D a v i d V e s s
Essential Pieces
The following works are what I recommend for people to listen to first when getting acquainted with my music. I've distilled it down to three works, one for choir, orchestra and chamber music. The rest of the page is sorted by topic.
If you want to search by ensemble, please go to the works tab.
CHOIR - To Dream Again
This is my first work for choir and it was an absolute joy and privilege to write it for Seraphic Fire, the GRAMMY Nominated Choir out of Miami, FL. This piece explores the nature of dreams with text from the Tempest by Shakespeare.
ORCHESTRA - Eternal Threshold
This is a work for Chamber Orchestra that explores the horrors of Liminal Spaces. The music is like a trip down a long endless hallway, being pursued by some strange unknown creature. This piece was a winner of the ARTZenter Completion Grant and was written for the San Francisco Contemporary Music players.
CHAMBER - Forest Music
This is a rambunctious and wild attempt at a woodwind quintet. It is a concert reimagining of incidental music that I wrote for a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The music embodies the forest, the fairies and spirit of the wild. This performance is by my dear friends at the University of Miami.
Music of Possibility
Many of my pieces are rooted in the feeling and sensation of possibility - of feeling uplifted and unstoppable. I've always been drawn to music and art that is rousing and energizing. The enduring spirit of humanity is a source of inspiration that I return to often. These are the types of works that I love writing. They are challenging to create, but they are always rewarding, especially once they are brought to life.
These selected pieces are my most joyful and uplifting.
Music between Reality and Imagination
I am often drawn to subjects that straddle the blurry line between what we know is reality and what is imagined. Dreams, nightmares, liminal spaces and even extraterrestrial encounters are the types of in-between spaces that I frequently go when imagining music. They are another recurring theme in my work. The strange and unknown are always tempting subjects.
These selected pieces explore the fringes of our world and what we imagine is just beyond.
Music about Nature
Exploring and reimagining the world is a recurring theme in my music. I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina where, as a child, I would wander the woods, hike the landscapes and be lost to the magnificent world around me. This sense of wandering has found its way into my music, where I often create music that is inspired by the places that I have explored.
This is a collection of works all born from a connection to nature.
