Music for a Waking Dream (2025)

for chamber orchestra or sinfonietta

Same instrumentation as Copland’s Music for the Theatre

1 flute/piccolo – 1 oboe – 1 clarinet in Bb – 1 bassoon – 2 trumpets in C – 1 trombone – 1 percussion – piano – strings

Duration: 13′

Click HERE to view a PDF of the score.

Click HERE to listen to mockup recording.

Available for purchase: Sheet Music Plus, Sheet Music Direct, and JW Pepper

Program Note

Music for a Waking Dream is a musical exploration of the surreal and evocative world of dreams, inspired by my own subconscious experiences. The work unfolds as a kind of sonic fantasy, inviting listeners to journey through shifting states of perception and imagination.

The opening movement, “Ring in the Eleventh Hour,” introduces a bell-like motif that heralds the transition from waking life to the dream realm. It serves as a dramatic invocation—an announcement that the portal to an alternate reality has been opened.

A brief interlude gently guides us into the next movement, “Drift into Midnight,” a lullaby that prepares the mind for slumber and signals the onset of the dream state. Its tranquil textures evoke the moment when consciousness begins to dissolve into the unknown.

The final movement, “All Aboard,” draws directly from a recent dream in which I found myself on a high-speed train hurtling westward. The music captures the sensation of momentum, wonder, and the slightly surreal logic that governs the dream world.

Together, these movements form a continuous narrative—one that mirrors the often-fragmented yet deeply emotional experience of dreaming while awake.