John 9

Blades of Grass was inspired by the poem Grass by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967):

"Pile the bodies high at Austerliz and Waterloo, Shovel them under and let me work-I am the grass; I cover all.

Written for my first doctoral recital, Celestial Harmonies was a fun exercise in experimentation. I approached another graduate student, Allen Morris, about taking high quality photographs of each

Celebrating the tiny subatomic particles that are, in essence, the building blocks of matter, this whimsical and introspective piece is divided into three sections: the main "dance" theme; a middle

For Contrabassoon and String Quartet. The contrabassoon is truly the king of bass instruments. It plays the part of a powerful, jolly, and sometimes inebriated ruler in this regally off-beat piece featuring

Barlow's Prelude, Air and Variation, written in 1948, is the first twentieth-century work scored for the combination of bassoon, string quartet, and piano. There are earlier compositions from the

This thee-movement work borrows ideas from quintets for clarinet and strings by Mozart and Brahms. The 7/8, 5/4, 7/8 time signatures are unusual in classical music, but common in the folk music of some

This three movement composition for string quintet, scored for 3 violins, viola and cello, falls under the heading of program music as it paints unmistakable pictures of pastural/country life. Each of the

This piece was inspired by a mountaintop view of a valley with rolling pastures and farmland surrounding a peaceful New England village. 

This composition is for students, amateurs and professional violinists.

Dr. Hartley composed the Sinfonia No. 13 for Strings in 2000. The work is cast in three movements which are linked together and played without pause. N.B. The editorial process has consisted

This string suite has taken on many forms and performances over the years, but the first two movements were written for a wedding in 2005. The third movement was added some years later as a fun and

The Two Fugues capture the all the elegance, charm and contrapuntal flavor of the Baroque style and can be played together or individually. These original fugues are fun to perform while still