David Avshalomov

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Birth

Monday, May 6, 1946

New York City

United States

Groups

United States

Modern composers

♂

Age:

Composition list

Click a category to see all compositions of David Avshalomov in that category. Click a composition title to see more detailed information.

Symphonic music

Elegie: string orchestra • (1989) • Songs

Sheet music for David Avshalomov

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[Avshalomov] Flute Concerto (Reduction) — Aaron Avshalomov

Piano Accompaniment,Flute — Individual Part,Score — 20th Century
Composed by Aaron Avshalomov. 20th Century. Individual Part, Score. 59 pages. Published by American Composers Alliance Inc. (S0.578905).
Price: $25.00

Symphony of Songs — Jacob Avshalomov

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Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. LKM Music. Lauren Keiser Music Publishing #X077186. Published by Lauren Keiser Music Publishing (HL.40967).
Price: $200.00

Symphony: The Oregon — Jacob Avshalomov

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Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. LKM Music. 118 pages. Lauren Keiser Music Publishing #X077187. Published by Lauren Keiser Music Publishing (HL.40968).
Price: $82.00

Prophecy — Jacob Avshalomov

tenor or bass voice solo, SATB choir, organ — octavo — 20th Century
Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. 20th Century. Octavo. E.C. Schirmer Publishing #2704. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.2704).
Price: $3.00

Because Your Voice — Jacob Avshalomov

SATB choir — octavo — 20th Century
Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. 20th Century. Octavo. Galaxy Music Corporation #7.0004. Published by Galaxy Music Corporation (EC.7.0004).
Price: $1.00

Tom O'Bedlam — Jacob Avshalomov

SATB choir, oboe, Tabor, Jingles — choral score — 20th Century
Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. 20th Century. Choral score. E.C. Schirmer Publishing #2442. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.2442).
Price: $6.00

I Saw a Stranger Yestere'en — Jacob Avshalomov

SATB choir, violin (or piano) — octavo — 20th Century
Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. 20th Century. Octavo. Galaxy Music Corporation #7.0097. Published by Galaxy Music Corporation (EC.7.0097).
Price: $2.00

Avshalomov: Hutongs of Peking; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 — Maxim Vengerov

— — DVD/Blu-ray
By Maxim Vengerov and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. By Aaron Avshalomov, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). DVD/Blu-ray. Naxos #ACC20440. Published by Naxos (NX.ACC20440).
Price: $24.00

Avshalomov: Hutongs of Peking; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 — Maxim Vengerov

— — DVD/Blu-ray
By Maxim Vengerov and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. By Aaron Avshalomov, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). DVD/Blu-ray. Naxos #ACC10440. Published by Naxos (NX.ACC10440).
Price: $39.00

Sinfonietta (Additional Full Score) — Jacob Avshalomov

chamber orchestra — full score — Secular, 20th Century
Composed by Jacob Avshalomov. Orchestra: Youth Orchestra. Secular, 20th Century. Full score. E.C. Schirmer Publishing #9006. Published by E.C. Schirmer Publishing (EC.9006).
Price: $106.00

Find scores for David Avshalomov at Sheet Music Plus.

Music:

David Avshalomov has written over 150 works.

