COMPOSITIONS
Music for Gamelan
Bubaran Kiev (2010) – for Javanese gamelan, dedicated to Sergei Tschernisch
Bubaran Wild Swan (1996) – for Javanese gamelan
Fragments and Ecstacies (1994) – for voice with Javanese gamelan; parts of the vocal may be sung by a chorus if desired; Text: Rumi (13’36”)
Gendhing Erhu (1983) – for Chinese erhu and American gamelan
Gendhing Tala Entangled (2014) – for Javanese gamelan; composed for Gamelan Son of Lion (c. 5'43")
Gendhing Tala Nourishment (2010) – for Javanese gamelan; gendhing bonang style (c. 12'47")
Gending Tala The Wanderer (Sing Ngumbara) (2011, 2024) – for Javanese gamelan with vocal (solo or chorus); text by Goenawan Mohamad (circa 16'18')
Gong Julunggul (1990/91) – for Javanese gamelan
Ladrang Yamaloka (1994) – for Javanese gamelan with additional percussion, trompets, suling, and drone instruments
Mountains and Waters (1992-93) – for Javanese gamelan with voice (may be sung by a chorus or as a solo); Text: Zen master Dogen. (7’38”)
The September Vision (1984) - for Javanese gamelan, bamboo rattle (angklung), Chinese erhu, and female vocalist; Text: W.S. Merwin
Small of My Back (1990) – for American gamelan instruments, suling, kendhang, and harmonizer (with Jon Keliehor, Signy Jakobsdottir, and Tom Fallat); no score
Trance Gong (1990) – for roto-toms and xiao-bo (Chinese cymbals) - (with Jon Keliehor, Signy Jakobsdottir, and Tom Fallat); no score
Tsuki (The Moon) (2008) – for voice with selected Javanese gamelan instruments; text by Zen master Dogen Kigen
Vocal Music
Buffalo Solo (2001) – duet for female singer with male drone singer (drone singer makes limited use of harmonic singing); other vocal combinations are possible – (7’46”)
Four Incantations (1994, 1997) – for solo voice or a group of voices, sung unaccompanied or with sounds of your own choosing (see score for instructions); includes: Two Incantations of the Rain: 1) I am Rain, 2) the rain of the white valley, texts by Jerome Rothenberg and W.S. Merwin; and Two Unauthorized Incantations: 1) body of light; 2) the great cloud
Goro-goro (2000) – for solo female voice and viola (2'15”)
Keeping Quiet (2010) – for solo voice with piano accompaniment; text by Pablo Neruda
Listen (2000) – for male speaker with female intoner; female vocalist sings one high pitch as a harmonic “shadow” of the spoken voice; may be accompanied with small hand percussion, such as a string of small bells or small cymbals like xiao-bo rubbed lightly together. (2’50”)
Nothing (2007) – for voice and piano; text by Lao-tzu
One Night in April (2004, 2024) – for voice with keyboard accompaniment (any appropriate clavier, typically piano or harpsichord) (3'27")
The Rain (1997) – two pieces for solo voice, usually sung together: 1) I am rain – text from Praises of the Bantu Kings; versions of Bantu self-praises by Jerome Rothenberg, from literal translations by Jacques Chileya Chiwale; 2) "The rain of the white valley" – text from June Rain by W.S. Merwin (circa 3’31”)
Rapt away to Darkness (1999) – for voice with mixed flexible accompaniment (original version with clarinet, violin, and accordion); text by Susan Howe; (circa 14’45”)
The Stonehouse Songs (1992) – for voice unaccompanied or with improvised accompaniment (see instructions in the score)
around the summit I only see pines (2’15”)
beyond the door I made but don't close (2’17”)
real emptiness is a tranquil sea (2’12”)
to get to the end the absolute end (2’02”)
when the red sun bites the mountain (2’25”)
when mountains are nourished by rain (2’20”)
Trakl Songs (2020, 2025) – 1) Sleep, 2) De Profundis; for voice and piano; text by George Trakl
Instrumental Music
Across Distances (2021) – for solo piano in just intonation (may also be played on a tempered piano)
Chant (2022) – for solo guitar
Falconer Suite (1998) – an arrangement of Suite for Koto for guitar; arrangement by Satchel Henneman; I. prelude, II. an inward memory, III. dissolving, IV. in motion
Five Variations (2021) - for solo guitar; preferred instrument is the resophonic guitar in Harrison-Slye just intonation; may also be played on a regular guitar
Flock (2010) – for string trio: violin, viola, cello
Islands (1981) – for piano or harp solo
Islands (1981, 2007) – for guitar; arrangement for guitar by Graham Banfield
Islands (1981, 2023) – for guitar; arranged for guitar by Satchel Henneman
Little Pieces for Piano (2000, 2001, 2008, 2016, 2024) – I. A Memory, II. Uncertain Descent, III. Ellie, IV. All Things Must End, V. Fugue
The Moon and Sun are Eternal Travelers (1999) – alto flute solo; for Paul Taub
I. Moon (2'07")
II. Sun (2'16")
Prelude for Adrienne Varner (2009) – piano solo
