News and Performances

Summer, 2026
I have been awarded a Summer Faculty Fellowship through the Graduate College at Missouri State University to compose a new work for string orchestra. The new piece will be based on themes I wrote for a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

March, 2026
My song cycle Genevieve’s Cats will be performed by soprano Loralee Songer and pianist Peary Mears on a concert to benefit Springfield-area animal shelters. Monday, March 9, 2026, 7:30 Ellis Recital Hall on the Missouri State University campus.

November, 2025
I’ve been awarded a Creative Residency at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences in the mountains of northern Georgia in November.

February, 2025
PARMA Recordings Presents QUADRANTS VOL. 5: A Visual Musical Production
Recorded by the Benda Quartet in 2023 and released as a visual album on Apple Music in 2024, this video album includes my string quartet The Darkening Green. The video filmed at the Důl Michal mine in Ostrava, CZ is now available on YouTube.

March, 2024
A joint Faculty Composition recital with my colleague John Prescott featured the world premiere performance of Emily’s Bees for soprano (Madison King) and cello (Elise Thierbach) alongside chamber music by both composers.

Quadrants, Vol. 5 featuring the Benda Quartet was released by Navona Records on March 15. This compilation is available as a video album and includes my string quartet The Darkening Green.

The premiere performance of A Midsummer Fantasy for string orchestra by the Missouri State University Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Kelts was presented on the annual Concerto & Aria Concert. A Midsummer Fantasy was composed in Summer, 2023 and is based on themes I originally wrote for a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2016.