All pieces are listed in alphabetical order and are copyright protected Samantha Hogan unless otherwise specified. It is illegal to duplicate material on this page and any scores or audio without the written consent of the composer.:
- Bastet’s Lullaby (2010/2014):This character piece starts with a lullaby lulling Bastet, a cat, to sleep. Bastet then dreams he is chasing a mouse (represented by the tambourine) across a desert. Bastet killls the mouse and, being a fickle creature, gets upset that he has killed it. A requiem is played by the piano. The lullaby returns, slightly blurred as Bastet begins to wake from his nap. (Program Note by Jesse Martin) *There are two versions of this piece, the original alto saxophone solo and the vocal version with text by Amy Hermance (2014)
Close your eyes, blessed and Slumber
Close your eyes, fall into dreamsThe sun’s light is hollow
Breaking the night’s glow
And too-bright it blinds us to truth
- Carpe Diem!(2012): A String quartet that is meant to be an overture to a Porgressive rock song written in my head. The continuo in the cello is a nod to Rush bassist Geddy Lee, as I tried to emulate his style of playing in my writing of this piece.
- Caricature(2012,2013): This piece is dedicated to all of the Characters that I have met during my undergrad years at Youngstown State University. It is a challenging woodwind quintet with varying moods and styles meant to reflect what one may witness when people watching and sometimes borrows from the compositional styles of those who attended Dana with me. Towards the end of the piece, there is a section meant to remember Tim Webb, a fellow composer and friend who passed away in 2012; a true character in his own right.
- Cumulus Humilis (2010):Cumulus Humilis (Cloud Pictures) is written in Locrian mode (a mode rarely used that emphasizes the tritone).The title of the piece is the scientific term used to describe the picturesque clouds in the summer sky. The piece was written with the intent of causing the listener to use their imagination to come up with their own images over the piece’s duration, just as you would form your own interpretation of the pictures seen in these clouds.
- Desert Clocks (2012): A chamber art piece Inspired by the melting clocks painted by Salvadore Dali. The lyrics are of a poem written by Amy Hermance and are as follows:
Desert of clocks
Draped in repose
Sputtering Gears, Wax work Dripping,
Hour Hands Twitching Feebly, Loosing Will
Soaring, Unraveling,
Desert Clocks, Choked with Sand
- Duet1 (2010): Written for two violins. the duet is a combination of serious piece with the occasional musical joke thrown in and borrows from classical and modern clichés.
- Eclectic Images (2013):Eclectic Images is a piece with varying musical styles, moods and melodic ideas. Movement one evokes the image of a hurricane and the eye that inevitably comes along with it. You will hear the music evolve from a dark dissonant mood to a jazz inspired rhythmic ostinato played by the bass. Sunshine will pass through the eye in a jovial dance rhythm played by the orchestra before a dark mood returns. Movement two is based on an incomplete melody that recycles itself in several ways, meant to represent relatives at a large gathering. You will hear the ambiance of the occasion, members of the family like the interrupting uncle and playing cousins, and feelings of memories discussed. River Route begins with a calm stream represented by the solo violin and later cello and traces the various depths and speeds that a river route can take. How will this trip end? Movement Four, as the title suggests, is meant to evoke an experience of extreme happiness. The movement takes elements of the first three movements and combines them with a Celtic inspired melody that pits the rhythms of 6/8 and 3/4 against each other.
- The Essay(2013): A two movement piece originally written for an extra credit project in an English class for instrumentalists of various playing abilities. The instrumentation is violin, trumpet, French Horn, and Trombone. Between Realities is called so because it plays with major and minor modes and chords, sometimes resonating against each other so that the sound is “between the realities” of major and minor. Asymmetric Dance is mostly in the asymmetric meter of 7/8 .
- Green Getaway (2011):A 6/8 jig that plays with hemiola (2 against 3) rhythm. It is about a leprechaun who gets arrested because…well, he was driving and it was after St Patrick’s day. An interesting fact is that there are stair steps purposefully written into the score to represent the leprechaun escaping jail and making his “green getaway”.
- Hell’s Carnival (2011): What if there were a flute quartet meant to be atypical of stereotypical music written for the flute? This quartet has a taste of the atonal that accompanies the soundtrack of nightmares, but with careful attention to keeping a familiar structure and tonality that the musician should be able to identify with. Movement 1, Clowns, is a testament to how I feel about the people who will eat me in my sleep and has a carnival like atmosphere, if this carnival happened to be after dark. The Bearded Lady (Mvt. 2) is the name of the Rollercoaster in this nightmarish carnival. The very form of notation when laid out is in the shape of a backward rollercoaster track.
- Hoover’s Paradise (in progress):Imagine a piece where you can invite the Janitor to join the band. Well, with this piece you can (once it is finished of course) and he can play…..get ready for it.. the vacuum cleaner! The intended level will be for highschoolers and will be available in 2015.
- In An Updraft! (2012):This piece was written to complete the trilogy of earth, water and air brass trio series: earth and water having been composed by Mike Lynch ( On the Run) and Jessie Martin (Ship at sea/ Captain’s log), fellow Dana New Music Society Members. In an Updraft imitates the ever changing currents of wind by alternating moods, tempos, and time signatures (3/4 and 7/8).
