Compositions by William Roper

Selected Compositions

1984 - That Underneath Belongs Above - solo tuba, dancer

1985 - Minotuar - solo tuba, dance/actress

1986 - Throttle-Up! 51L - tuba, violin, glockenspiel

1990 - The Prince of Peace - spoken word, tuba/percussion

1990 - Images of Issey Miyake - solo tuba, dancer

1990 - Lonesome and Lonely - tuba, violin, vibraphone, spoken word

1991 - Landing Safely In Africa - tuba, percussion, prerecorded tape, slides

1994 - Hippopotamus - spoken word, tuba, percussion, clarinet, viola

1995 - Pigs, Pigs. Oh! Those Tasty Pigs! - graphic score, open instrumentation up to four players

1995 - Etoiles - tuba, piano, perc.

1996 - Love Lies Bleeding - viola, tuba

1996 - Golden Gate Park - spoken word, tuba, woodwinds, perc

1996 - My Mother’s Mother - open instrumentation for three players

1996 - Not Yet Saved - tuba, piano, drums, acoustic bass

1996 - TTCNHBBD - tuba, percussion, amplified bass

1997 - Em - spoken word, tuba, woodwinds, perc.

1997 - Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown - tuba, shamisen

1997 - Juneteenth - solo tuba

1997 - A Recondite State of Lorn - solo tuba

1997 - Lachrimae - tuba, percussion

1997 - Cartography - open instrumentation

1997 - Facsimile - tuba, dancer

1998 - The Race of the Aquatic Kangaroos (A Dreamscape) - graphic score, any two instruments

1999 - Three Guys On A Hilltop-The Ascension (If I Ran the Circus) - tuba, flute, percussion

2000 - Poem for Emmett Till - A Freedom Song - violoncello solo

2001 - Darkest Night, Balthazar Joins the Sacred Company (Have You Ever Picked Cotton?) - tuba, prerecorded sound

2005 - My Head Is Always Down For I No Longer Look For You - violin solo

2005 - Not Yet Saved-What Shall I Do? What Shall I Do? - cello octet

2006 - Land Ob Cotton - video, 2 actors, dancer, tuba, trombone, tenor saxophone

2006 - Birmingham - soprano, violin

2006 - The Love That Forgives - soprano, flute

2006 - Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown, ver.2 - soprano, tuba

2006 - The Summons of Azrael - baritone, clarinet, violin, cello

2007 - Cygnus olor - Schwanengesang - bass or contrabass cimbasso (trombone-[contra] basso Verdi) solo

2007 - Vespertilio murinus - Lied der Naab - trumpet solo (or cornet or flugelhorn)

2007 - Anser ferus – Der Flug des Wilden Gäanserich - viola and violoncello

2008 - Procyon lotor – Überall Hänge Ich Meinen Hut ist Haus - euphonium, tuba, violoncello or contrabass violin solo

2008 - la Petite Malambing Thang - sound track

2009 - Alytes obstetricans – Frienden Mein Kleines Ei, Lasse Ich Sie Nicht - percussion and euphonium

2009 - Sus scrofa scrofa – Zwei Glückliche Schweine - two cimbassi

2009 - Bleu - sound track

2010 - Die Gäotter Verlassen Valhalla-Mein Gott, Alle Jene Käopfe! - Wagner tuba, contrabass tuba

2010 - Der Schwanherzog-Alle Haben Das Schwein Zum Essen Gern! - soprano, harp

2010 - No, Wally, No! - true baritone horn, percussion

2010 - A Silence Waits For Us There - soprano, piccolo, tuba

2010 - Und Heute, Fünf Schwäne - soprano, flute

2011 - The Wings of Azrael - trombone solo

2011 - Bleu - ad libitum tuba part

2011 - Fanfares and Arhoolies - graphic score, percussion & lip-reed instruments - Watch here.

2011 - Comin' Home - tuba, spoken word artist (same person)

2013 - Fishin' Dem Bones - Northernmost Point 45°31'N - graphic score, medium to large ensemble, free instrumentation

2014 - Bridge to the Four Islands （しまのかけはし） - viola solo

2014 - Inari-sama Whispers To Kitsune - cello solo

2015 - Steller's Sea Eagle, On seeing the Tower of Prayer - Cape Soya - two 13-string kotos, 17-string koto, B flat clarinet

2015 - And I Remembered Coming Into the World - 白老町 (Shiraoi) - piccolo trumpet and flugelhorn duo

2015 - ピカドン (Pikadon)/Shock Cocoon - graphic score for flute solo

2015 - Experience>Dream>Memory - Slivers of Time. A set of six graphic scores - any instrument

New Opened Eyes

Tangva Ink Well

West Adams-Onigiri

Alta Round Top - Ferry

El Juego Alegre

The Day Moved

2016 - 2020 - Grand Vessels - A Dynamic Cartography. A set of 10 graphic scores - any instrument

1. Brazil (2020)

2. South Atlantic - Africa/Brazil (2020)

3. Cabo Verde (2020)

4. Charleston Bay (2016)

5. Labrador Sea (2016)

6. North Sea (2020)

7. Gulf of Mexico (2020)

8. Caribbean Sea (2020)

9. Ryukyu-shoto (2017)

10. Sea of Okhotsk/Sea of Japan (2020)

2017 - Executive Order - stage work for cimbasso and actor (same person)

2019 - Aerophonic Antiphonies - graphic score for two players on cimbasso and tenor saxophone and multiple ethnic aerophones

2020 - You Are Responsible, Forever, For What You Have Tamed - string quartet (#1)

2020 - Fanfare COVID-19 - graphic score for solo lip-reed aerophone player

2020 - Can I Get A Witness - for ambulatory sextet (percussion, violin, clarinet, soprano saxophone, horn, tuba, actor)

2020 - Certa Bonum Certamen - COVID 19 - for any three performers

2021 - Divulgence - for soprano and violoncello

2021 - Choofa - for violin, violoncello, optional prerecorded sound and electronics

2022 - Juvenile Terrestrial References - Semi-Autonomous Regions - string quartet (#2)

2022 - Breeze Through Azabu - 4 kotos (17, 18, 21, 25 string) and B flat clarinet

2024 - Tuba Mirum - percussion, tuba and viola (all with spoken text)

See the video of Roper's Fanfares and Arhoolies on youtube

View Roper's blog at Peripatetic Roper