Overview

able0">Choral

able1">Songs

able2">Song Arrangements

able3">Solo Instruments

able4">Chamber Strings

able5">Chamber Winds

able6">Orchestra

able7">Band

able8">Brass

able9">Percussion

able10">Perc Arrangements

Choral

Title	Voices	Solos	Accomp.	Dur.	Lyrics by	Year	Description
Blue Sky	backup or jazz choir SSSAAATTTBBB	Mz lead	piano, sm shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2009	Light style song, devolving from exuberant joy at the beauty of life to wistful reluctance to leave a lover. Choir sings backup to soloist. Key of C
Blue Sky	backup or jazz choir SSAATTBB	Mz lead	piano, sm shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2009	Lower version with fewer backup parts. Key of Bb
The Chocolate Carol	SATB divisi		piano, opt. solo fl	3’	David/Randi Avshalomov	2005	Humorous tonal Holiday novelty, slow intro, bouncy catchy chorus, mock-operatic ending. Written for Pat Loeb’s Music Companie. Hilarious video of this on YouTube (search on "Chocolate Carol").
The Chocolate Carol	SATB		a cappella	3’	David/Randi Avshalomov	2005	Carolers’ version
Do You Believe in Angels?	SSAA	brief S1	6 vln, 2 vla	9’	David Avshalomov	2010	Ecstatic, transcendently beautiful, melodious and harmonically rich setting for older children’s or treble chorus and high strings. Original non-sectarian, non-religious poem by the composer on the phenomenon of angelic encounters and the common images of both light and dark angels. Bright start, dark energetic middle, luminous ending.Colorful, evocative string scoring. P/V score gives organ reduction.
Father The Tree	SATB	brief S1	a cappella	4’	Doris Avshalomov	1981	Serious slow poetic/symbolic memorial to a tall strong father/grandfather.
Go Ahead and Rejoice	SATB divisi		a cappella	3’	Doris Avshalomov	2002	Joyous rhythmic momentum-builder on the exuberance of entering Autumn, with catchy refrain--"come expecting a miracle"--and astonishing ending.
The Garlic Blessing	SATB divisi		piano	3’	David Avshalomov	2009	Witty, lively novelty on the wonders of garlic. Recurring sentimental chorale hook. Pungent ending.
Happy Anniversary	TTBB		a cappella	1’	David Avshalomov	2003	Cheery tonal canonic anniversary greeting for the composer’s parents Doris and Jacob
Happy Anniversary	SSAA		a cappella	1’	David Avshalomov	2003	Version for women’s voices
I Bend the Knee of My Heart	SSAATTBB		a cappella	5’	Canticle 14/ Menasseh	2006	Broad artful expression of awe at Gods’ power and the unworthiness of a famous sinful Old Testament king. Starts slow, solemn, moves ahead to final fervent peroration on "I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life." Commissioned by Richard Beatty for the Anglican Chorale of Southern California, James Person, Director
Kedushah	SATB	T or S	piano, fl	5’	Trad	1997	Formal, serious blessing, ecstatic end, operatic solo part. Commissioned by Cantor Mark Saltzman, Sha’arei Am Synagogue for the High Holy Days.
Love and Chocolate	SATB divisi		piano, opt. fl	3’	David/ Randi Avshalomov	2005	Valentine’s Day version of The Chocolate Carol, more romantic lyrics. Also simplified version for solo quartet SATB.
The Mixed Blessings	SSAATTBB	bar and/or low T	handbells (or vibr, glock)	13’	Matthew/Luke	2010	Ritualized, dramatic dialectic illuminating the paradoxical contradictions of the two sets of Blessings (and Woes) attributed to the Christ. Formalized semi-medieval quasi-Anglican-style start and end, one angry climax, one romantic climax on the word God. Punctuations, ostinatos, flashes of divine light from handbells.
O Euchari Columba	SSATTB	brief S1	a cappella	6’	Hildegard von Bingen	2006	Ecstatic meditation on the virtues and works of a little-known saint. Quiet, slow mystical medieval start and end, fast buildup to quasi-Orthodox climax, gentle denouement like the start. Commissioned by Coro Oddyssea, Gonçalo Lourenço, conductor, Lisbon, Spain
Praise the Lord!	SSAATBB		org, opt. sus. cym	5’	Psalm 150	2008	Wild, slightly modern, fast, rhythmic (5/8) setting of Psalm 150, with a "Bulgarian Jazz" organ solo middle. Big bright ending. Commissioned by the choir of Westwood United Methodist Church, Los Angeles for their retiring director Gina Shaw. Parts predominant practice MP3s also available.
Principles	SSAATTBB	Bar	concert band, or piano w/opt. perc (6)	32’	Thos. Jefferson	rev. 2010	Secular oratorio, tuneful, populist, rousing, on themes of liberty, social justice, and religious freedom from a Founding Father. Accessible thinking person’s patriotic music. Mixed chorus version. Texts: His creed, Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Declaration of Independence, epitaph, letters.
1. Creed				4’	Thos. Jefferson		Brilliant ringing opening, hortatory middle in polymeters on the evils of forced false religions; big unresolved cadence.
2. Our Civil Rights		Bar		3’	Thos. Jefferson		Bitter, dignified solo elaboration of the relationship between religious choice and civil rights. Choral echos. Grim ending.
3. The Opinions of Men				2’	Thos. Jefferson		Serious, energetic repudiation of government control of opinion.
4. We Do Enact				4’	Thos. Jefferson		Pure choral, gentle psalm/prayer-style statement of the Statute.
5. The Truth is Great (fugue)				2’	Thos. Jefferson		Tight, lively, chromatic rhetorical fugue on Truth. (Possible a cappella.)
6. Rebellion to Tyrants		Bar		2’	Thos. Jefferson		Shay’s Rebellion letter, solo recitative.
7. We hold these Truths				7’	Thos. Jefferson		Taut, dramatic setting with brave, joyous, inspiring conclusion, bright brass outburst after "sacred honor".
8. All Eyes Are Opened				8’	Thos. Jefferson		Populist, revival-style exhortation to remember and honor the Principles of the DOI. Several band interludes, drum section break. Big peroration on the refrain, "All Eyes are Opened to the Rights of Man."
Principles	TTTTBBBB	Bar	concert band, or piano w/opt. perc (6)	32’	Thos. Jefferson	1993-4	Secular oratorio. Male chorus version written for the Singing Sgts. of the USAF band, DC
Song for Late Summer	SATB		a cappella	3’30	Doris Avshalomov	1962	Shy romantic yearning likened to the cricket’s wistful cries. Episodic, with appealing madrigalisms, slow haunting end. Pure tonal.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience	SATB occasional divisi	few, various, short	a cappella	104’ total	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Double cycle, 46 individual settings of the entire set of Blake’s amazing symbolic, ironical, and mystical poems (See individual titles). Some also suitable as madrigals (one on a part). Can be performed separately, or complete with alternating/combining double chamber choir and breakout solo quartets.
Ah! Sun-Flower	SATB		a cappella	2’10	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Wistful, poignant Air with slow, limp, soft energy. Subject: Death, time, yearning for release. Good for single voices also.
The Angel	SSA, women only		a cappella	3’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Mysterious, slow-fast-slow Melodrama. Subject: Aging womanhood.
The Blossom	SATB		a cappella	1’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Fun, light, playful Madrigal, fast and rhythmic. Subject: Nature and yearning for love. Excellent for single voices also.
The Chimney Sweeper I	SATB (opt. divisi)		a cappella	4’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Ironic, ecstatic Melodrama, slow-fast-slow. Subject: Child labor, dream of flying and redemption.
The Chimney Sweeper II	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter Melodrama, moderate speed. Subject: Child labor in the snow.
The Clod & the Pebble	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Ironic, formal Madrigal, moderate speed. Subject: Love’s illusions. Good for single voices also.
A Cradle Song	SATB		a cappella	3’15	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sweet Lullaby with a middle twist; slow, soft and steady. Subject: Baby’s/Christ’s innocence, mother’s worry. Good for single voices also.
The Divine Image I	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Reverent Prayer, moderate speed. Subject: Tolerance/diversity. Good for single voices also.
A Divine Image II	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter, profound, ironic Aphorism; slow, solid, and full. Subject: Darkness of the soul.
A Dream (the Lost Ant)	SATB (B div. At end)		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Play-spooky Melodrama; moving and rhythmic. Subject: The lost ant’s children rescued from a home fire.
Earth’s Answer	SATB		a cappella	2’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Dark Plaint, slow and strong. Subject: Forbidden love. Pairs with Hear the Voice of the Bard.
The Ecchoing Green	SATB		a cappella	2’31	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Exuberant Carol/glee with rhythmic high energy; opening bell tones, sleepy-bye ending. Subject: Children’s play, then off to bed
The Fly	SATB		a cappella	1’20	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Witty, playful Madrigal, lively and rhythmic. Subject: Are you Fly or Man? Excellent for single voices also.
Freedom/Uhuru	SATB	opt. Bar	a cappella	4’15	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Proud African Affirmation, high energy, strong and rhythmic, with a chant background. Optional clapping, minor rhythmic movement. Subject: Divine soul of a slave child
The Garden of Love	SATB		a cappella	2’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter, intense, poised Moral Madrigal, moderate speed. Subject: Forbidden free love. Good for single voices also.
Hear the Voice of the Bard	SATB		a cappella	2’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Strong, hortatory Prophecy with a gentle ending. Subject: Mystery, the end of night
Holy Thursday I	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Hopeful, steady Hymn. Subject: Processional of orphaned children into St. Paul’s Cathedral. Long-melisma final cadence.
Holy Thursday II	SATB		a cappella	3’15	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Tragic slow Sermon. Subject: Grinding poverty and despair
The Human Abstract	SATB		a cappella	3’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter, sharp, slow Moral Madrigal. Subject: Mean selfishness. Good for single voices also.
Infant Joy	SATB	light S1	a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sweet Air/rocking song, moderate then rhythmic. Subject: Innocence and mother’s joy in her newborn.
Infant Sorrow	SATB		a cappella	2’15	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Soulful Blues moan, slow and heavy. Subject: Pains of birth.
The Lamb	SATB		a cappella	2’20	Wm. Blake	2001-2	The sweetest Prayer, gentle and sustaining. Subject: The Lamb and Christ. Good for single voices also.
Laughing Song	SATB		a cappella	3’40	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Hilarious playful Madrigal, lively, rhythmic and full. Subject: Laughter and youth. Stage business: actual laughter/hilarity breakdown and recovery before the end.
The Lilly	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Esthetic nature Madrigal, slow and soft. Subject: The Lily vs. the Rose. Excellent for single voices also.
The Little Boy Lost/Found	SATB		a cappella	3’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Worried Melodrama, restlessly moving, rhythmic. Subject: A little boy lost in the night marsh, rescued by his Father.
A Little Boy Lost [II]	SATB		a cappella	4’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Righteous bitter Sermon, moderate speed. Subject: A little boy burned at the stake for questioning religion.
A Little Girl Lost (Ona)	SATB		a cappella	3’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Light, then heavy Madrigal/Melodrama, lively then slow. Subject: Forbidden young love. Good for single voices also.
The Little Girl Lost/Found (Lyca)	SATB		a cappella	4’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Varied Story Madrigal, moderate speed. Subject: A lost girl, symbolic nature rescue--by the lion! Snoring section in the middle.
The Little Vagabond	SATB		a cappella	1’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	High-spirited Glee, lively and rhythmic. Subject: The need for ale in church.
London	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Slow, gloomy Sermon. Subject: Degradation in the city.
Motto to the Songs of I & E	SATB		a cappella	2’15	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Ironic tangled-canonic Conundrum, lively and rhythmic. Subject: The twisting of human nature as we mature--‘til the Eagle is known from the Owl.
Night	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sweet Prayer, moderate speed. Subject: Angels protecting us from wild beasts while we sleep, lion lies down with lamb.
Nurse’s Song I	SATB (SSAATT-B div end)		a cappella	2’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Innocent Vignette, moderate speed, with fade-out echo-effect divisi at the end. Subject: Children playing on the green, not ready for sleep.
Nurse’s song II	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter, cynical Vignette, moderate speed. Subject: Mortality
On Another’s Sorrow	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sweet sentimental variation-Hymn, moderate speed. Subject: Compassion (ours and Christ’s). Good for single voices also.
Piping down the Valleys Wild	SATB (div. End)	whistler	a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Cheery, playful Madrigal, lively and rhythmic, big Disney end. Subject: The Poet’s inspiration to write songs for children. Solo whistling intro. Good for single voices also.
A Poison Tree	SATB		a cappella	3’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter Moral Madrigal, slow and intense with a dramatic ending. Subject: Revenge. Good for single voices also.
My Pretty Rose Tree	SATB		a cappella	1’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Ironic Madrigal, moderate and gentle, sudden turn from pleasant to dark. Subject: Spurned love. Excellent for single voices also.
The School Boy	SATB		a cappella	3’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Ironic Madrigal, lively and rhythmic, loud bitter end. Subject: Summer School trapped boredom/misery. Good for single voices also.
The Shepherd	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sweet Prayer, rocking gently. Subject: Guarding the flock. Solo whistling intro and end.
The Sick Rose	SATB		a cappella	1’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bittersweet slow Madrigal. Subject: Love/death (or death of love). Excellent for single voices also.
Spring	SATB		a cappella	1’30	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Charming, playful Madrigal, lively and rhythmic. Subject: Children and lambs in Spring. Excellent for single voices also.
To Tirzah	SATB		a cappella	2’45	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Bitter steady variation-Chorale. Subject: Misogyny
Tyger Tyger Burning Bright	SATB		a cappella	2’10	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Sharp Paean, lively, rhythmic, fierce, finally dire. Subject: Fearsome nature.
The Voice of the Ancient Bard	SATB		a cappella	2’	Wm. Blake	2001-2	Hortatory Sermon, moderate speed. Subject: Folly. Good for single voices also.