- Insect Troubles (2014): is written especially for the Pianist who longs to awaken their inner comedic actor. Movement 1, Pianist, Meet Bumble, asks the performer to pretend that a bee lands on their arm and stings them during a simple waltz and quotes flight of the bumble bee among other bee inspired tunes. Movement 2, Ballade for a Decomposing Butterfly, begins with a Debussy-esque motive with some Sati thrown in and slowly “decomposes” towards the end into a Dies ire. The performer is asked to “Mourn the Butterfly ” and does not end until the performer stops sobbing. Movement 3, Bloodsucker Battle, portrays an epic mosquito battle between the camper and bloodsucker respectively and is not for he faint of heart. The performer will need a flyswatter ,very quick chromatic playing ,and possibly a clown hammer to exterminate them all.
*As a suggestion, it may be possible to split the movements between 3 separate pianists for a comedic recital presentation as each piece builds in difficulty and has their own character.
- Just Making Lunch (2014) – Is a visual special notation piece with nothing but the idea of making lunch as its cementing theme. It blends the elements of a 1960’s fluxus piece with aleatoric elements. The performers have only directions of each action within rough timeline to interpret in their own style and the piece is never the same twice.
- Left Behind (2012): A viola and piano duo where the melody played by the viola repeats two times and does not change. However, the simplistic broken triads played under the viola alter the mood of the piece at various times. The piece is called left behind because the colors of the chords evoke the emotions experienced, including false hope that whomever left you behind will return.
- Lunar Tides (2011):Lunar Tides evokes the image of the moon over the rolling waves of the ocean. It was written with the memory of my grandfather in mind. Just sit back, close your eyes and listen.(Lunar tides works well as a vocalise with improvised syllables or on flute).
- Matts Music (2013): A quodlibet of songs that are commonly heard being played by students through the walls of Matts Music store in Tonnawanda NY. The piece was commissioned for their 50th anniversary and includes quotes from early leson book tunes, warm-up material, A polka (for Mr. Matt who is an avid accordion player and appeared on the Lawrence Welk Show), That Adele song you hear through the walls, and many more. This was specifically written for a student level ensemble.
- Meliae (2009):This is a three movement piece written for trombone and Euphonium. It was inspired by a walk in Mill Creek Park during the fall of the composers’ first year at YSU. You can hear the fall of a giant tree branch (or the wood nymphs causing mischief in their play) in the glissando fall of the trombone in the first movement. The whole piece is in Dorian mode and experiments with varying textures and timbres created by two diverse, yet similar brass instruments.
- Motion(2012): An additive and subtractive piece that plays with minimalistic ideas with maximum sound . The conductor assigns each instrumental grouping a number in each of the three sections and calls on them at the repeats. This piece can be as long or as short as you want. It was written with the batch of musicians on the 2012 Dana New Music ensemble in mind but instruments can be substituted ( Hint: you can contact the composer for parts). Directions outlining this easy to put together piece are included with the score.
- Of Wizards and Dragons (2012,2013):Of Wizards and Dragons is a programmatic work inspired by the first book of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. The piece is inspired by the events of Dealing with Dragons in which Princess Cimorene, an atypical princess bored of mundane royal life, elects to become a dragon’s princess by allowing herself to be captured. In this story, the Wizards are the “bad guys” that can only be melted with soapy water mixed with a little bit of lemon (represented by the clarinet run in the Battle section). Keeping with the mood of the story, the piece contains a balanced mixture of drama, humor, and a wee bit of romance.
The original clarinet solo was composed in 2012 for Chris Nutter, a close friend and talented clarinetist. The wind band version is a combination of a transcription and orchestration with a little bit of new composition to add a unique aspect and more dimension to this version of the piece.
- Reign of Thunder (2009):Reign of thunder is a play on words and music. It was written for a piano and flute duo representing the thunder and lightning one would experience during a storm. The ferocity of the flute and insistent rumbling of the piano are meant to be evocative of the suspenseful feeling felt during lightning storms by the composer.
- Scribbles and Doodles (2013-present): A collection of one page solos for various instruments that will be continuously added to over time.
- Squirrel Wars!(2009): A short piano solo that depicts two squrelles that were seen fighting in the yard during the summer of 2009.
- Sunrise(2010): When Sunrise was written, the current New Music Ensemble had a sporadic mix of instrumentalists, vocalists and levels available. They also needed a piece functional enough to put together to perform at the upcoming spring concerts but was still unique. This was my answer to that need. Any of the parts can be altered or swapped as needed (for example if you want a Bari sax instead of the trombone-just ask the composer for a part). Also, if you do not have a bird whistle, imitating bird calls by whistling may be substituted.
- Thoughtbox (2009-10):Thoughtbox is a miniature trombone fantasy written periodically while improvising in the practice room on my trombone and transcribing the results. It was scored in the style of a typical “French” trombone solo, repertoire usually required by aspiring trombonists. The opening statement is a direct reference to the Morceau Symphonique, the first solo I was required to study at the Dana School of Music.
- Trombone Fanfare(2011): An octet written for the 2011 Dana School of Music Trombone Studio and premiered at the December 2011 Carols and Cocoa concert.
- Walking Dead(2008):A rock song co written by my brother Josh Hogan and I, featured in the 2012 Idle Entertainment movie B.O.Y.D. Copyright J and S.Hogan 2008
- World’s Quest theme(2013):Game music written for World’s Quest, a browser based Fantasy RPG.