Prelude Harmonic (2020) – for solo guitar; preferred instrument is the resophonic guitar in Harrison-Slye just intonation; may also be played on a regular guitar
A Simple Thank-you (1999) – in memory of Bill Colvig; for small ensemble, instrumentation variable
Simultaneous Broken Symmetries (1990) – duet for vibraphone and piano; in two movements
I. simultaneity of the ephemeral (6'10")
II. metamorphosis of the repetitive (4'40")
Septet I: for whoever was to come (1985) - for flute/piccolo, clarinet, cello, piano, harp, two percussionists (marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, four tom-toms, two timpani)
Suite for Clavier (2013) – for piano in just intonation; may also be played in a circulating tuning or equal temperament, but will lose meaningful harmonic subtlety that is present in just intonation; dedicated to the memory of Lou Harrison
I. flowing and resonating (2'12")
II. jhalla (3'02")
III. fast and lively (2'40")
IV. canon, two parts (3'18")
Suite for Koto (13-strings) (1998) – for koto solo in four movements; also playable on guitar; for Liz Falconer (12")
I. prelude (3'07")
II. an inward memory (3'25")
III. dissolving (2'43")
IV. in motion (2'45")
Uluru Wild Fig Song (1986) - piano solo
Within (2022) – for solo piano in just intonation; may also be played on a tempered keyboard
Music for Percussion
a la Belle Étoile (2010) - for crotales and vibraphone; originally composed as part of the music for the evening length dance piece HOME, choreography by Molly Scott. The title could be translated as "under the beautiful star." I chose the French because the music was for a solo danced by company member Belle Wolf.
Three Movements for Percussion Quartet (2010) – percussion quartet in three movements for various drums, gongs, fingers cymbals, triangle, temple blocks, and wood blocks - 1. vigorous, excited (c. 3'14"); 2. quiet and delicate (c. 5'32"); 3. strong and dynamic (c. 4'32") - dedicated to the Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet
Trance Gong (1990) – percussion quartet for roto-toms and xiao-bo (created with Jon Keliehor, Signy Jacobsdottir, and Tom Fallat)
Two Studies for Two Percussionists (1988)
I. Talea – 3 tom-toms, 1 low drum, 3 cymbals
II. Sonata – cowbell, high drum, low tom-tom, bass drum, bongos, woodblock, 2 snare drums
Electro-acoustic Music
Boundaries 1-7 (2001) – seven movements: 1) 1’13” 2) 1’29” 3) 0’53” 4) 1’44” 5) 0’43” 6) 0’47” 7) 0’48”
Compass (2001) – two movements: 1) Compass 2 – 5’11”; 2) Compass 3 – 6’24”
Fanfare (1986)
Locate, Part 3 (2007) - 2'27"
Natura Abolita (1993, 2001) – 8’37”
Praying Mantis (2002) – three movements: 1) Curve – 7’38”; 2) Box – 17’58”; 3) Shroud – 4’55”
Substance and Non-Substance – Studies No.1, No.2, and No.3 (1986-87)
Tilt (2002) – 8’41”
Music for Theater and Dance
Prelude/Circle/Passage (2017) – Open for Dancing Festival commission, Island Moving Company, Newport, RI; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell. A site-specific performance at the newly excavated Southern Redoubt at Ft. Adams; six performances, premiere September 23–24, 2017
The SOLO(s) Project (2016) – Commissioned through Made-in-Seattle as part of Velocity Dance Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, SOLO(s) was supported by grants from 4Culture and the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture and rehearsal residencies at Cornish College of the Arts and Velocity Dance Center. Choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere November 3-6, 2016, Velocity Dance Center, Seattle, WA.
Wake (2015) – Bellingham Repertory Dance commission; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere May 29-3, 2015 at The Firehouse, Fairhaven, WA; preview performance, Western Washington University Gallery, March 21, 2015.
Seven (2014) – University of Washington Faculty Concert commission; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere January 23-25, 2014, Meany Hall, Seattle, WA.
Breathing Room (2013) – Cornish Dance Theater commission; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere April 12-13, 2013, Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle, WA.
Cordavae (2012) – Strictly Seattle/Velocity Dance Center commission; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; July 8-28, 2012, Seattle, WA.
HOME (2010) –Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere May 20-23, 2010; Erickson Theatre, Seattle, WA. Excerpts presented on the Northwest New Works Festival, On the Boards, Seattle, WA.
Letting by Light (2000) – choreography by Ronly Blau; music for player piano by Jarrad Powell.
Keep Her Safe, Please! (2009) – Choreography by Wan-Chao Chang; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, June 27, 2009.