The Star Spangled Banner (arr.)	TTBB qtt or ens.		a cappella	1’45	F. Scott Key	2004	Purple harmonization for the Santa Monica HS Barbershop Gentlemen of 2004--and my son Zack. Available in C, B, Bb
There’s a Wind	SSAATTBB	brief S1	a cappella	4’30	David Avshalomov	2009	Folk-tonal, madrigalistic depiction of the rise, climax, and diedown of a wild bay windstorm at a dramatic turn in a famous American novella. Commissioned by Meredith Kennedy for Camerata Singers of Long Beach. Wind-whistling effect at start.
This Sacred Space	SSAATTB	brief A	organ, 2 tpt 2 tbn, timp (3 dr)	5’30	Holy, Holy, Holy, other lyrics by David Avshalomov	2008	Tonal consecration anthem with congregational hymn, showy organ part. Mystical start, buildup to big bright celebratory Alleluia ending.
U.S. 30 in Idaho	SSAATTB		a cappella	1’	Doris Avshalomov	1961	Ironic nature/highway roadkill observation, over in a flash.
The U.S. Air Force Fugue	TTBB		a cappella	3’	USAF/ David Avshalomov	1972	Parody fugue based on “Off we Go, Into the Wild Blue Yonder.”
Where You Go, I Will Go	SSAA	brief S, A	a cappella	13’	Ruth and Naomi	2003	Mini-oratorio on the story of Ruth and Naomi. Dramatic, expressive, epic-narrative style, tender ending. Commissioned by Chris Rhodes, Santa Monica HS

Songs

Title	Voice	Accomp.	Dur.	Lyrics by	Year	Description
The Ceremony of Innocence	B-bar	piano	8’	Yeats The Second Coming	2000	Dramatic solo mini-oratorio about the mystical cycles of the millennia. Also available with orchestra with Ozymandias (as Two Apocalyptic Songs)
The Ceremony of Innocence, trio	B-bar	piano, fl, vla	8’	Yeats The Second Coming	2001	Version with piano, flute, viola
Come Here Lookin’ (for what it is)	B-bar	opt vocal bass or string bass	3’ - 6’	David Avshalomov	2009	A simple a cappella strophic song about nature, its human scars, and getting back to the way it was meant to be. Verses observing many SM Mountains creatures.
Goodnight Moon	B-bar	keyboard	3’	Margaret Wise Brown	1986	A sweet, simple, tuneful setting of the classic children’s ‘nite-nite’ book.
Goodnight Moon	High	piano, str 5tet, fl	3’	Margaret Wise Brown	1986/ 2007	Version with striings, piano, flute, keyboard.
Hashkiveinu	Low	piano	5’	(Trad.)	1999	Romantic, dramatic full setting of the traditional prayer, commissioned by Cantor Shula Merton, Temple Beth El, Orange County CA. In C and Bb.
How Sweet it Was	Low	piano	3’30	David Avshalomov	2008	Bittersweet ballad, regretful remembrance of a tempestuous, painful romance.
How Sweet it Was score	Low	piano. 2 opt. fl, str 5tet	3’31	David Avshalomov	2008	Version with strings, piano, opt flutes.
The Last Act	Low	piano	6’	Louise Bogan	2000	Slow, arch art song about the loss and remembrance of a lover
Meredith Songs	Mezzo	piano, or various scorings		Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Set of lighter songs commissioned by my friend and collaborator Meredith Kennedy on her own charming and singable lyrics. All with nice hooks. (See individual titles below.) .mp3 acccompaniment/practice files also available.
Askendreya	Mezzo	piano, opt. hand drums	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Haunting, bittersweet evocation of the past and present mystique of the city of Alexandria
Askendreya	Mezzo	piano, 2 vn, vla, vcl, bass, high hand drums	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2010	Scored version
Black Beauty	Mezzo	piano	2’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Happy, exuberantly flying song about the joy of riding a fine horse, rhythmic patterns stepping up from a trot through a gallop. Brief [overdub] harmony parts at end, board fade. Light Country flavor. Key of G or F.
Black Beauty	Mezzo	piano, elec guit, acoust guit, banjo, bass guit, drums, fiddle or vla	2’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2010	Scored version
Blue Sky	Mezzo	piano, opt. small shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Devolving from exuberant joy at the beauty of life to wistful reluctance to leave a lover. Light pop/jazz harmonizations. Key of C
Blue Sky	Mezzo, backups	piano, opt. small shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Version with backup voices SSSAAATTTBBB.Key of C
Blue Sky	Mezzo, backups	piano, opt. small shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy	2008-2009	Version with smaller backup ens SSAATTBB. Key of Bb.
Dazzle Me	Mezzo	piano	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Wink/nudge flirting with a charming, charismatic man. Easy shuffle version
Dazzle Me	Mezzo	piano	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Slow bluesy version. Key of F or G
Dazzle Me	Mezzo	piano, bass, drums, A. sax	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored slow bluesy version. Key of F.
Desert Snow	Mezzo	piano	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Haunting memorial to the fallen solders of a far desert war, with impassioned antiwar climax. Key of g minor or a.
Desert Snow	Mezzo	piano, 2 vn, vla, vcl, bass, timpani, ob	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored version. Key of g minor.
Enchanted River	Mezzo	harp (or piano), opt. solo violin	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Sweet, simple Irish-folk-style tune about a river inviting the poet’s wanderlust, leaving a lover behind. Key of Eb or Db
Ghostly Dancer	Mezzo	piano, opt. tambourine	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Haunting tango about the perennial ghostly dance of a great solo dancer long dead. Key of f minor
Ghostly Dancer	Mezzo	acoust guitr, 3 fl (or synth), tamb, fing cyms	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Version with Guitar, flutes (or synth), perc. Key of e minor
Lady Jezebel	Mezzo	piano	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Simple song about womanly self-realization, opening up. Dreamy start and end, light rock middle. Key of d minor or e.
Lady Jezebel	Mezzo	piano, 2 vn, vla, vcl, electric bass, drums	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored version. Key of d minor.
Lakota Storm	Mezzo	piano, fl, opt. Plains Indian drum (or Taiko or bodhran)	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Slow, haunting, folk-“native” setting of the legend of a great fallen warrior, modal style.
Lakota Storm	Mezzo	Hp fl, opt. Plains Indian drum (or Taiko or bodhran)	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored version w/harp.
A Minute after Midnight	Mezzo	piano	2’	Meredith Kennedy		The poet hangs on to a dissolving love affair, begging for "one last time," over a simple tick-tock accompaniment. In g
A Minute after Midnight	Mezzo	2 vn, opt. vla, opt. vcl, bass	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored version in f#
Mr. Brown Eyes	Mezzo	piano,	2’	Meredith Kennedy		A light-hearted flirter, also a shuffle.
Mr. Brown Eyes	Mezzo	piano, drums/brushes, Bb clar, bass	2’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored Version
State of Mind	Mezzo	piano	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Dreamy morning awakening to the lingering spell of an absent (imaginary?) lover.
State of Mind	Mezzo	piano, fl,2 vn, vla, vcl, bass, shaker	3’	Meredith Kennedy		Scored version.
A Mind of Winter	Bar	str +harp; or piano	5’	Doris Avshalomov	1985	A nature song, slow/moderate/slow, relishing the sluggish awakening of Spring.
Orchestra Song	Operatic Sopr	orchestra	12’	David Avshalomov	1989	Narrator’s final summary variation on the simple theme song for Let’s Grow an Orchestra, big aria ending.
Our Civil rights	B or Bar	piano	2’30	Thos. Jefferson	2003	Bitter, dignified elaboration of the relationship between religious choice and individual civil rights. Grim ending. Excerpted from Principles, (see Choral with Band).
Ozymandias	B-bar	piano	8’	Shelley	2000	Dramatic, ironic narrative about the remnants of a proud empire. Also available with orchestra, with Ceremony of Innocence (as Two Apocalyptic Songs)
Songs of Life / Songs of Death	B-bar	piano	22’ total	Emily Dickinson	2000	Colorful, highly melodic double set of 9 short songs on common Dickinson themes and motifs: snakes, nature, the sea, horses, trains, bells, love, sex, sublimation, hope, fear, insanity, pain, God, fear of death—and its acceptance. Ranging from hopeful contagious enthusiasm to morbid melodrama. The 2 sets can be performed separately. (See individual titles below.) Also available with orchestra.
A Narrow Fellow in the Grass	B-bar	piano	1’45	Emily Dickinson	2000	Nimble, ironic expression of instinctual fear of snakes—“zero at the bone”.
The Railway Train	B-bar	piano	2’30	Emily Dickinson	2000	Fast, evocative depiction of the power and fascination of this huge rolling machine.
Wild Nights	B-bar; also High Voice	piano	1’30	Emily Dickinson	2000	Fast, splashy outburst, dreams of abandon to wild open-hearted lovemaking, borne by sea metaphors—almost X-rated.
Hope is the Thing with Feathers	B-bar; also High Voice	piano	2’20	Emily Dickinson	2000	Irish-sounding ballad-, simple, lyrical, touching slow melody.
It Was Not Death	B-bar	piano	3’30	Emily Dickinson	2000	Frozen, helpless expression of paralyzing fear of death arriving with no evident cause—in broad daylight, over descending bell tones. Long slow arch with despairing end.
The Heart Asks Pleasure First	B or Bar	piano	2’	Emily Dickinson	2000	Consoling, sweet hospice lyric suggesting a loved one slowly dying in hospital, in great pain, and the blessed “liberty/privilege to die”. Slow, long intensifying arch to the top and low ending.
I Felt a Funeral in My Brain	B-bar	piano	3’30	Emily Dickinson	2000	The horror of witnessing her own funeral—or losing her mind? Grimmest slow march with quotes from Chopin, Tschaikowsky, Mahler.
Tie the Strings to my Life	B-bar; also High Voice	piano	1’45	Emily Dickinson	2000	Brave song asking God for just a last glance and kiss of the hills, then she is “ready to go.” Gallant English-sounding melody over a cheerful lively galloping motif, inner moment of wistfulness, triumphant end.
Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Tango/Encore)	B-bar	piano	3’	Emily Dickinson	2000	Taut tango in ersatz ballroom-dance-of-doom style to match the arch, artificial politesse of the poem. Mock-solemn mood, melody and harmony traditionally sentimental.
Two Households	Ten/Bar duet	opt. guitar	2’	Shakespeare	2002	Quasi-Elizabethan setting of the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet. Written for my son Zack for a classroom presentation.
You Can’t Have It All	Bari	piano or theater ensemble	4’	David Avshalomov	1986	Ironic series of philosophical clichés about desires and fulfillment, in light Kurt Weill simulation style.
You Are the Girl	Med	piano	3’	David Avshalomov	1975	Love song, sheer devotion and infatuation. 50s ballad.
Test of Faith	soli, ens	piano or small pit ensemble		David Avshalomov	1982	Selected songs and choruses from a youth musical on the Spanish Inquisition’s persecution of the Marranos. (See individual titles below.)
Barcelona	middle range unis chor	piano or small pit ensemble	2’	David Avshalomov	2008-2009	The people of Barcelona, including the Jews/Marranos, celebrate city pride in an up-tempo R&B-flavored ensemble number.
People are Missing	middle range soli, 2-part chor	piano or small pit ensemble	3’	David Avshalomov	2008-2009	A worried Marrano child notices her friend has disappeared, the grownups pick up her fear. Light 70’s pop syncopated style, modal, ensemble number.
Gone	low female solo, unis backups	piano or small pit ensemble	3’	David Avshalomov	2008-2009	A distraught Marrano daughter mourns her suddenly-imprisoned family while the neighbors comfort her. 1920s sad torch song.
Shy	middle range duet	piano or small pit ensemble	2’	David Avshalomov	2008-2009	Two shy youngsters separately express their mutual secret crush. Sweet slow simple melody, brief duet.
To Save Your Soul	boy or girl alto	piano or small pit ensemble	2’	David Avshalomov	2008-2010	The Grand Inquisitor relishes his work torturing people to confess and repent--before they die. Glam rock, electric organ solo.

