Olivier Blakney - Natural Horn, James Coghlin - Piano Commissioned by Olivier Blakney and partially funded by the Meir Rimon Commissioning Assistance Program of the International Horn Society “Urban Pastoral” is a piece that addresses the idea of natural beauty in an urban environment. It focuses especially on the impression of an urban nightscape – the amber glow of street lamps filtered through trees; clouds dimly lit by light pollution from one side and by the moon from the other; fireflies glowing in a park; and drops of dew shimmering on glass. The horn has long been associated with the hunt - “alla caccia”- and the pastoral. The natural horn’s ability to showcase its easy and ready access to the upper partials of the overtones series deepens this association with nature – the overtones themselves seem to evoke a fundamental connection with the natural world as the series’ patterns resonate everywhere around us. The piece relies on this weighty association and sets it against the fixed, equal temperament of the piano. On its own, the natural horn is bound to a set of specific pitches from the overtone series. The movement of the performer’s right hand effects the timbre and pitch of the horn allowing them to play pitches outside of the series. However, the piano is able to access any pitch at anytime with the compromise that its intonation doesn’t match perfectly with the natural horn’s overtones series. The rub between these two temperaments serves as an analogy for the contradictory coexistence of the urban pastoral.

Commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra September 2021. This recording is of the University of Louisville Symphony Orchestra from February 2022. Joshua Lowery – Conductor. Premiered 10/2/21 as part of the Louisville Orchestra's "A Concert for Unity". This reduction was made by the composer. The top two staves contain the primary lines while subsequents ones show composite harmony and textures. Visit TylerTaylorComposer.com for more details! See end of video for a full program note.

This piece was commissioned by David Dzubay and the Indiana University New Music Ensemble. This is the live performance of the premiere from 9/23/21. Andrew Downs - Conductor. Distill is a piece whose materials are greatly inspired by past experiences and events that have shaped my artistic impulses in very broad but powerful ways. The piece takes these most common impulses and concentrates them into a single movement. However, the title does not suggest that the musical materials are being distilled over the course of the piece. The most notable impulses dealt with are those that lead me to writing sustained and melancholic music with very long and expressive lines; separating the ensemble into smaller ones to be manipulated in ways that might not be obvious otherwise; and finding ways to deal with dramatic decisions at pivotal moments. The ensemble is split into two symmetrical groups – one which is lead by the saxophone and the other lead by the horn. The juxtaposition of the two ensembles softens as the piece continues allowing them to explore their commonalities. In a very loose sense, the piece could be viewed as a kind of “theme and variations” as lines move through new parings of instruments, pushing and pulling the music into different ways of being according to their own unique qualities and characteristics. The majority of this piece was composed while in residency as a fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine. I offer this piece with special thanks to David Dzubay, Aaron Travers, Tansy Davies, Derek Bermel, Andrei Pinto Correia, and my generous sponsor at Bowdoin Lorna Flynn.

Since about 2016, I have wanted to write a piece which is entirely slow and mostly quiet – one that captures a dim, mysterious, melancholic glow that seems pale, effervescent, and capable of evaporating at any given moment. This craving has been only partially fulfilled in some of the slow movements of my other works. However, in the pursuit of contrast, many of these movements stray from their quiet sound worlds and erupt into more passionate and bombastic textures. The title Just dreams not only sets the mood for the nebulous, floating quality of the music but also suggests this mood will be maintained throughout. The piece contains three “lines”. The presentation of a new line denotes the start of a new section – these are marked No. I, No. II, and No. III. As the piece progresses, memories and echoes of past lines permeate the sections of the new lines. Their relationships are demonstrated below: No. I = Line 1 + premonitions of Line 2 No. II = Line 2 + Line 1 No. III = Line 3 + fragments of Lines 1 & 2 In lieu of a more contrast-based sense of dramatic trajectory, the form is driven by the counterpoint of these lines, the progress of the somewhat saccharine harmonies, and the subtle transformation of timbre as the lines are filtered though the various instrumental pairings/groupings. Recording made available my the National Orchestral Institute at The Clarice.

This piece was performed at the Bowdoin International Music Festival during the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music on 6/10/21. This particular iteration of the piece was arranged to accommodate the restrictions set forth by the university. The piece was originally scored for four winds, two strings, vibraphone, and piano and can be found here: @ This movement, titled Dust, refers to the idea of something mundane, muted, and melancholic in nature. The title also suggests that the music is the lighter remnant or even residue of something that came before, or that has settled in place in the aftermath of its passing.

Kyle Dickson, Conductor Members of NOI+F Philharmonic National Orchestral Institute and Festival

The second of three movements from Modus operandi for Mixed Octet. (Recommended 1080p). "Dust" aims to capture both the idea of something mundane - muted and melancholic in mood - and also the idea of a much lighter remnant or residue left over from something else. Jamey Guzman - Flute, Charles Craig - Clarinet, Drew Gascon - Bassoon, Tyler Taylor - Horn, Gracie Carney - Violin, Emily Azzarito - Cello, Stephen Karukas - Vibes., Matt Schultheis - Piano, Andrew Downs - Conductor

Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra “Lake music” I.“autumn toned.” II. Evenfall III. Skyglow “The instrumentation of this concerto is roughly modeled after that of the Hindemith Concerto for Horn and Orchestra; however, I have opted to use piano in place of the timpani and have scored for solo strings instead of multiples. The Hindemith concerto also features a poem in the third movement, written by Hindemith himself, in which the horn responds to calls of recited lines. The first two lines, Mein Rufen wandelt In herbstgetönten Hain den Saal... roughly translate to, My call transforms The hall into an autumn toned grove...” The imagery of the “autumn toned grove” resonated with me in capturing the essence of the first movement and the scene that inspired it, hence the title ‘autumn toned.’ The second movement, Evenfall, can be interpreted as a continuation of autumnal imagery, but more specifically refers to the complete setting of the sun and the arrival of total darkness. The title of the third movement, Skyglow, refers to the phenomenon of the sky around urban areas appearing to glow as a result of light pollution, especially in hazy or overcast conditions. The subtitle of the concerto ‘Lake Music’ provides the context that the music is inspired by my visits to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario during my time in Rochester and the impressions they made on me. The lakes themselves, as well as the individual scenes that inspired the music, are charged with potent symbolism.” 2016