Ebbing Clouds
A quiet, flowing work for solo piano, moving from gentle motion and sustained tones through a tender, luminous middle before gradually receding into the stillness of an open sky.
Composer · Arranger · Performer
Jackson Duff
"I write music because that's how I cry" - Jackson Duff
I don't usually know what a piece is about until I've finished writing it — the music tends to get there before I do. I write for concert band, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo piano, moving between big, unguarded ensemble moments and quieter, more private ones, depending on what a piece actually turns out to need.
Featured works
A short introduction to the catalogue. Recordings and score previews sit with each piece on the works page.
Prelude No. 1
A wild piece jumping from quiet darkness to violent enthusiasm. This piece is about what Carl Jung would call a "Shadow."
Three Pieces on Fragility
A short piano triptych exploring collapse, vulnerability, and aftermath.
Who am I?
I started writing music because, in school, my teacher told me and a friend who was also excelling musically that if we wrote something easy enough, our orchestra could play it at the concert. After writing that piece, I didn't compose very much until a little over two years later, when my closest friend and I had a falling out and I used composition to express my grief. It was at that point that I decided I wanted to be a composer instead of a professional violinist.
Commissions and collaborations
Ensembles, directors and fellow musicians: if you have a group, a concert date and an idea, I would like to hear about it.