Song Arrangements

Title	Composer	Voices	Key	Accomp.	Dur.	Year	Description
Find the Cost of Freedom	Steven Stills	(A)ATB soli	d minor	a cappella	1’30	1970/2007	Simple a cappella transcription
Ghost Riders in the Sky	Stan Jones	Low solo, SAT backups	d	piano	3’	1948/2007	One of my favorite Cowboy Songs
On Top of Old Stewball	(trad.)	SATB soli	C	a cappella	3’	2007	Folk Quodlibet sequencing, then overlaying four familiar folk tunes with related melodies
Sergeant Pepper Medley	Lennon/McCartney	TTBB chorus, T, Bar soli	var.	Concert band	16’	1970-72	Fun transcription medley from the Beatle’s first concept album. Created for and premiered by the USAF Band and Singing Sergeants, Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, Commander/ Conductor
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band	Lennon/McCartney
With a Little Help from My Friends	Lennon/McCartney
It’s Getting Better All the Time	Lennon/McCartney
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds	Lennon/McCartney
She’s Leaving Home	Lennon/McCartney
When I’m 64	Lennon/McCartney
Lovely Rita Meter Maid	Lennon/McCartney
Sgt Pepper Reprise	Lennon/McCartney
A Day in the Life	Lennon/McCartney
Sixteen Tons	Merle Travis	Low solo, SAT backups	c minor	piano	4’	1946/2007	Tennessee Ernie Ford version
Venezuela	John Jacob Niles	Low	C#	piano	2’	1918/2007	Possibly the most beautiful song melody ever.

