Having composed several music beds for meditation and self-help tapes for various clients, Charles was asked if the music would ever be released on its own. At first he thought the music to be too innocuous and unassuming to stand on its own. But after a few more requests came in, Charles decided to give it a whirl. He took three of the most likely pieces, made new arrangements and orchestrations, and made a test CD of sorts. He then dropped the CD off at a coffee shop owned by a friend of his to see what would happen. He quickly got a request for a few more because a customer had purchased the CD right out of the store's player.

Having decided that the project was worthy of further development, Charles began to compose new material for a "quick and easy" CD release.

Yeah, right.

The project took on a life of its own and is still growing. Charles brought in Jeanine Erickson (flute), Helen "Teddy" Arnold (oboe), Rose Fu (violin) and David Tsien (guitar) to record the solo instrument tracks and utilized the talents of the Drew University Chorale for the title track, "Danse Macabre."

Composed and arranged with choreography in mind, the project may grow into a full-length contemporary ballet of sorts but is being release as a stand-alone product.

MP3's are posted here for you to sample.

Danse Macabre CD: $12.50 (includes shipping and handling)

Charles' most ambitious work to date, "King David" tells the story of the 2nd King in Israel. Scored for full orchestra and band, the music utilizes elements from classical, jazz, rock and contemporary musical theater. The cast is large (18 soloists and a full chorus) and is vocally demanding. For the recording, Charles called in a lot of favors to get the talent with the chops to pull it off. Several of the leads have gone on to work in prominent Broadway productions.

Recorded as a demo to promote the work, "King David" was never commercially released. The double CD set with Libretto is available by special order, however. MP3's are posted to check out.

King David double CD set with Libretto: $24.00 (includes shipping & handling).