Geography (2007) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere On the Boards, the Behnke Center for Contemporary Performanc, November 15-17, 2007. Presented at The Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN; SCUBA Touring Alliance Program, February 22-23, 2007
Locate (2007) – Commission for the Pacifica Northwest Ballet’s Celebrate Seattle Festival; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere McCaw Hall, Seattle; April 20-22, 2007
Ashes (2005) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere Velocity Dance Center, Seattle, October 7-9, 2005
Vessel (2004) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere On the Boards, Seattle; October 7-9, 2004
Kingdom (2003) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere On the Boards, Seattle; May 22-24, 2003
Praying Mantis (2002)– Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; premiere On the Boards, Seattle; May 23-25, 2002
Time Lines (2002) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere On the Boards, Seattle; May 23-25, 2002
Compass (2001) – Commission from d9 Dance Collective; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere Velocity Theater, Seattle; June 1-3 & 8-10, 2001
Natura Abolita (2001) – Scott/Powell Performance; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere On the Boards, Seattle; February 23-24, 2001
Boundaries (2001) – choreography Mary Sheldon Scott; premiere: Composer/Choreographer 5, Velocity Theater, Seattle, January 26-28, 2001
Kali (2000) – Music by Jarrad Powell and Tony Prabowo, Libretto by Goenawan Mohamad; original production with the New Jakarta Ensemble; Premiere On the Boards, June 1-4, 2000
Residue (2000) – Cornish Dance Theater commission; choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle; November 17-19, 2000
Letting by Light (2000) – choreography by Ronly Blau; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Figgy Dance, the Chamber Theater, Seattle; September 14-16, 2000
This is a circle (1999) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere Composer/Choreographer 4, Freehold Theater, Seattle, 1999
Or can we fly from here (1998) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Northwest New Works Festival, On the Boards, Seattle, 1998
When I Was Afraid (1997) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Composer/Choreographer 3, Freehold Theater, Seattle, 1997
Ghost Voices (1997) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Composer/Choreographer 2, On the Boards, Seattle, 1997
Burning Spirit (1995) – music created in collaboration with Jon Keliehor for visual artist Beliz Brother”s special closing night ceremony at the 1995 Bumbershoot Festival.
Woman One: Red Voices and Woman Two: The Ceremony of Desire (1995) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Exposed, a concert of new dance works by Stephanie Skura and Mary Sheldon Scott, The Compound, Seattle, June 15-17, 1995.
Visible Religion (1994) – a new music theater piece created by Sri Djoko Rahardja, I Made Sidia, Jarrad Powell, Tony Prabowo, John Boesche, and Kent Devereaux, with original music by Jarrad Powell and Tony Prabowo, co-commissioned by On the Boards, Walker Art Center, and Performing Arts Chicago; premiere and performances at all three venues, September 22 – October 2, 1994.
Tracing/River/Sand (1994) – choreography by Mary Sheldon Scott; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Composer/Choreographer 1, Ned Skinner Theater, Seattle, 1994.
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia (1985) – play by Witold Gombrowicz; directed by Stefan Rowny; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Glenn Hughes Playhouse, Seattle, June4-15, 1985.
Teamwork (1985) – choreography by JoAnna Mendl Shaw; music by Jarrad Powell; premiere: Danceworks Northwest, Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle, 1985.
Music for Film
An Ter Atamiso (2024) – single-channel video (35’33”); image by Robert Campbell, music by Jarrad Powell; Best Experimental Film, Innuendo Film Festival, Milan, Oct. 24-26, 2025; Best Experimental Film: Remember The Future World Film Festival in Cannes 2024; Best Experimental Film: Cine Paris Film Festival, July 2024; Best Experimental Film: Halicarnassus Film Festival, July 2024 ; Best Experimental Short: New York Indie ShortFest, 2024
Waste Land (2020) – HD video, color, sound, 64' continuous loop, dimensions variable; photography by David T. Hanson; sound by Jarrad Powell; Video production by Allen Cobb. Hanson’s Waste Land series is a master photographer’s meditation on the country’s most dangerously polluted places. Sounds from three different sources—biophony (sounds of animals), geophony (sounds of weather and other natural elements), and anthropophony (sounds created by humans)—interpenetrate and are mediated by minimal electronic signal processing to yield a soundscape. Like a landscape, it is somewhat static, but also changing, with subtlety or suddenness. Through recordings we preserve the sound environment to use and study, even as we destroy that very environment by various means, leading to degradation and extinction. Premiere showing: ICON (Iowa Contemporary Art) – July 1 through July 31, 2021
Pulchrior in Luce (2012) – music for a feature-length film by Robert Campbell
Delta of C16H22O4 (2007) – music for a short animated film by Robert Campbell
Tilt (2005) – music for a short animated film by Robert Campbell
Eidolon (2004) – music for a short animated film by Robert Campbell
Brand New Triathlon (2003) – music for film by Canadian filmmaker Richard Raxlen; experimental animation
Jarrad’s music can also be heard on environmental activist and filmmaker Jeff Fox’s documentary film How to Let Go of the World and Love All the things Climate Can’t Change (2016) and on music for BBC Radio 4’s production of Harold Pinter’s Victory (2015).