieces -- all of which are short, the longest being some 4 minutes and the shortest a mere 20 seconds -- into sets. These include collections for solo voice; solo suites for flute, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, guitar, percussion, violin, viola, cello, bass, and piano; and sets which will be ongoing, including psalm settings for soprano and organ, and settings of poems from Joyce's Chamber Music for soprano and guitar.

COVID-related challenges continue, and so does the collection of Quarantine Miniatures; this page and the accompanying map will be edited as works are added. Any of the below works are available from the composer; click "Contact" above to request.

1. LASS DIR ALLES GESCHEHN soprano

text by Rainer Maria Rilke for Rebecca Worthington Boston, MA

2. A THOUSAND POEMS IN EVERY BREATH soprano

text by Anna Diemer for Anna Diemer Houston, TX

3. WATCH THE MUSIC TURN TO LIGHT tenor, baritone, bass

text by Sara Teasdale for Joshua Wilson Houston, TX

4. BENEATH THE PRESSURE OF PETALS soprano

text by Christiana Doucette for Kaitlyn Stavinoha Houston, TX

5. THE CRACK IN THE PLASTER soprano, mandolin

text by Nicole Kenley-Miller for Nicole Kenley-Miller Houston, TX

6. LITTLE PRELUDE flute

for Heather MacKay Brown Lakewood, CO

7. BUMPKIN ETUDE tenor sax

for Richard Ford Houston, TX

8. THE SUN SHINES WARM baritone, piano

text by William Wordsworth for Wesley Landry Houston, TX

9. ALBUM PAGE piano

for Kara Halleck Wardell Taylor, MI

10. SECRETLY TO SHINE soprano

text from The Cloud of Unknowing for Victoria Flores Houston, TX

11. A FEW LINES FOR TONY concertina

for Charles Anthony Silvestri Lawrence, KS

12. THREE HAIKUS soprano, alto, tenor, bass

text by Sydney Anderson for Sydney Anderson et al. New York, NY

13. IN THE MORNING mezzo, viola

text by A.E. Housman for Megan Berti and Rene Salazar Houston, TX

14. TIME NOR PLACE soprano

text by Walt Whitman for Megan Gryga Oslo, Norway

15. LULLABY ON THREE STRINGS violin

for Anabel Detrick Ramirez Houston, TX

16. JOYSONG soprano, mandolin

text by Euan Tait for Melissa Givens Claremont, CA

17. VOCALISE soprano

for Catherine Goode Columbus, OH

18. TWO-PART INVENTION 2 violins

for Matthew & Anabel Detrick Houston, TX

19. JUBILATE IN TEMPORE SOLITUDINIS organ

for Crista Miller Houston, TX

20. HOL(E)D UP violin

for Zelda Jones Houston, TX

21. PASTORALE English horn

for Teil Buck Charlotte, NC

22. BIRTHDAY PRELUDE guitar

for George Heathco Houston, TX

23. SERENADE violin

for Jisu Shin Houston, TX

24. NOT THE END YET speaking percussionist

text by Suzie Summers for Paul Kasperitis Houston, TX

25. BUSY B double bass

for Nataly Linares Houston, TX

26. OCCHI MIEI LASSI soprano

text by Petrarch for Tamra Jones Boston, MA

27. SECOND LITTLE PRELUDE flute

for Jessie Wu Boston, MA

28. THE ART OF ART baritone

text by Walt Whitman for Jordan Sherrill Denton, TX

29. ‘TWAS NIGHT – WAS HERE mezzo

text by Emily Dickinson for Daina Fischer Chicago, IL

30. ALLEMANDE guitar

for Marc Rosenberg Houston, TX

31. PENELOPE GOES EXPLORING bass trombone

