Arrangements

The following are a few arrangements I completed for various ensembles over the years.

Satyagraha: Finale

This work is an arrangement of the closing section of Philip Glass’ second opera Satyagraha. The opera follows Gandhi through his time in South Africa where he organized protests for Indian rights in the country. The word Satyagraha is Sanskrit, meaning “truth” and “insistence” and has become associated with Gandhi’s style of peaceful protest. It influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to protest during the Civil Rights Movement.

The decision was made to program this work as it does not get many performances compared to the other two operas in Glass’ Portrait Trilogy. Einstein on the Beach is celebrated as the greatest work of the Avant Grade in the 20th century and Akhnaten is programmed as the more “accessible” Glass opera. Satyagraha is the awkward middle child of the trilogy and I thought to give it more love.

This arrangement is based on the organ arrangement of the finale. Like most music by Glass and other minimalists, it features many repeats. I made the decision to write out each repeat so I could have finer control of the arrangement and create more variation in the work. Despite this the work is still repetitive, featuring only four motives. Ironically, this work has become the most tame on the program.

Electric Counterpoint Movements 1+3

Electric Counterpoint Movements 1+3 is a medley of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint. I took material from the first and third movement and melded them together. The original piece was written for one live guitar and 12 playback guitars. Most performances of this work follow this format, even less exist as an arrangement for multiple types of instruments. A goal of this arrangement was to introduce the ensemble to more modern examples of minimalism. This work features Reich’s style of swells and polymeter. 

Run

String ensemble arrangement of the song Run by Joji. Completed for my Commercial Arranging class at CSULB