Stress Test (2010) was commissioned by the Society for New Music with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Stress Test was premiered on 17 April, 2010 at Hochstein School of Music and Dance, 50 N. Plymouth Avenue, Rochester, NY. I believe that the music a composer writes reflects who he is at any given moment. My music IS who I am. While writing this piece, I was at a particularly stressful time in my life: raising young children, maintaining a career, finishing a PhD program, and actively pursuing new creative and professional opportunities. Moments of incredible stress alternated with moments of quiet reflection—states of mind that are reflected in this piece. I am grateful to Neva Pilgrim—Artistic Director for The Society for New Music—for providing me with an opportunity to write for the incredibly gifted group of performers who play with The Society for New Music. I am also thankful to my friend Marc Mellits, to whom I have dedicated the third movement of this piece. I. Glossosalia II. For My Father III. Hyperactive Sofa IV. For My Mother