for Bill Klemm nchorage, AK

32. THE DOME OF HEAVEN 2 sopranos

text by Sara Teasdale for Kelli Lawless & Kammi Estelle Houston, TX

33. BONKERS! timpani

for Andrew Dongon Barrigada, Guam

34. TOCCATA harpsichord

for Keith Weber Houston, TX

35. KOAN clarinet

for Alexandra Doyle Cincinnati, OH

36. A BEE IN EDEN soprano

text by Emily Dickinson for Maria Khoobyar Ithaca, NY

37. HARD EDGE piano

for Adam Vincent Clay Houston, TX

38. NOW AND THEN piano

for Christian Restrepo Houston, TX

39. DAS WANDERN piano

for Caleb Houck Atlanta, GA

40. PSALM OF REFUGE soprano, organ

text from Psalm 131 for Jim and Grace Roman Houston, TX

41. SONG FOR MOTHER’S DAY children’s choir, cello

text by Christina Rossetti for Jojo Mai Kaohsiung, Taiwan

42. IT FIGURES marimba

for Caleb Herron Atlanta, GA

43. HARPO, BETWEEN ACTS harp

for Hope Cowan Houston, TX

44. A HOSTILE, CARBONATED SILENCE viola

for Whitney Bullock Houston, TX

45. STRINGS IN THE EARTH AND AIR mezzo-soprano

text by James Joyce for Brennan Blankenship Houston, TX

46. LIGHTS OF AMETHYST soprano, guitar

text by James Joyce for Austin & Julie Hoeltzel Houston, TX

47. BACK & FORTH tenor sax., violin

for Absalon & Jennifer Gutierrez Houston, TX

48: LULLABY FOR NORA saron barung (pelog)

for Brady Spitz Houston, TX

49. “HOPE” IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS soprano, tuned glasses

text by Emily Dickinson for Julia Fox Houston, TX

50. THE SPACES BETWEEN bassoon

for Jason Stephens Houston, TX

51. THIRD LITTLE PRELUDE flute

for Becca Poole Houston, TX

52. ERR ON THE E STRING double bass

for Carlos Gaviria Houston, TX

53. BORNE ON THE WIND violin

for Emilio Arredondo Houston, TX

54. THE NEURAL DISTILLATE OF viola

for Sarah Mason St. Louis, MO

55. FOURFOLD MEDITATION clarinet

for Justin Best West Palm Beach, FL

56. THE NO-SOUND OF FALLING SNOW viola

for Matthew Carrington Houston, TX

57. C-SAW double bass

for Euan Tait Chepstow, Wales

58. ADVENTURERS cello

for Will Kremer Houston, TX

59. HILL COUNTRY violin

for Jacob Frank Huntsville, AL

60. FREE-FALL EWI synth

for Greg Weisbrod New York, NY

61. FOURTH LITTLE PRELUDE flute

for Lilian Schmidt Houston, TX

62. LUSTIGE STREICHE kazoo, 2 violins, piano

for the Jiang/Chen Family Houston, TX

63. MISSING PIECES violin

for Gisela Escobar Díaz Houston, TX

64. LINES FROM WALDEN piano (speaking)

for Adam Tendler New York, NY

65. STAND UP. SPEAK OUT. cello

for Leah Lax Houston, TX

66. HE SAID SHE SAID acoustic & electric basses

for Alan Simmons & Nataly Linares Houston, TX

67. GO BETWEEN piano

for Mark Sell Dallas, TX

68. CEILING SKY-BLUE AND BULGING viola

for Mounir Nessim Durham, NC

69. ECLIPSE cello

for Bryan Hayslett Miami, FL

70. INFINITESIMAL alto sax

for Joshua Thomas Mystic, CT

71. SPEAK IT SOFTLY marimba

for Tamika Gorski Brooklyn, NY

72. LAST GLEAMING C trumpet

for Allan Dean Monterey, MA

73. THE WORKS C trumpet

for Joel Brennan Melbourne, Australia

74. ARTERIAL ROAR OF THE SUN viola

for Molly Gebrian Tucson, AZ

75. OVERCLEAR, A GLYCERINE SHINE viola

for Sophie Heeden Knoxville, TN