Ex Nihilo for trombone quartet and trombone soloist (2009).
Ex Nihilo (out of nothing) was commissioned by John Mireles and the Texas Tech University Trombone quartet and was premiered in 2009 with James T. Decker performing the solo part. The commission included a request that the music be based on the contrasting pictures from the Biblical books of Genesis and Revelations, with an emphasis given to the ultimate control and order brought about by the reign of Jesus Christ. The four texts that govern the form of the work are quoted below. The famous hymn This is My Father’s World is a nice summation of the message: “…that though the wrong seem oft’ so strong, God is the Ruler yet.”
Genesis 1:2 “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep…”
Colossians 1:17 “…in Him all things hold together.”
Romans 8:21-23 “…the whole creation groans and suffers…until now.”
Revelations 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
