Fantastic Dreams was composed during a six-week residency in the late summer and early fall of 2023 at the McDowell Colony in Petersborough, New Hampshire. The work's four short movements – really dreamscapes – are wide ranging in mood and style, yet connected via shared musical motives, gestures and themes.

Dancing with the Muses bursts for ecstatically, settling into a series of short, light-hearted variations, each showcasing a different instrument or group – bassoon, oboe, horns, alto saxophones, trumpets. Short episodes and ghostly gestures interrupt the variations, like unrelated thoughts interrupting a dream.

Elysian Fields is a meditation directly influenced by my quiet morning walks at the MacDowell Colony amid peaceful forests and meadows. Unhurried lyrical lines float over a gentle walking motif that lilts back and forth like a lullaby.

Magic Carpet is a brisk two-minute scherzo that whirls and whisks in daring flight. At the midpoint, a respite – featuring solo oboe and flute with celesta – is but a moment to catch one's breath before hurtling on again in magical flight.

The dream journey takes a dark turn:

L.A. Noir pays tribute to old Hollywood's film noir tradition – a frantic chase scene, a dark figure lurking in the shadows, a moment of quiet, anxious anticipation. Midway through, the calm oboe melody from the scherzo's middle section reappears, now in a more menacing atmosphere. The suspense builds relentlessly, the music culminating in a ferocious roar that suggests the melodramatic endings typical of many film noir pictures.

- Program Note by composer