Solo Instruments

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
UNACCOMPANIED
The Last Poet’s Farewell	solo vn	22’	1998	Written at the request of Rodion Zamourouev, Moscow, in sympathy with the plight of post-Stalinist Russia. Dances and tunes of powerless compassion. Chained suite of small vignettes across the society and the vast landscape, expressed by the last, bitter “poet”—the violinist. Modest movement elements (offstage/ onstage). Prologo: Remembrance (The Poet’s Song) The Soldier Returns Home; Stump Dance The Empty House Tzigaret? Drug Virus Pinwheel Icon Zeks’ Reveille / Work Party / Lights-out The Lake Baikal Hoedown (Yakudia Yahoo!) Final Regrets: The Poet’s Last Song.
Sonata for Solo Harp	solo hp	14’	1999	Written for my friend Maria Casale. A serious solo sonata for a fine artist. Darker than typical harp music.
I. Legend		8’		Extensive modified developmental sonata form, more contrapuntal than chordal, modal d minor. Much ostinato accompaniment, themes like folk stories, long development, strong recap building tension to a stern, proud ending.
II. Meditation		4’		Pensive, solemn, dignified meditation, in alternating oriental modes. Impressionistic middle episode (glissandi, tremolo), serious return, simple poignant ending. Dedicated to the memory of my paternal grandfather Aaron Avshalomoff.
III. Danza		2’		Quick, dancy bagatelle on changing polymeters over a covert blues harmonic scheme. Quick microvariations on the opening tune, cheery surprise ending.
Variations on a Beethoven Theme	solo vcl	12’	1989	Tonal variations on the opening tune from Opus 59 No. 1 F major string quartet, from simple to virtuosic, cheery to moody. Showy ending.
Winter Mood	solo piano	2’	1964	Dreamy sketch, slow and wistful, euphonious, easy to play. Tonal/impressionist harmonies. Also scored for wind quintet as part of Around the Year.
ACCOMPANIED
Concertino for Oboe	solo ob, str, hp	15’	2002/2009	Charming, inventive orchestration of the accompaniment for the Sonata Breve as a lyrical, light/dark, short concerto. Commissioned by Aaron and Amelia Neustadt
I. Shifting Masks		6’15		See Sonata Breve, below.
II. Lament		5’40		See Sonata Breve, below.
III. Hushabye		4’40		See Sonata Breve, below.
Concerto con Timpani (Battaglia)	timp solo (6-7), str, hpschd. cont.	14’	1992	Concerto, early 18th-century concertato style. May use hand-tuned drums. Fun to play and hear. Available in a style-edited version and "Urtext" version with Baroque performance guidelines.
I. Intrada, Grave/ Allegro		3’40		Ouverture (slow/fast/slow). Regal fanfare start/end. Rhythmic passages alternating between showy, busy soloist and ripieno, flashy drumming near the end.
II. Largo Sostenuto		5’35		Slow, elegant, affect of mourning.
III. Presto		3’40		Rattling fast movement with longer solo passages, flashy wrap-up, echo ending.
Elegy	solo vn, piano	8’	1990	Arrangement of string orchestra Elegy
Sonata Breve for Oboe	ob, piano	15’	2002	Lyrical, light/dark, short sonatine, commissioned by my friends Aaron Neustadt and Amelia Russo Neustadt; and dedicated to the memory of Amelia’s father.
I. Shifting Masks		6’15		Developmental, varied sonata form with strongly contrasting themes and moods, now sunny, now dramatic and gloomy, now lyrical, now rhythmic and restless.
II. Lament		5’40		Elegiac slow movement. Song form with lyrical folk-like melodies. Central sharp, passionate outburst of grief in a short, wild oboe cadenza; gentle varied reprise with short coda.
III. Hushabye		4’40		Simple, playful, childlike rondo in lyrical American folk vein; finally fades away to a safe, reassuring mood, like a lullaby on a child’s music box.
Sonata for Flute	fl, piano	28’	2000	Another serious sonata written for a talented artist-my friend Ellen Burr. Projects both melodic beauty and rhythmic vitality; exploits the wide timbral range of the flute. Chromatic-tonal mid-20th century pre-modern. Darker than most flute solos. The piano is a full partner.
I. Myth		8’30		Like a mythical story. Mysterious quasi-modernist prologue, series of brooding melodies, wild rhythmic middle, slow denouement.
II. It Ain’t Necessarily Jazz		6’45		Candy-cane jazz waltz in varied-rondo-sonata structure with flute improv passages over harmonic changes, and wry Gershwin quotes. (May add bass and light drumset/brushes to perform separately.)
III. Star Fire		5’		Dedicated to the memory of our first cat Sadie. Slow music to mourn her in the mountains under a midnight sky bursting with stars. Begins in low murky gloom, then a chain of pure melodies in oriental modes, a hysterical high climax, and a full elegiac reprise.
IV. Quarrel		7’15		Dramatic chromatic dialog playing out an increasing nasty domestic quarrel, with yelling and tears at the end. Bitter limp ending.
Sonata for Violoncello	Vcl, Piano	28’	1997	Elegant, formal sonata reflecting Russian and East European art-music influences. Heroic writing for the cello. Written for Howard Colf of the LA Philharmonic.
I. Andante		9’20		Tight sonata form with varied reprise and strongly contrasting thematic sections, romantic/rhapsodic overall.
II. Lento		4’		Prayerful meditation in simple slow one-theme song form. Melody in cello, over a low bell-like descending piano ostinato with tinkling rising punctuations. Sweet end. Also versions for Viola, Eb Alto Sax.
III. Finale (Ghost Riders)		13’45		Driven, extended, mock-heroic finale with Soviet-modern flavor. Offhand ending.
Torn Curtain suite	Vla, Piano	32’	1991	Written for my brother Dan in resonance with Eastern Europe and Russia 1989-90. Suite on original tunes that sound Roumanian, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, songs of empathy and powerless compassion—from a stranger. Heroic writing for the viola, the piano a substantial partner. (Accompanying descriptive vignettes.)
I. The Old Tunes		7’40		Dramatic sonata form, fresh new melodies replacing development, varied returns replacing the recapitulation. A lopsided arch: ABCDEFED_BA, crowned by a free, passionate, whirling duo-cadenza. Blunt, stoic ending.
II. Menuetto		3’		Crude old-fashioned minuet/trio (baroque shapes in an Oriental mode, ornamented repeats). High viola harmonics in the trio like tears of trapped children. Fattened return, the cadence pure resignation.
III. Ballade		4’10		Clear ABA’ form. The viola offers dry, solemn, phrases in baroque-dance rhythm; the piano gives bittersweet answers. The viola gives a high, sad, old-fashioned romantic love tune, the pianist pounds to the climax, winds down, they repeat the starting dance. Gentle ending.
IV. Incident (in the Town Square)		1’45		Sneaky little scherzo, over before you know it. Fast meters of 5, 7, and 9 establish a busy theme built on repeating cells, interrupted and resumed. Things get violent; the viola emits squeals over crashing clusters in the piano.
V. Night Prayer (in the Web)		9’		Anguished nocturne, tracing pain, worry, prayer, release, resignation, with a glimmer of hope at the end. (ABA form) High bells, a writhing melody over a plodding bass line, the open space of a sanctuary, a quiet priestly intonation, then huge bells and "choir," releasing intertwined spinning anxieties. Return to high bells and a final lullaby with a bitter-sweet cadence giving rest.
VI. Dance it Away		6’30		Varied rondo of rustic dance tunes, with quasi-virtuosic touches, like a klezmer or gypsy band; rarely lets up. Jewish-sounding extension hits the top and spins into a fast, crazed coda (reprise of the start of movement I) with a wild-eyed, splashy end.

Chamber Strings

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Dance	Adv. student vn, intermed. piano	3’	1995	A playful nod to Bartok’s children’s pieces on Balkan folk songs, written for my sons studying violin and piano.
Diversion	vln, 5 ped. Timp	5’	1966	Dancy etude in repeating polymeters that unfolds from a bouncing, rhythmic motif. Simple, tonal, and popular. ABA form; lyrical middle with drums on the melody; brash ending. Written for my Harvard senior recital.
String Quartet	Qtt	28’	1974/79	A valedictory work. Still tonal, more modern than my later works, even a brief episodic flirtation with melodic serialism (a path I never pursued).
I. Masks, Roles, Humors		9’		Elements of sonata form including full return of opening materials; exploratory use of recurring thematic segments. Dreamy opening yielding to a rhythmic, dancelike character, emphatic slowed coda that dissolves in a complex, bitter harmony.
II. Scherzo (Rondetto)		2’45		Brief, lively, whimsical varied rondo—with increasingly distorted returns of the rondo subject that threaten the form.
III. The Dream		16’20		Slow, intense finale, starting with the highest, quietest sounds; reflects a long, troubled dream sequence, full of anxiety, childish resentments, and ultimately sadness, ending in a bleak, grey dawn.
Trotzky’s Train	piano sextet (with str bass)	40’	2007	Tragic, bittersweet neo-romantic piano sextet reflecting on the 1917 Russian Revolution and the resulting tragedy of Stalinist oppression. Runs the gamut from foreboding to loss, sad memory, sweet farewell and acceptance, to an increasingly grim dialectic between the truth of Stalinism (not real Socialism) and the sweet tragic Russian soul, with a deadly and inevitable end. Some solistic role for the piano. Also version for string orchestra/piano
I. Romanovs’ Last Ball		10’30		In a tragic, relentless waltz, the end of the Tsar. Full of sudden jolts and fierce drive, between passages of sweeping, aching lyricismt.Brutal end.
II. Memento Mori (Adagio)		12’20		Slow memorial to the millions of victims of the Stalinist purges, their fear, their suffering, their disappearing, the waste of souls. (And by extension to all victims of horrific totalitarian oppression. Appropriate also for Yom HaShoah--Holocaust Remembrance.) Belongs mostly to the string quintet. Bitter start, sweet mourning dance, grim reprise, restful sweet ending.
III. Trotzky’s Train		17’30		Join us as Commissar Trotsky and his staff roll around the Russian countryside in his customized train-headquarters, rallying the troops and rebuilding the demoralized army for the dual war against the Axis and the Mensheviks. Vigorous, ethnic flavors, train energy, and a grim relentless end.

