Composer
LIST OF WORKS
(Reverse Chronological)
King at Table—2021
Instrumentation; Alto Saxophone, cello, piano
First performance(s); (recording only) June 2022. Brian Lambert, alto saxophone. Nelson Walker, cello. Tyler McMaken, piano. Recorded by Nelson Walker
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/king-at-table
Program Notes: Dedicated to Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, Rikki Olds, Tralona Bartkowiak, Suzanne Fountain, Teri Leiter, Eric Talley, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters.
Written in March of 2021, this was my raw emotional response to the shooting of the Kings Soopers on Table Mesa in Boulder. Although I did not know any of those who were killed, having this community that I have been a part of be so senselessly attacked brought feelings of grief that I couldn’t express anyway except through music. My deepest sympathies to the families of the slain. I can’t imagine your pain.
The Stargazers—2021
Instrumentation; 3 C trumpets, piano
First Performance(s); May 10th, 2021. Ensemble Uncaged (Andy Kozar and Rachel Elliott, directors. Nicholas Schleyer, Hollyn Slykhuis, Abby Temple, trumpets. Minjinh Zhang, piano)
https://vimeo.com/545072859/293f7c96db (Performance at 1:01:05)
Program Notes: I wrote this at a time when I was struggling with creative paralysis. Turning back to techniques that had made me feel creatively inspired, I created a light reflection on the travels of the magi as they searched for the Christ child.
Among the Olive Trees—2020
Instrumentation; solo organ
First performance(s); N/A
Program Notes: Written both as a reflection on human suffering and as a way of experimenting with what the organ can do toward the beginnings of my learning it, the piece ultimately became a meditation on the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary; the agony in the garden. By thinking about the suffering of someone who I greatly respected, as well as my own suffering at the time, I was able to meditate more deeply on the pain that Christ felt the night of His betrayal. I did my best to depict his pleading that His Father take away His Passion, as well as His resolution to follow His Father’s Will, even through pain and death.
Under the Hollow—2019
Instrumentation; flute, Bb clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion (vibraphone [bow needed], bass drum, chimes), piano.
First performances(s); March 13th, 2019. Boulder Altitude Directive (Carter Pann, conductor. Renée Hemsing Patten, Violin. Jake Saunders, Cello. Brice Smith, Flute. Conor Brown, Clarinet. Jieun Lee, Piano. Jake Henneford, Percussion. Performance delayed due to snow to March 20th, Eric Haugen replaced Jake Saunders on cello.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/under-the-hollow
Program Notes: Catacomb, the word given to underground cemeteries, was not always used to describe these things. It comes from the directions that were given to pilgrims seeking to visit the Cemeteries of San Callisto and San Sebastiano which were under a dip in the ground along the Appian Way in Rome. The term Catacomb comes from the Greek words Kata and Kymbe meaning under or near the hollow. St. Jerome in the 3rd century, compared the catacombs to descending into dark Hell. On my trip to the Catacombs of San Callisto, I did not identify with this description, maybe because I was surrounded by friends, or perhaps because of the modern addition of electric lights. Even so, I almost felt transported back to the time of martyrs and could feel the connection through the ages that we have to the early Christians. Writing this piece, I was inspired by how the timeless feel of Gregorian chant matches the timeless feeling I got in the catacombs. I used some existing chants, and wrote some of my own, mixing and combining them to create a meld between the ancient and the modern.
Senex Puerum Portabat—2018
Text; Traditional Catholic chant.
Instrumentation; SATB choir.
First Performance(s): N/A.
Program Notes: The chant Senex Puerum Portabat was traditionally sung on the feast day of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. The words pertain to Christ’s saving of Israel, and to how the Virgin Mary worshipped her child after His birth. In my choral setting I chose to emphasize Jesus’s relationship with his mother, with imitative polyphony at the words “quem virgo peperit” (He whom the virgin brought forth) and the climax on “et post partum virgo permansit” (and after childbirth she remained a virgin) and finishing with another smaller climax at the end with “ipsum quem genuit, adorovit.” (Him whom she bore, she adored.)
String Quartet No. 1—2018
Instrumentation; 2 violins, viola, cello.
First performance(s); March 21st, 2018. Ajax Quartet (Tom Yaron, Renee Hemsing Patten, Mario Rivera, Eric Haugen.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEw7F4q0zUs
Program Notes: I started writing this string quartet with the second movement as an experimentation in atonal music with my only rules being that each part's counterpoint had to make sense on its own. Upon finishing I thought that the movement sounded so mischievous that all I could think to name it was farce, inspired by Puck from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. I wrote the first and third movements with the same harmonic rules and taking inspiration from two more of Shakespeare’s plays. In the first movement I wanted to depict King Henry’s pompous arrogance in Shakespeare’s history Henry V and the utter desolation of his tragedy King Lear.
