Between 1976 and 1980, I put my energy into writing concert pieces for musicians who normally play classical or "new" music. Over time, I hope to get some recordings and scores of these pieces up on the site for you to enjoy.
| The first group was written while I was a student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, studying composition with Cortland Hultberg and Elliot Weisgarber. I had been singer-songwriting, but was dissatisfied with what I could do, and decided to try a composition course. I wound up enrolled at UBC music school, way over my head, but it was sink or swim, and with the help of some amazing teachers, I learned a lot. | The Energy of Slaves (choir) [poems by Leonard Cohen] | 1973 |
| On the Streets, Love (Soprano, WW quintet) [poems by Margaret Atwood] | 1974 | |
| Riel (Choir, WW Quintet, Pf) [poem by Don Gutteridge] | 1975 | |
| Dr. Faustus (incidental music for the Marlowe play, using voices, various instruments, and electronics) | 1975 | |
| Piano Trio (Vn, Vc, Pf) | 1976 | |
| The Breath of Life (choir) [based on sayings of Lao Tzu] | 1976 | |
| The second group of pieces came from my collaboration with choreographer Judith Marcuse of Vancouver. We met after I graduated - she was looking for a collaborator, and I had a long association with dance. We had a great time doing these pieces, and put on a combined concert of music and dance. As Judy's reputation grew, I wrote a few more pieces for her choreographic assignments with dance companies. | Return (Guitar Duet) (full recording) | 1976 |
| Passage (electronic) (excerpt) (full recording) | 1977 | |
| Apart (Woodwind Quintet) [commissioned by Entre-Six, Montreal] (excerpt) | 1977 | |
| Speakeasy (Voices) [commissioned by Dennis Wayne's Dancers, New York] (more on Speakeasy) | 1977 | |
| From 1977 to 1979 I lived in London, England, where I studied with Peter Maxwell Davies. At that time, I wrote: | Ilha das Flores (Island of Flowers) (choir, 2 pianos) [commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir] | 1978 |
| Readings (Piano solo) | 1978 | |
| Un Dubbio Verno (Brass Quintet) | 1979 | |
| When I returned to Canada, I wrote a few more pieces for musical and dance friends before I stopped writing altogether. "Transformations" was a huge high since I was able to play in the onstage band, but somehow the fun had gone out of composing, and it was 17 years before I returned to writing. | Chamber Sonata (Piano solo) [commissioned by Sharon Krause] | 1980 |
| Transformations (band) [commissioned by the Shaw Festival for Judith Marcuse's "Mirrors, Masques, and Transformations"] | 1980 | |
| Christe, Lux Mundi [commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir] |
1980 |