Chamber Winds

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Air	Ob, Cl, Bsn.	3’	1975	A simple, moderato, tuneful ABA form for reed trio.
Around the Year	woodwind quintet	11’	1965/2002	Four short,charming, atmospheric, tonal seasonal miniatures, mood/character sketches, commissioned by Aaron and Amelia Neustadt. Winner of the Miles Playhouse Debut Award, 2008
I. Winter Mood		2’		Snow on the mountains. Slow, sonorous, euphonious.
II. Autumn Walk		2’30		Brisk leaf-blown day in a park. Moderate/lively/moderate; nice oboe and horn solos.
III. Summer Dream		3’		Hot Southern night. Slow, aching beauty, echoes of Gershwin, Stephen Foster. Langorous flute solos.
IV. Spring Games		3’		Children on a grassy hillside. Exuberant fling, playful melody play, brave "Pirate" horn solo, flip end.
Sacred Winds	Fl Orch:12 (13) incl. picc, C, alto, bass, contra-alto, Contra-Bass, sucbontra-bass, 2 perc.	27’	2007	Gently experimental (some extended techniques) but tonal music evoking wind dimensions of the natural world. Melodies express the yearning of a lost soul seeking to regain connection with the powers of Nature. Written for Los Angeles Flute Orchestra. (Alternate bottom parts for bass Cl, str bass). Optional ankle bells.
I. Rain Dance		6’10		Brittle, dignified, ritualistic evocation of a ceremonial dance to relieve drought; builds up, raises ground breezes, final shouts bring gentle rain. Spooky low flute solos.
II. Fog Song		10’30		Slow cluster moods with blue melodies. Evocation of dense, then wispy, then billowing fog, surf, foghorns. Wild "choral" middle, evaporating end. Solos for many.
III. Sand Banshee		10’15		Tone-painting all stages of a sandstorm, building from tiny, thready breeze to full-on wild screamer over the Voice of the Banshee. Relaxes to sweet calm--with a last surprise. Piccolos featured.

3 Outside	Clarinet Choir (Eb, 7 Bb, Alto, 2 Bass, Contra-Alto)	12’	2008	Three very different movements, each projecting a distinct energy--mechanical, natural, human--in a different outdoor setting, Written for Los Angeles Clarinet Choir, Margaret Thornhill, director.
I. Magic Fountain		4’20		Music for the eyes, all about color and movement. Playful showpiece evoking the variant patterns and splashy exuberance of a programmed multi-jet “dancing” water fountain display with colored lights. Gradually develops direction to a culmination. Brief vocal splash effects at end.
II. Moon Song		6’		Slow music for the heart, all about melody. The aching mystery of full-moon light on high-mountain pines. Light breeze, then full wind over a chorus of plaintive sadness, winding back to the still moon, ending on a lonely question. Soulful lead clarinet solo.
III. Hill Dance		7’		Music for the body, all about rhythm. Lively Bulgarian-style 5/8 folk dance up in hill country. Showy solos for Eb, Bb, bass clar. Slower middle with Jewish-flavor circle-dance tunes, almost drunk. Wild loud fast ecstatic ending. Hoy!

Orchestra

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Concertino for Oboe	Solo ob, str, hp	15’	2002/2009	Charming, inventive orchestration of the accompaniment for the Sonata Breve; lyrical, light/dark, short concerto. Commissioned by Aaron and Amelia Neustadt
I. Shifting Masks		6’15		Developmental, varied sonata form with strongly contrasting themes and moods, now sunny, now dramatic and gloomy, now lyrical, now rhythmic and restless
II. Lament		5’40		Elegiac slow movement. Song form with lyrical folk-like melodies. Central sharp, passionate outburst of grief in a short, wild oboe cadenza; gentle varied reprise with short coda
III. Hushabye		4’40		Simple, playful, childlike rondo in lyrical American folk vein; finally fades away to a safe, reassuring mood, like a lullaby on a child’s music box

Concerto con Timpani (Battaglia)	timp solo (6-7), str, hpschd. cont.	14’	1992	Concerto, early 18th-century concertato style. May use hand-tuned drums. Fun to play and hear. Available in a style-edited version and "Urtext" version with Baroque performance guidelines.
I. Intrada, Grave/ allegro		3’40		Ouverture (slow/fast/slow). Regal fanfare start/end. Rhythmic passages alternating between showy, busy soloist and ripieno, flashy drumming near the end.
II. Largo sostenuto		5’35		Slow, elegant, affect of mourning
III. Presto		3’40		Rattling fast movement with longer solo passages, flashy wrap-up, echo ending
Diamond Variations	Str, hp	13’	2005	Tonal romantic variations on an original octahedral melody, contrasting the beauty, symbolism and romance of diamonds with the historic greed, smuggling, theft, and violence of the trade. Choice of brutal or serene ending. Co-commissioned by Emily Ray, Mission Chamber Orchestra, San Jose CA; Tracey Rush, Dubuque Community String Orchestra, Iowa.
I. The Diamond (Theme)		1’20		Vigorous, romantic, sweet
II. The Cutter		0’40		Whimsical
III. Best Friends		1’30		Pretty girl waltz
IV. Temptation		0’30		Furtive quick jumping motive
V. Yearning		1’40		Slow double canons and pungent harmonies
VI. Smugglers		0’30		Continued furtive jumping, brash, sharp end
VII. Forever		3’15		Aching slow-buidup Mahler-tribute adagio with heart-deep peak and prayerlike peaceful ending.
VIII. Blood Diamonds		2’		Fast powerful piece; furtive jumping start, buildup to full-blown vicious violence.
IX. The Perfect Gem		3’30		Saccharine recap of the theme, high, angelic all-happy-and-beautiful cadence
Elegy	str	8’	1990	Slow, exquisite, sad, dignified elegy growing out of a soulful melody; unexpected slow blues-y “stomp” middle (Mahler meets Cab Callaway), bitter reprise, “death” chord, “farewell” cadence. Dedicated to the memory of Leonard Bernstein.
Gems Album No. 1	Small to large orch, several with few winds, few or no brass.	13’	1990/2005	Set of very short, strong-character, colorful preludes for everyday use with general audiences, community outreach concerts, children’s and school concerts. May be used singly or in small sets, mix and match.. Accessible for competent community orchestras, advanced high school/ college orchestras.
1. Brilliant	Large orch	0’35		Brisk rhythmic fanfare, winds/trpt lead
2. Starry Night	Large orch	1’45		Quiet awe-filled starry dome of night, slow-build processional with a Milky Way peak and a big brassy ending trailing off to stardust bells
3. ‘whirlwind	Standard orch	0’35		Suddenly swirling adventure theme in a single vibrant arch and dying spinaway
4. Galaxy	Large orch	2’30		Expansive, broad build-up space adventure march theme arch with softer romantic middle and extreme warp-drive ending
5. Forever	Strings	4’30		Aching slow-buidup Mahler-tribute adagio with heart-deep peak and prayerlike peaceful ending. Strings only.
6. March of the Giant Robots	Standard orch	2’20		Heavy, vigorous, pounding, heedlessly driving, mechanical 5/4 theme with grinder middle shift and quizzical timing-chain-spindown ending
7. Sweet Melody (Pas de Deux)	Str, winds, hns, hp.	1’15		High, gentle, devotedly loving theme in violins, background punctuations from solo woodwinds. So sweet.
8. The Sky’s the Limit	Large orch	1’		Vigorous, rhythmic fanfare with syncopated driving background. Features the brass. Hot cadence!
Gems Album No. 2			1990/2009	Second set of very short, strong-character, colorful preludes for everyday use
Fearless Leader	Large orch	0’30		Short fanfare starting in quiet brass, building in three phrases to a huge cadence
Arietta	fl, hns, str, opt. 2nd flt	1’30		Simple sentimental melody with soft sweet harmonization, warmly scored
Intrada: Le Grand Condé	Baroque orch (str., 2 ob, bsn, 3 tpt, timp, hpschd)	1’15		Bright, Louis XIV-style fanfare/intrada with military tattoo rhythms, spotlighting high trumpets. Also available for brass enemble.
The Mountain	Brass, timp, str	1’		Gloomy dark clouds on the mountain
Aegean Cruise	Standard orch	0’45		Snapshot of a slow cruise liner on shining sea under blue sky, swirling winds, shimmering strings
Prime of Life	Standard orch	2’30		Cheerfully chugging Excursion Train, moderate speed, three variants of a broad tune with busy accompaniment
Zapped Fanfare	Standard orch	1’10		Heavy moderate Teutonic fanfare start with long-arch melody and strong end
Blood Diamonds	str	2’		Fast, powerful, bitter piece for strings. Furtive jumping motives, buildup to full-blown vicious violence
Big Screen Romance	Standard orch	1’15		Big romantic melody over lush harmonic background, full film-titles ending
Let’s Grow an Orchestra	operatic soprano, full orch	45’	1989/1990	Schoolchild’s interactive rug-concert introduction to the orchestra with soprano/narrator.Original script, original Orchestra Song with variations, arrangements of short excerpts from standard repertoire. Commissioned and performed by the Long Beach Symphony for Kinderkonzerts 1989/1990, the composer conducting.
Ouverture: Augustus the Strong	baroque orch (str, 2 ob, bsn, hpschd)	2’	1990	Authentic French Baroque ouverture, slow/fast with fugal middle. Composed under the nom de plume “G. F. Salomon”
Pangs of Love	str	32’	2002-3	Modern romantic, lyrical, passionate, dynamically varied work projecting the quick buildup, consummation and breakup of am intense romantic affair in 47 short, progressive, interlocking variations on the “love” theme from Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. Several variations in older popular dance styles. Serious workout for the string ensemble. Commissioned by Barbara Day Turner for San Jose Chamber Orchestra.
I. Coming Together		17’		Encounter through consummation and sleep
II. Falling Apart		15’		From sleep/dream through fight, breakup, and release

