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Composed November 2007. Piece for trumpet and tape.

Death and Rebirth - XIE Unplugged: performed at Undergrad Recital.

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Polyphonic work for 4 part male chorus.

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U of M Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert 2007. Jackie Dawson conducting. Composed by Michiko Naruke, Arranged by Paul Levasseur.

A piece for piano and computer.

This piece started as an assignment for my 20th century history course. I was intrigued with the harmonic implications of the tone row I had created so with great fear and trepidation I began to compose serial music. As I heard the piece unfold, I became more and more involved and sadly, as the requirements for the assignment were fufilled, the piece begged and pleaded to be completed so I obliged. I was very pleased with the results and I'm now toying with the notion of turning this single piece into a collection of solo piano works. I'd like to further explore the notion of using a collection of all twelve pitches of the chromatic scale to create a music work.

Visit the Five Bagatelles for Solo Piano page to read about how this piece was created.

My attempt to relive the awe and joy of my first year composition projects. Like it or not, I am still a fan of the harmonic language I internalized from playing countless hours of RPGs as a young adult, struggling to find his goals in life. This is my attempt to take what I had coming into university and use what I've learned to create something magical. I'm hoping the effect is wonderful.

First attempt at an artsong. I'm attempting to use more complex chords and chromatic counterpoint to create a sense of the darkness reflected in the text. It is a really wonderful poem with words that are filled with song already. I just have to put the mornful aria to paper.

My latest impressionistic work. I attempted to create the aural effect of falling raindrops as well as the mood associated with a beautiful May Sun Shower. Some people hate this piece, others feel it is very effective. When listening to it, try to hear, feel, and smell the rain.

A much more rewarding and hard won accomplishment. I let go of all my preconceived notions of music and planned out a piece from the theme to the form and to the harmonies. I employed free atonal techniques as well as some serialist concepts which were specifically used for generating the 'melodic material'.

This piece is about the role of texture in formal develpment and is about a sense of growth and evolution. A piece that begins floating, existing apart from rhythm, ends completely dependent upon it. This piece exists in an arch form on many levels, in terms of harmonic complexity, textural density, energy and dynamic contrast. Largely, the methodology adopted for composing this piece felt so methodical that I often liken it to the same arduous process as completing a harmony assignment for theory. However, the result is, while unconventional, a very expressive, interesting and momentum building work which is among the larger of the composition projects I have attempted thus far.

Yet another programatic work. What can we say about this one? Rather, what can't we say. It is an interesting take on tonality. In my first year I was told to expand my harmonic language and in this piece, I set out to do just that mostly by means of addition. Taking diatonic harmonies and 'filling in' the spaces. I also used a lot of counterpoint with diatonic 7ths which gives the piece a quirky and fun feel. Also, the use of the wholetone in the center of the piece adds a very unique color to the work.

In the end, I was very pleased both with the form and the development in this piece. I feel it really shows my growth and development as an artist.

UPDATE: A live performance of this piece has been recorded. The music file linked above has been updated with the performance recording.

This is a piece inspired by countless hours listening to and playing the music of J.S. Bach both on piano and on 'cello. My goal was to accurately reproduce the elegance and beauty of the writing of J.S. Bach while composing a piece that was rhythmmically freer idiomatic to 'cello, while also displaying my voice as a composer.

The most interesting element in this piece has to be the use of motive and development. The whole piece is based off of the neighbor figure at the beginning, and in a larger sense, the first phrase which really provides the shape and bases for the larger work. The development occurs through a continual expansion and addition to the initial theme which eventually grows into a larger, structural element. The feeling is of growth and expansion as what begins as an adagio piece quickly becomes much more virtuosic.

The recording featured here is of a performance by Yuri Hooker in 2007. Yuri Hooker is Principal Cellist for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. He also maintains a teaching studio.

An assignment piece for Brass Quintet. Employs polymeter and bitonality in the middle section of the work. The name of the piece was conceived with another concept in mind, but that idea has yet to come to fruition because much larger forces are necessary for it to come to fruition.

A new recording of this composition from the Undergrad Recital performance (March 14th, 2008) is now available.

Another programatic work. The whole feeling of a stroll through the woods is very palpable. Also, one can't help but note the obvious fantasy undertones in this piece. The form is free and is really impressionistic in its conception.

The instrumentation is unconventional but it makes for some wonderful effects, especially the stereo ostinato between the two 'Cellos at one point in the piece. Furthermore, the piccolo ads a really light atmosphere which wouldn't be possible with a larger flute.

Yay for university. This was my first assignment piece. To compose a piece where the texture, timbre and color deliniate the formal constraints of the piece. Not melody and harmony as in traditional pieces.
The result was a piece that sounds surprisingly like debussy, although the score indicates otherwise. I really like the harmony based off of diatonic fourths, fifths and seconds.

Vitae means life. This piece reminds me of the beauty of a still lake with the mist rising, in the middle of a rain forest.

My next attempt at flute writing. In stark contrast to my other works, this piece has a thought out and well balanced form. The real compositional difficulty encountered is that there is too much material contained within the piece for a single piece. Kind of like a novel with many unnecessary characters and locales, this miscelaneous musical material confuses the listener. Also, the material is not quite as congruent as it aught to be. While the transitions are very successful the piece starts off with one mood and direction in mind and seems to change midway through, in what seems like a mysterious flight of whimsy. In actuality, this was the first evidence of Gordon Fitzell's attempts at playing with my mind. **que twilight zone music** The biggest strength of this work is the gorgeous folk melody at the beginning. Also, the use of register contrast between the flute and piano is a nice effect.

I asked my friend Melody "I wonder what I should name this piece." That simple.

My first and thus far, only completed large ensemble work. This was supposed to be a programatic work which portrays the adventure of an eastern warrior. The stravinsky influence is quite pronounced.
The name is self explanatory.

Write a short piece for a couple of instruments.
This was my first attempt at sounding 'modern' as a composer and indeed, some musicians have told me it was an interesting flirt with 'the dark side'.
The funny thing was how at the time I was composing this work, I really thought the introductory section really was atonal. It is funny how my ear has changed to the point where it sound so much less extreme than it had initially.
Bagatelle is a name for a short, whimsical piece that isn't particularly serious. The name reflects the nature of the work quite successfully.

Compositionally, the piece really feels as though it isn't finished. I probably should have written another five minutes of music for it to feel complete. Again, relying too much on intuition without an accurate knowledge of craft.

I called up Dr Michael Matthews, head of the composition department at University of Manitoba, and asked him how I become a composer. He said to compose a string quartet. Knowing nothing about string writing or about notating music, I opened finale, asked a friend about strings and started clicking in notes; basically whatever came to mind. The piece started at the beginning and ended at the end. One can be aware of a lack of overall continuity as no care was taken to the overal form of the work. This work represents my second attempt at classical composition and a rather successful one.

The work itself exists in two parts and could be accurately titled Adagio and Scherzo for strings. The harmonic language draws from the modal influence of hungarian folk melodies as well as pop music found in film scores and RPG style videogames.
Despite the formal difficulties of this piece, it continues to be a favorite among listeners.
The name of this work reflects the Experimental nature of my compositional methods. i.e. I really didn't know what the heck I was doing.

A two movement work in 18th century Sonata form. This is a rather banal attempt at imitating Mozart's keyboard writing style, of course with my own twist on it. This also represents my first semi-successful foray into classical composition.
The name 'Spring Sonata' derives from the sunny folk melody which introduces this work.