Aum (2002) 18' for alto flute/flute, oboe, two clarinets(both /bass clarinet), bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, celesta, percussion, two violins, viola, cello, contrabass, and tape

This piece was commissioned by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne as part of their Forum 2002. The piece was premiered at the Salle Claude-Champagne on November 27, 2002. It was a finalist in the 2003 ASCAP Young Composers Awards.

Francois Tousignant, of "Le Devoir" writes, "In Aum . . . we are reminded of the kind of invocation of trance that Stockhausen used so well in his piece Stimmung. In this work, let me say that the composer carries his name well: it is very well written . . ." (with my apologies for the awkwardness in the translation)

In the Buddhist and Hindu cosmologies, Aum (also romanized as ‘Om') is not so much a word as a manifestation of spiritual power in itself. And while the symbol for Aum does have an interpretation – the three curves represent different states of consciousness, and the circle represents the infinite power of the undivided, universal whole – Aum is thought of as not just representing but actually being the primal vibration of the universe, that which resonates through all reality.

For the past three years, my music has been more or less concerned with what I would call the spiritual dimension of sound. There have been other considerations in my music as well, but in Aum I set out to write a piece more singularly focused, one in which this quality would be the primary concern. For me, a spiritual approach to sound takes the form of a kind of reverence for the single vibrating fundamental – the association of this idealized resonant body and the universal undivided consciousness; and the association of the modulations and harmonics of this vibration with the creation of the form and substance of visible reality. Bringing this idea to an actual piece of music, however, did not mean writing a piece consisting of just one single pitch; rather, I have tried to create the musical analogue of a mandala, where concentric layers of spiritual and material reality encircle the core of mystical truth. I intend that the work should not be a piece in the tradition of narrative, linear music, but rather that it should unfold like a natural occurrence or passing landscape, and that while it is probably my most 'technical' piece to date, it should be received not as an object of analytical scrutiny, but rather as an object of meditation.