Siege	Large orch	7’	1967/99	Lyrical, dark, moody, dramatic tone poem, modern-tonal, two themes, using the full resources of the orchestra. Episodes suggesting the night siege of a medieval fortress, from slow rising contrapuntal tension in full orchestra through energetic challenge in the brass, night watch, stealthy undermining and breach, sudden attack and glorious victory, and tragic quiet lament with a slow bitter ending. Also for concert band.

Songs of Life / Songs of Death (Emily Dickinson)	solo b/bar voice, orch (variable)	23’ total	2004	Colorfully-orchestrated, highly melodic double set of 9 short songs on common Emily Dickinson themes and motifs: snakes, nature, the sea, horses, trains, bells, love, sex, sublimation, hope, fear, insanity, pain, God, fear of death—and its acceptance. Ranging from hopeful contagious enthusiasm to morbid melodrama. The 2 sets can be performed separately. (See individual titles below.)
A Narrow Fellow in the Grass	Light orch	1’45		Nimble, ironic expression of instinctual fear of snakes—“zero at the bone”.
The Railway Train	Large orch	2’30		Fast, evocative depiction of the power and fascination of this huge rolling machine. Full scoring.
Wild Nights	Large orch	1’30		Fast, splashy outburst, dreams of abandon to wild open-hearted lovemaking, borne by sea metaphors—almost X-rated.Impressionist.
Hope is the Thing with Feathers	Str, fl, hp	2’20		Irish-sounding ballad-, simple, lyrical, touching slow melody. Also for high voice in Eb.
It Was Not Death	Large orch	3’30		Frozen, helpless expression of paralyzing fear of death arriving with no evident cause—in broad daylight, over descending bell tones. Long slow arch with despairing end.
The Heart Asks Pleasure First	Str, ww, hp	2’		Consoling, sweet hospice lyric suggesting a loved one slowly dying in hospital, in great pain, and the blessed “liberty/privilege to die”. Slow, long intensifying arch to the top and low ending.
I Felt a Funeral in My Brain	Large orch	3’30		The horror of witnessing her own funeral—or losing her mind? Grimmest slow march with quotes from Chopin, Tschaikowsky, Mahler.
Tie the Strings to my Life	Large orch	1’45		Brave song asking God for just a last glance and kiss of the hills, then she is “ready to go.” Gallant English-sounding melody over a cheerful lively galloping motif, inner moment of wistfulness, triumphant end.
Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Tango/Encore)	Med orch	3’		Taut tango in ersatz ballroom-dance-of-doom style to match the arch, artificial politesse of the poem. Mock-solemn mood, melody and harmony traditionally sentimental.Short B tbn solo.
Two Apocalyptic Songs	solo b/bar voice, full orch	16’	2000	Ozymandias (Shelley), The Ceremony of Innocence (Yeats)
Ozymandias		8’		Dramatic, ironic narrative about the remnants of proud empire. Big brass announcement in middle. Desert ending.
The Ceremony of Innocence		7’45		Dramatic solo mini-oratorio about the mystical cycles of the millennia. Haunting mystic ending.
Trotzky’s Train	str orch, solo piano	40’	2007/2009	Tragic, bittersweet neo-romantic work reflecting on the 1917 Russian Revolution and the resulting tragedy of Stalinist oppression. Runs the gamut from foreboding to loss, sad memory, sweet farewell and acceptance, to an increasingly grim dialectic between the truth of Stalinism (not real Socialism) and the sweet tragic Russian soul, with a deadly and inevitable end. Some solistic role for the piano. (Also original chamber version for piano sextet)
I. Romanovs’ Last Ball		10’30		In a tragic, relentless series of melody-driven waltz episodes, the end of the Tsar. Full of sudden jolts and fierce drive, creeping Bolsheviks, between passages of sweeping, aching nostalgic lyricism. Brutal end.
II. Memento Mori (Adagio)		12’20		Slow memorial to the millions of victims of the Stalinist purges, their fear, their suffering, their disappearing, the waste of souls. Bitter start, sweet mourning circle dance, grim reprise, restful sweet ending.
III. Trotzky’s Train		17’30		Join us as Commissar Trotsky and his staff roll around the Russian countryside in his customized train-headquarters, rallying the troops and rebuilding the demoralized army for the dual war against the Axis and the Mensheviks. Vigorous, ethnic flavors, train energy, and a grim relentless Stalinist end.

Band

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Glockenspiel March	concert band	2’30	1968/97	Sprightly, simple, honest, fun, old-fashioned gazebo novelty march. Big start, contrasts of choirs, soft-shoe sandpaper break, reprise given to the 3 glockenspiels (or bell lyras). Playfully pompous "I Love Lucy/Til Eulenspiegel" ending.
Life’s a Dreamboat	concert band, opt. narrator	34’	1970-79	“Every Person’s Guide to the Band", solo variations and crazy/ cosmic finale.
Lifeboat Variations	concert band, opt. narrator	22’	1970-80	Introduction and series of accompanied variations, one for each instrument or section, on a popular round. Wide range of styles and moods, quiet end.
Cornucopia of Rounds	concert band	12’	1976-80	Wild extreme-variation finale, making a chopped salad out of 7 different rounds presented in different keys, through every kind of distortion, manipulation, and agglomeration. Huge cosmic ending.
Prime Time (Toccata Brillante)	concert band	11’	2000	Bright, brash showpiece in 11/8 built on a fast down-leaping ostinato tattoo, with soaring melodies, crazed-canon variations, sleep cycle, big band jazz breakdown, full reprise, and prankster ending.
Siege	concert band	8’30	1969	Lyrical, dark, moody, dramatic tone poem, modern-tonal, two themes, using the full resources of the band. Episodes suggesting the night siege of a medieval fortress, from slow rising contrapuntal tension in full band through energetic challenge in the brass, night watch, stealthy undermining and breach, sudden attack and glorious victory, and tragic quiet lament with a slow bitter ending. (Transcription of orchestral version.)
Spring Rondo	concert band	8’	1971	Lively, colorful, euphonious, fast-dancing, rhythmic, varied rondo form with changing polymeters and a hot ending. (Band scoring of the Brass Rondo)
Principles	Chorus (men’s or mixed), bar voice solo, band	32’		SEE CHORAL
BAND TRANSCRIPTIONS
Bach, Sinfonia, Cantata 129	mar solo/band	3’15
Bach, Sinfonia, Cantata 130	Cl 1, 2 sect soli/band	3’15
Beatles, Sergeant Pepper Medley	TTBB chorus, soli, band	24’	1971	Fun transcription medley from the Beatle’s first concept album. Created for and premiered by the USAF Band and Singing Sergeants, Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, Commander/Conductor

Brass

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Brass Rondo	2 tpt, 2 tbn	8’	1967	Lively, colorful, euphonious, fast-dancing, rhythmic, varied rondo form with changing polymeters and a hot ending.
Pavane	2 tpt, 2 tbn	2’	1970	Stately faux-Renaissance contrapuntal morsel in pavane rhythm. Also for recorders, or krummhorns, or viols
Exeunt Omnes	2 tpt, 2 tbn	4’	1968	Solemn recessional with lively fugal middle and slow ending, written for the first wedding of my dear friend Craig McCroskey
Intrada--Le Grand Condé	brass ens. (3 C tpt, 3 tbn, Euph, tuba, timp)	1’	1989	Bright, Louis XIV-style fanfare/intrada with military tattoo rhythms, spotlighting high trumpets. Also for baroque orchestra.
ARRANGEMENTS
Bartok - Change of Time	3 tpt, 3 hn, 3 tbn, tuba, timp, vib, mar, gl.	1’	arr. 1989	(Mikrokosmos 126)
Josquin - Vive le Roy	2 tpt, 2 tbn	1’	arr. 1968	Bouncy canonic intrada.

