(Can't) Wake Up

(Can't) Wake Up (2025):

Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone, Vibraphone, Electric Guitar, and Piano.

Duration: 7 minutes and 25 seconds.

Program Notes: "(Can't) Wake Up was written in September, 2025 for the group "Hypercube". It takes inspiration from a period of my life where I would constantly get sleep paralysis almost any time I tried to wake up. The piece is meant to go through two different versions of waking up; one where you tire yourself out trying to move and fall back asleep, and one where you're able to break out of the paralysis and fully wake up. The whole tone scale was heavily used in sections meant to resemble sleep, however, as you begin to wake up and gain consciousness, the key slowly transitions into G minor. Further, the melody for Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is frequently used in a way that fits in the whole tone scale as a way of adding a certain sense of unease to the piece."

Premiered by Hypercube at Louisiana State University on November 4, 2025.