Steven D. Moreno (1995-Present)

Introduction
Steven D. Moreno is a composer from Vernon, New Jersey. Steven has studied composition with Dr. Christopher Doll, Dr. Steven Kemper, and is currently studying with Tarik O’Regan. He just graduated from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with a degree in music composition, and he will be attending Boston Conservatory at Berklee for his masters in music composition in the fall. He has a new music ensemble at Rutgers, Split the Lark, who he composes for and is co-director of. The group is currently working on the premier of Steven’s opera,  Planet MOOL Comes to Visit.

Works
I Made You in My Own Crab Image is a piece that Steven wrote to be performed by marimba and bass clarinet duo, Transient Canvas. This piece is one that Transient Canvas typically saves for the end of their set due to the agility and stamina required in the piece. Active listeners can tell that this piece is heavily influenced by the metal genre because of the fast tempo and aggressive 16th notes throughout. Steven originally wrote the piece to be more complex, but he had to get rid of some of the constant 16th notes because it would've been too much for the marimba to play. The composition sends the 16th notes that were playable back and forth between the marimba and the bass clarinet for an interesting sound.

Comparisons
Steven listens to a lot of MESHUGGAH and it is easy to see their stylistic influence show in Steven's compositions. The heavy and agile percussion is easy to hear in his music.

Observations
I noticed that Steven really has a different style than all of the other composers in his composition master class. He really stays true to his musical background and favorite genre of music. I feel that giving him only a marimba and bass clarinet was limiting to his composition skills, but he pulled it off and rose to the challenge.