Percussion

Title	Scoring	Dur.	Year	Description
Allegro	Gl Vib Mar Timp	5’	1972	Colorful, rhythmic, motive-rich etude unfolding the potential of the pictched percussion quartet. Varied sonata form in diminished scale, built around opening motives; dance-like B tune in vibraphone. Bouncy changing meters and interweaving scale passages. First Prize, Aspen Festival Composition Competition 1972.
Chiaroscuro	Gl Vib Mar Timp	5’	1958/63	Ringing monothematic etude in whole-tone scale, moderate speed; fugal middle.

Concerto con Timpani (Battaglia)	timp solo (6-7), str, hpschd. cont.	14’	1992	Concerto, early 18th-century concertato style. May use hand-tuned drums. Fun to play and hear. Available in a style-edited version and "Urtext" version with Baroque performance guidelines.
I. Intrada, Grave/ Allegro		3’40		Ouverture (slow/fast/slow). Regal fanfare start/end. Rhythmic passages alternating between showy, busy soloist and ripieno, flashy drumming near the end.
II. Largo sostenuto		5’35		Slow, elegant, affect of mourning.
III. Presto		3’40		Rattling fast movement with longer solo passages, flashy wrap-up, echo ending.

Diversion	vln, 5 ped. Timp	5’	1966	Dancy etude in repeating polymeters that unfolds from a bouncing, rhythmic motif. Simple, tonal, and popular. ABA form; lyrical middle with drums on the melody; brash ending. Written for my Harvard senior recital.
Drum Row	5-8 perc unpitched	2’	1980	Final variation from Lifeboat Variations. Rhythmic chain of micro-variations on the pitch shape of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” showing off the non-pitched percussion. Smash ending. Finalist, Korg contest 1989.
Glockenspiel March	Band w/solo glock section (3)	2’20	2002	Sprightly, simple, honest, fun, old-fashioned gazebo novelty march. Big start, contrasts of choirs, soft-shoe sandpaper break, reprise given to the 3 glockenspiels (or bell lyras). Playfully pompous "I Love Lucy/Til Eulenspiegel" ending.

TRANSCRIPTIONS and Arrangements for Percussion (mostly mallets/timp)

Title	Composer	Scoring	Dur.
Prophet Bird *	Schumann	5 pitched perc	3’
Feu d’artifice	Debussy	10-12 perc	5’
Op. 19 no. 1*	Schoenberg	4-5 perc	0’45
Op. 19 no. 2*	Schoenberg	4-5 perc	0’46
Op. 19 no. 4*	Schoenberg	4 perc	0’30
Op. 19 no. 5*	Schoenberg	4 perc	0’20
Op. 19 no. 6*	Schoenberg	6 perc	1’
Sinfonia, Cantata 129	Bach	mar solo/band	3’15
Grasshoppers’ Wedding	Bartok	6 perc	1’45
Song of the Feast	Bartok	5 perc	1’
Bear Dance	Bartok	6 perc	1’45
Interrupted Melody (Mikrokosmos 83)*	Bartok	5 perc	1’
Notturno (Mikrokosmos 97)*	Bartok	vib (mar) timp	1’45
Melody in the Mist (Mikrokosmos 107)*	Bartok	5 perc	1’
From the Island of Bali (Mikrokosmos 109)*	Bartok	5 perc	2’
Clashing Sounds (Mikrokosmos 110)*	Bartok	vib mar	1’
Variations on a Folk Tune (Mikrokosmos 112)*	Bartok	5 perc	1’
Bulgarian Rhythm (Mikrokosmos 113)*	Bartok	6-8 perc	1’
Triplets in 9/8 (Mikrokosmos 118)*	Bartok	vib mar	1’
Fifth Chords (Mikrokosmos 120)*	Bartok	5 perc	1’
Staccato (Mikrokosmos 124)	Bartok	timp mar vib	1’15
Boating (Mikrokosmos 125)	Bartok	timp mar vib	1’25
Time Change (Mikrokosmos 126)	Bartok	6 perc	1’
Alternating 3rds (Mikrokosmos 129)	Bartok	5 perc	1’
Unison (Mikrokosmos 137)	Bartok	6 perc	1’25
Bagpipe (Mikrokosmos 138)	Bartok	6 perc	1’20
Merry Andrew (Mikrokosmos 139)	Bartok	vib mar	1’
2nds & 7ths (Mikrokosmos 144)	Bartok	6 perc	4’
Ostinato (Mikrokosmos 146)	Bartok	6 perc	2’15
Bulgarian Rhythm 1 (Mikrokosmos 148)	Bartok	6 perc	1’45
Bulgarian Rhythm 6 (Mikrokosmos 153)	Bartok	6 perc	2’

Biography:

David Avshalomov is a distinguished third-generation classical composer and orchestral conductor, and an accomplished vocalist. He was born in New York City in 1946, grew up in Oregon, and has for some time been based in Santa Monica, California. He represents a musical lineage whose story stretches from the Caucasus to Siberia, through China, to the US.

As a student, David sang in school choruses; studied piano, music theory, and percussion; played timpani in student orchestras, and learned the joys of madrigal singing at home. He began composing and conducting in high school, and wrote (and conducted) his first compositions for his high school chorus. He earned degrees in music from Harvard and in orchestral conducting from the University of Washington, with further conducting studies at Peabody, Aspen, and Tanglewood. His teachers included Leo Mueller, Jean Morel, Henry Holt, Samuel Krachmalnick, Herbert Blomstedt, Werner Torkanowsky, Seiji Ozawa, and Leonard Bernstein.

In college he became a professional chorister and soloist. He served a tour of duty in the Singing Sergeants of the USAF Band, also as soloist and arranger. In Los Angeles, he sang with several chamber vocal groups including Madrigalia, Cantori di Mezzogiorno, and Soffio di Viento. He currently sings as a professional section leader and soloist with the Anglican Chorale of Southern California, Cantori Domino, Vox Pro, and Camerata Singers of Long Beach, and performs solo recitals.

For over 20 years, Avshalomov worked professionally as a conductor of orchestras, choruses, bands, and opera. In 1980 he founded the Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra, which he led for a decade. He toured in the Far East and Europe, and recorded his own music and that of his grandfather Aaron in Russia. His conducting work garnered listings in Who’s Who in Music and Who’s Who in the West.

As a composer, David Avshalomov creates his works in an accessible modern romantic, neo-tonal style that balances a rich lyric gift with a characteristic rhythmic vitality and pungent harmonies. His composition teachers included Charles Jones (at Aspen), John Verrall, Robert Suderberg, and William Bergsma (at University of Washington). He has composed works for solo voice, choruses, orchestra, band, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments, in forms ranging in scale from songs and incidental pieces to full-length oratorio. Recently he has been writing much choral music. He is receiving an increasing number of commissions from such ensembles as the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Odyssea Chorus of Lisbon, Los Angeles Flute Orchestra, LA Clarinet Orchestra, Westwood United Methodist Church (LA), the Anglican Chorale of Southern California, and Camerata Singers of Long beach. His compositions are performed professionally across the U.S., increasingly in Europe, and in Russia, and have been recorded on the Albany and Naxos labels. He has earned composition grants from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the American Composer’s Forum, and the Durfee Foundation.

In Avshalomov’s words, “Melody is the thread of my daily life. I still find new paths through traditional musical forms, and fresh expression based in folk idioms and drawing on old melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic roots.”

Links:

http://www.davidavshalomov.com

Submitted by Jean-Paul Giraudet on 2013-07-25 14:27.

Last modified:

2014-06-05 15:50

Musicalics

The Classical Composers Database

David Avshalomov