David Bohn

A native of Wisconsin, David Bohn received degrees in composition from the University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Illinois. His primary composition teachers were Joel Naumann, Yehuda Yannay, and William Brooks. He has taught theory at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin - Parkside and the University of Illinois. In his career as an organist, he has given Wworld or American premieres of over fifty organ works. He currently resides in West Allis, Wisconsin, and is the organist and choir director St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in West Milwaukee. He is President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, Vice President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, and edits the newsletters of both organizations.

15 one-minute selections for David Bohn

  • Intonazione

    Andreja Andric

    Intonazione explores a moment in an imaginary alternative history of organ music. Inspired by rennaissance organ toccatas and the Ileborgh tablature, the piece expands the shared space between them.

    Andreja Andric (born 1973) is a Serbian composer and programmer, living in Aarhus in Denmark. He explores the intersections of mathematical processes, intuition and chance and uses computer programming as key means of artistic expression.

  • A Conversation

    Paul Ayres

    A Baroque-inspired two-part invention, on a 5-note theme provided by Ryne Siesky (used by permission).

    Paul works in London (UK) as a freelance composer & arranger, choral conductor & musical director, and organist & accompanist. A particular creative interest is exploring the interplay between popular styles and baroque/classical forms, and his works frequently use cross-reference, numerical patterns, and humour.

  • Out of the Woebegone Pyre

    Paul Burnell

    The title of this piece is taken from the poem 'Holy Spring' by the Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953). The poem was included in his volume of poetry 'Deaths and Entrances' first published in 1946.

    Paul Burnell (born 1960, Ystrad-Rhondda, South Wales) is a composer and musician based in London, UK. His latest albums are ‘So (Not) To Speak’ and ‘Woodland So Brightly’ released in 2023 and 2024.

  • aria devocional

    Daniel E. Cocchetti

    Devotional Aria is a work based on the E minor/major chord. The main note of the melody - a B natural - is adorned with the remaining eleven notes of the chromatic scale which are repeated in a free retrograde order. The entire piece has a meditative and religious character.

    Daniel Cocchetti was born in Argentina in 1956. He graduated from the National Conservatory of Music of Buenos Aires where he studied Oboe and Composition. He has won numerous awards for his works which were premiered in the country and abroad. To date, its catalog totals about 180 works

  • Tarantella Blues

    Carlotta Ferrari

    A Blues with a Tarantella flavor or a Tarantella with the Blues?

    Carlotta Ferrari (1975) is an award-winning Italian composer who has developed a very peculiar and distinctive style. Her compositions have been performed around the world and appear on several CDs. Her research interest lies in the creative contamination of past and present.

  • Sarabande laconique

    John Furse

    My simple, languid piece is based on two intervals: the semitone and its inversion and the octave. It makes play with descending then ascending figures. The lowest note sounds throughout and the registration is solely on the 8´ Gedackt. This purity is intended to evoke much earlier musical periods.

    Welsh composer living in Norfolk, U.K., overlooking and overhearing the North Sea. Hobbies: photography, birdwatching. Sacred choral works and secular songs majority of compositions. 2017 choral premiere by BBC Singers, broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Competition-winning organ piece recorded by Tom Bell on Regent Records 2021 CD "Freak Out".

  • Prayer

    Kirsten Johnson

    Prayer opens in Eb minor, with an upward arpeggio in supplication, yearning, seeking help. The piece builds to a climax, calling out in entreaty, then resolves with acceptance quietly in Gb major.

    Kirsten Johnson is a composer and pianist. Performances of her works include: the London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra; Festival Osmose, Brussels; Vent Nouveau, NYC; the Boston New Music Initiative; Fifteen Minutes of Fame, NYC. Expressions: Piano Music by Kirsten Johnson was released in 2024 (CRC 4095). www.kirstenjohnsonpiano.com/compositions.

  • Estampie

    Tamsin Jones

    The estampie was a medieval dance based on repeated strains with varied endings. This form is reimagined here as a lively, almost frantic affair in the unusual Mixolydian mode with flattened sixth. Widely spaced sonorities and the octave-doubling stop combine to provide the most spacious possible effect.

    Tamsin Jones studied music at Newcastle and Birmingham Universities in the UK, and taught compositional theory at the former for five years before taking up a new career as a church organist. She is well-known as a choral composer, but also writes frequently for organ and other instruments.

  • Veni Creator

    Michael Todd Kovell

    Veni Creator is used as a cantus firmus for this work.

    Michael Todd Kovell has had music performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has a B.Mus. from the Oberlin Conservatory, an M.Mus. from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program, and studied composition at the Schoenberg House in Austria.

  • Blue-Green

    Vinícius Nascimento

    The work Azul esverdeado is inspired by the popular Brazilian genre called Choro/Chorinho. However, with a contemporary vision mixing colors and tones, I look for new landscapes.

    Vinícius Nascimento is a composer, guitarist and writer. He graduated in Composition from the Brazilian Conservatory of Music (CBM). He is currently studying a Bachelor's degree in Classical Guitar at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He has obtained placements in several competitions and composition calls.

  • Touch Piece

    Josh Schmidt

    What it is, what it shall be, what it was...

    Josh Schmidt is a composer/sound designer/musician/educator living in Milwaukee. Film Credits include THE END (2024, Joshua Oppenheimer - director). Theatrical credits include ADDING MACHINE (Minetta Lane, NYC; A MINISTER’S WIFE (Lincoln Center, NYC); WHIDA PERU (59E59, NYC); MIDWESTERN GOTHIC (Signature, VA); GIFT OF THE MAGI (American Players Theatre, WI).

  • Ahimsa(For Solo Organ)

    Soheil Shirangi

    Ahimsa is a minimalist composition that explores the concept of non-violence through sound. Its sparse textures and subtle shifts in tone reflect the quiet power of stillness and restraint, creating a meditative space where silence and sound coexist in delicate balance.

    Soheil Shirangi Now is a student of San Francisco State University at Master of Composition. Graduate of Tehran Conservatory. Second Person Tehran International Electronic Music Festival Award(2017).Candidate best composers Thirty-third Fajr festival(2018). Earning a diploma of the III International Contest of Choral Composing named after

  • Deprecatio Imperatori: Maledictionem Organi

    David Jason Snow

    Deprecatio Imperatori: Maledictionem Organi is my soundtrack to the sleazy grindhouse horror flick we're all living through. At times like this, I wish I could just close my eyes and convince myself, "It's only a movie, it's only a movie..."

    The compositions of David Jason Snow have been performed in concert by the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the New Juilliard Ensemble, the American Brass Quintet, and other artists and ensembles at venues in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

  • Minimalist Miniature for Organ

    Tim Tricker

    Minimalist Miniature for Organ features a repeating D and B oscillation in the right hand (in recognition of the initials of David Bohn, for whom the piece is written). Harmonies build around this figure producing effects of tension and release throughout.

    Tim Tricker is a composer and conductor based in Aberdeen in Scotland. He was one of the finalists in the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition 2020. Most recently, he won the ISM prize in the Růžičková Composition Competition for his string quartet piece Beam Splitter in B minor.

  • Minute Chorale

    Jean-Pierre Vial

    Minute chorale is a short organ piece dedicated to David Bohn. The one-minute chorale requires minimal organ stops and no pedalboard.

    Jean-Pierre Vial, born in 1946 near Paris, France, is a former software designer. At an early age, he learned the piano, the organ, and composed several pieces for both instruments. Over the last decade, various soloists, small ensembles, or orchestras have performed his music worldwide.