Pathways is a series of works for solo instrument and chamber orchestra consisting of a single, fixed orchestral accompaniment through which the featured instrument wends its way. To date, versions for trombone, percussion, and soprano saxophone have been completed. The work is dedicated to my wife, Heidi, and my son, Gabriel.

Each of the solo parts has been composed with the properties and characteristics of the given instrument in mind, and therefore each version of Pathways presents a unique relationship between soloist and ensemble. For the composer, the obvious challenge in such a project is in composing individual solo parts which have no direct influence on or relationship to one another, yet which are organically linked to the single fixed accompaniment.

The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler and his/her unique and personal relationship with the surroundings on any given journey. Though a single road may be taken by several individuals (or by the same individual on different occasions), the various experiences and responses to a particular environment may differ substantially. Such factors as time of day, climate, or the traveler's mood can have a profound effect upon the experience and consequent response of the individual. In the case of this work, the orchestra acts as a sonic landscape through which the soloist (i.e., the traveler) passes. As the solo part is intended to reflect the unique "personality" of a particular featured instrument, these may differ from one another substantially, to the extent that each section within the work as a whole may be directed (and subsequently perceived) in a number of different ways, thus influencing its dynamic unfolding.

The first in the series, Pathways: Opposing Forces was composed for trombonist Andrew Glendening, and was supported in part by a grant from the Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program of the American Music Center. This version, which received honorable mention for the 1994 ASCAP Rudolf Nissam Award competition, was first performed on 9 October 1993 at the University of North Dakota by Andrew Glendening with John Deal conducting the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. Here the relationship between trombonist and ensemble is one of contention, with the two forces pitted against one another throughout. Pathways: Opposing Forces is divided into three movements, the first of which, Fractured Horizons, is a study in entropy, where the trombonist seems to push the ensemble beyond its breaking point. Here the concept of "horizon" is evoked, from the ellusive points at the edge of the earth to the cosmological event horizon at the boundary of a black hole. The second movement, The Searcher, is intended as a tribute to exploration and questioning, and to those who dedicate their lives to such pursuits in any field. The third movement, Butterfly Storm, is named for a principle known as "sensitive dependence on initial conditions." This pertains to those systems which develop exponentially rather than geometrically, where minute deviations in an early stage can lead to extremely divergent results. Studied by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in the early 1960's and initially applied to weather systems, the so-called "Butterfly Effect" is a reference to the hypothetical notion that a butterfly stirring the air today in Peking could ultimately generate storm fronts in New York City next month.

Models used in Pathways are drawn from various natural phenomena such as numerical sequences (which, though ubiquitous, are often overlooked), fractals (recursive structures, as are found in crystals, pinecones, or broccoli flowers), chaotic systems (such as water currents or weather systems), and entropy (the increasing degree of disorder within the physical universe, as demonstrated by the breaking of a glass or by the natural decay of an organism). The following summary should serve to illustrate how these various systems are applied and manifested within Pathways:

The entire work is divided into sections based upon the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 (prime number series), which recur at multiple levels within the work, including rhythmic patterning, pitch sequences, and even the number and distribution of the orchestra parts (fractal progression). The large-scale sections are then superimposed to create a series of seemingly irregular but symmetrical structural points (palindrome). Each of these overlapping sections is characterized by either a steady or dynamic state (stasis/entropy) in one of five parameters: timbre, texture, volume (i.e., dynamic level), register, and tempo. These sections may interact and develop in either a linear (causal) or non-linear (chaotic) fashion. On the local levels, instrumental lines may either attract or repel one another (magnetic fields) in any number of ways.