Orchestral

Symphonic

Penido das Fontes

for orchestra

2010

Completed in 2010, Penido was Fontes is the first large scale work for orchestra by Keith Moss.  The piece is based on the Xhosa traditional myth surrounding the formation of the Hole in the Wall found in Coffee Bay, South Africa, a location that the first Portuguese sailors circumnavigating the continent gave its name, Rock of Tears.

The work was part of the submission for the SAMRO Overseas scholarship 2010, and secured First Prize for Keith Moss.

3.3.3.2, 4.3.3.1, hp, pno/cel, timp+5, strings

Wild Horses don’t Break

for orchestra

2015

Based on a poem by Annwen Bates this work encapsulates the spirit of the text.

First performed in 2018 by Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional, conducted by Christian Schulz as part of the Sao Paulo Contemporary Composers Festival 2018. 

3.3.3.3, 4.3.3.1, hp, timp+4, strings

for no man can see me and live

for orchestra

..

work in progress

Overture for an unwritten Opera

for orchestra

2021

After a call for scores by SOUNZ and Orchestra Wellington in October 2021, this work was workshopped and recorded by Orchestra Wellington at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.  Conducted by Marc Teddei.

In 2022 the piece was selected for the SOUNZ Composer Sessions and professionally recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

2.2.2.2 – 4.3.2.1 – timp+3 – hp – strings

Concerto

Euphonium Concerto

for euphonium and orchestra

2012

Commissioned by the Grant Foundation, Pianist Charl du Plessis First performed this work in the 2005 Aardklop Festival. Suitable for young pianists

2.2.2.2, 4.3.0.0, pno., timp+4 euph. (soloist), strings

The Copper Chimney

for marimba, harp & strings

2013

Commissioned by the Grant Foundation, Pianist Charl du Plessis First performed this work in the 2005 Aardklop Festival. Suitable for young pianists

0.0.0.0, 0.0.0.0, hp, marimba (soloist), strings

Meditation

for cello and orchestra

2014

Commissioned by the Grant Foundation, Pianist Charl du Plessis First performed this work in the 2005 Aardklop Festival. Suitable for young pianists

Clarinet Concerto

for clarinet in Bb and orchestra

2016

Commissioned by the Grant Foundation, Pianist Charl du Plessis First performed this work in the 2005 Aardklop Festival. Suitable for young pianists

Commissioned by the SAMRO Foundation

2.0.3.0, 0.0.0.0, timp+3, pno., cl. (soloist), strings

Saxophone Concerto

for alto saxophone

and symphonic winds

2021

 

Interviewed about his experience witnessing the test deonation of the first atomic bomb, veteran David Hemsley recounted “If I was looking at you now, I would see all your bones.” I was immediately struck by the evocative potential of the notion, this simple and powerful line resonating deeply with me.  Beyond the historical even Hemsley was describing I was taken as to how the meaning could refer to an expression of sincerity, from on to another.  The intimate ability of a human to witness the unseen depths in each other, to see into another.

This concerto is my response to the dual narratives borne in Hemsley’s remark.  The first movement see’s the sailors on their ships, cowered at the unearthing experience of bearing unwitting witness to the birth of the nuclear age.  Shifting perspective and an uncanny feeling is encapsulated in the second movement, the feeling of seeing into other people and penetrating layers o knowing.  Originally scored for jazz big band, the Berceuse now forms the central movement of the concerto.  This third bears out the curious synchronicity of both experiences, the breach of personal bodily barriers, as if a grown man had caught fire and walked right though you.

3.3.3.2, 4.3.3.1, alt.sax (soloist), hp., timp+3

Orchestra and Voice

The Eventide

for mezzo-soprano, choir & orchestra

2008

rev. 2019

This work was composed while I was still teaching in Grahamstown, South Africa, and completing a Masters degree in composition.  It is a resetting of the poem by Henry F. Lyte (1973) well known as the Anglican hymn Abide with me.

The cantata is in five movements, reworking all five stanzas of the poem featuring a mezzo-soprano with chorus and chamber orchestra.

The work was premiered in Grahamstown at the end of 2007 and revised for performance in Auckland, late 2019, adding chorus and horn.

2.0.2.2, 1.0.0.0, mezzo, chorus, strings

Chamber Orchestra