This portfolio represents a combination of pieces written in the last two years that have sought to address a number of aesthetic concerns I had been grappling with upon my arrival at UCSD. Primary among them is a detailed focus on microtonality: understanding non-equally tempered intervals and chords in relation to tonal structures as well as their meso-level harmonic and melodic implications. Other areas of focus include the attempt to shape 'complex' linear ideas and/or gestures in a more simple rhythmic expression and working with elements over a larger time scale to create a stronger, more continuous sense of flow and drama. In addition, as Morton Feldman says, "know thy instrument." Working with performers to better understand the nature of instrumental composition has been an important facet of my time here.