Golden Glories—2018
Text; Golden Glories by Christina Georgina Rosetti, 1830-1894.
Instrumentation; SATB choir.
First performance(s); N/A
Columbines—2018
Instrumentation; 2 violin sections, viola section, cello section, contrabass section
First performance(s); N/A
Ave Verum Corpus—2018
Text; Traditional Catholic chant.
Instrumentation; Tenor, Baritone, Bass.
First Performance(s); Sunday, May 25th, 2019. Jonathan Galle, tenor. Brian Lambert, baritone. Benjamin Morrow, bass.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/ave-verum-corpus
To Daffodils—2018
Text; To Daffodils by Robert Herrick, 1591-1674
Instrumentation; SATB Choir.
First Performance(s); N/A
Lion Gulch Homesteads—2017
Instrumentation; flute.
First performance(s); February 6th, 2018. Mara Riley.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/lion-gulch-homesteads
Program Notes: When I was going into my junior year of college, the flute and composition departments decided to collaborate, so each composer was asked to write a piece about 3 minutes in length for one of the members of the flute studio. Mara Riley, the flautist with whom I was collaborating was a double major in voice and flute, so I wanted chose to write my piece with the extended technique of singing into the flute. The melody that became the theme of the piece got stuck in my head while hiking a trail in between Lyons and Estes Park, Colorado called the Lion Gulch Trail. At the end of the trail were some homesteads that had been abandoned in the mid-1900s. It was a beautiful two-hour hike from the road on narrow trails that would be hard pressed to support a wagon, which made me reflect on what it would be like to live so far from civilization in the midst of the beautiful Colorado mountains.
Oratio Sanctae Monicae—2017
Instrumentation; flute, oboe, B-flat clarinet, bassoon, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello.
First performance(s); January 31st, 2018. Silas Huff, conductor. Indigo Fischer, Michael Ochoa, Rachel Wood, Michelle Chen, Cecilia Kao, Esther Hou, Jonathan Galle, Thomas Maeda, Elisabeth Murphy.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/sets/oratio-sanctae-monicae
Rosa de Cristal—2016
Instrumentation; violin, piano.
First performance(s); January 26, 2017. Crystal Schneckenburger, Grace Burns.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/rosa-de-cristal
Drogo’s Trio—2016
Instrumentation; violin, viola, cello.
First performance(s); March 18th, 22nd, 2017. Danielle Valdez, Drew Keeve, Haley Slaugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugbPYweKfu4&t=0s
Rachel’s Lullaby—2016
Instrumentation; horn, tenor saxophone, piano.
First performance(s); October 12th, 2016. Megan Hurley, Brian Lambert, Cecila Kao.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAmcNQIQnEg
Four Emily Dickinson Songs—2016
Text; LXIV. A Book, LXV. A Book, XVII. The Book of Martyrs, XI. In a Library by Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886.
Instrumentation; soprano, harp
First performance(s); September 29, 2016. Meagan Mahlberg, Kathryn Harms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OI_lwA88Dc
Escape—2015
Instrumentation; 2 violins, viola, cello.
First performance(s); N/A
Leaf by Niggle—2015
Instrumentation; piccolo, 4 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 B-flat clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion, violin 1 section, violin 2 section, viola section, cello section.
First performance(s); May 3 and 4, 2015, Javan Carson, conductor. Denver Young Artists Orchestra, Conservatory Orchestra North (May 3) and South (May 4).
Sorcerer’s Sketch—2014
Instrumentation; B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet.
First performance(s); N/A
Waltz on the Wall—2014
Instrumentation; 2 violins, viola, cello.
First performance(s); 2014. Playground Ensemble.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/waltz-on-the-wall
Division of a Year—2014
Instrumentation; piano.
First performance(s); Tuesday, October 7, 2014. Adriana Teodoro-Dier.
https://soundcloud.com/nschneckenburger/sets/division-of-a-year
Mountain Journey—2013
Instrumentation; violin, piano.
First performance(s); May 18, 2014. Crystal Schneckenburger, Josiah Hamill.
The Reluctant Hero—2012
Instrumentation; violin, cello.
First Performance(s); May 18, 2014. Crystal Schneckenburger, Meghan Conlon.
Raindrops—2012
Instrumentation; 2 violins, piano.
First performance(s); 2013. Playground ensemble.