DEAD SYMPHONY no. 6
An Orchestral Tribute to the Music of the Grateful Dead
SCIENCE, HISTORY AND ECCLECIASTES
Every Matter Under Heaven
Every Matter Under Heaven is by far the most important work of my compositional career. Nothing has so many things from the
world that I know and the world that I long for held within its sounds. It is the most personal of my works and it provides for
me the greatest sense of wholeness and realistic optimism of anything that I have written to date. It is not aided by technology
and is meant to be performed in concert. Oddly enough, the concert premiere was canceled and now I am looking for its concert
hall birth.
Clay Powers and I are currently making a film version of this work and we anticipate that it will be completed by March 2006.
THE GREAT MEN SYMPHONIES The Symphonic Series #1
Symphony no. 1
Fuller E. Callaway Jr., his generosity and vision for the future growth of LaGrange College caused me to have the life changing
opportunity to develop the Creative Music Technologies degree that has now become one of the leading programs of its kind in the
nation. I wanted to express my gratitude for the philanthropic genuineness of his life’s work as well as his families on going
commitment to that vision. So I offer this symphony in his honor as a gift in return. The texts were chosen by his long time
pastor and friend, Dr. Paul Baxter, which in turn reflect gratitude heavenward for all the goodness of life’s blessings.
Symphony no. 2
The Colors of a Soul
Lamar Dodd quickly became one of the most important mentors of my early career in academe. His experience, his love of life, and
his determination to make a profound difference in the lives of others was a joy to behold. His creative work was beyond
reproach and the occasion of this new symphony was a Dodd career retrospective symposium during the 1996 Olympic games in
Atlanta. It was also a time when I had to face the hard reality that there appeared to be no one other than myself that seemed
willing to perform my music. Thankfully, I had enough technology to make new music along with the artistry of my friend and
oftentimes collaborator, Sam Skelton. I had marveled at the work that Sam had done on some omnisphere theater scores we had
worked on together and for this new work I asked him to bring everything he knew how to play and some things that he didn’t.
This work is evidence that the paradigm shift had already moved the unchallenged security of the symphony orchestra back into
the rough and tumble realm of new ideas once again. I enjoyed naming my orchestra the Cyberlin Philharmonia.
A WORLD SYMPHONY The Symphonic Series #2
Symphony no. 3
c. 1828
Much had been said about the dark pages of American history when in the early 1800’s native peoples were taken from their land,
their homes, unjustly arrested, and sent to an unknown world. This tragic journey to Oklahoma caused terrible mortality with
over 25% of the Cherokee nation never arriving in the new land west of the Mississippi. Though many authors and historians had
written about the Trail of Tears no one had yet written a symphony. I felt honored to be given the opportunity to do so and
composed as if I had been adopted as an honorary member of the Cherokee nation.
This work is dedicated to the first Cherokee that befriended me as I sought to compose this symphony, the late J.B.
Dreadfulwater. He, along with the gifted and pure souled Tommy Wildcat, made this journey one of lingering magic for me.
MUSIC INSPIRED BY TERRA FIRMA The Symphonic Series #3
Symphony no. 4
Seaside Symphony
Ora Pro Mi
Both of these works are aesthetically related and were intended to create an uninterrupted sound experience. The gardens of the
late Alice Hand Callaway and the friendship I enjoyed with her are central to what unifies the spirit of the two compositions.
The natural, civic, and architectural wonders of Seaside, FL were introduced to me by Mark Callaway - grandson of Alice Hand
Callaway - where he arranged for me to participate in the Seaside Institute’s Escape to Create program. Because of this I was
able to compose both works in residence while at Seaside. Needless to say I had never enjoyed as beautiful a working environment
before this adventure began.
I am named as the Callaway Professor of Music at LaGrange College and have been profoundly blessed by the commitment to the arts
as well as the commitment to LaGrange College that the Callaway Foundation has demonstrated for several decades. I hope to have
returned my share of beauty back to the community of LaGrange so as to be shown worthy of such all too rare support.
MUSIC INSPIRED BY AMERICAN CULTURE The Symphonic Series #4
Symphony no. 6 (Coming soon)
Dead Symphony
MUSIC OF THE SEA The Symphonic Series #5
Symphony no. 5
Sandfloor Cathedral
This work was the highest level of experiential composition that I have ever enjoyed. Swimming with dolphins, humpback whales,
sharks, etc., would change anyone; and fortunately I was not an exception. My good friend Donald Tipton seemed to know that once
this “encountering” process was begun a new work would soon follow. He was right and it did.
The musical result has been broadcast around the world and has enjoyed more success than anything that I have written to date. I
have never tired of this work and have been told by countless people that it is a daily meditation for them. I have never really
taken credit for the symphony. I just wrote what I understood and experienced after I met the sea on its own terms. This is a
sacred work to me. I feel God’s presence in it and I trust you will too.
I still am a novice in the water but I strive to become a master portrayer of its grandeur.
MUSIC TO ADDRESS THE ESSENCE OF MORALITY The Symphonic Series #6
The Clear Sonata
Childlike Civility
Sacred Concertante no. 1
These collected works are centered around the ethic of reciprocity and began after visits to Bosnia and to Northern Ireland. In
our day and time we have shown to have not made much real progress towards a sustainable civil society. Inspite of our perpetual
need to celebrate the presumed triumphal march towards societal progress we have few real accomplishments to boast. Nevertheless,
the call to create a truly civil world is still being heard and many continue to answer the call.
I offer here a meditative compilation that progresses from the intensely intellectual to the spiritually sublime. It is a
journey based on the active pursuit of enlightenment. Needless to say, this is not an easy journey. I dedicate this compilation
to my daughter Lauren Johnson. She is currently serving in the Peace Corps.
