Abducted By Aliens, Op. 222, is star-charted over Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony, with additional ISO's (Identified Sounding Objects) including Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Claude Debussy's Nocturnes, Zoltan Kodaly's Hary Janos, Jacapo da Bologna's Non al suo Amante, Dave Grohl's Times Like These (Foo Fighters), Alexander Courage's Star Trek, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1, Bela Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Camille Saint-Saens's Danse Macabre and Carnival of the Animals, George Crumb's Black Angels, George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Igor Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles, W.A. Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, Dmitri Shostakovich's The Nose, and Gustav Holst's The Planets -- all subject to various comedic / eclectic / minimalist observations.

Inspired by and composed during a transcontinental train journey, Railway Sonata incorporates everything from orchestral sound effects to nouveau folk and jazz melodies to convey a sense of traveling on the train.

The Lariat was written in collaboration with Tribal Chairwoman and linguist, Louise Miranda Ramirez and other members of the tribe. The performance will be based on the novella of the same name by Jaime De Angulo, writer and anthropologist for UC Berkeley who lived and worked extensively with American Indian tribes along California's Central Coast during the 1920's and 30's. The orchestral excerpts are based on California birdsongs, recorded and notated by the composer in the coastal highlands, and included in opera as interludes. The Lariat will premiere at the World Theatre at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) on February 8, 2015. The university is located at Ford Ord on traditional Esselen territory.

Front Line was premiere this past June 8 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco. A three-movement work for narrator, mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra, it features narrator Emmanuel Williams and soprano Lisa Scola Prosek "This is a very dark work, incorporating three war poems by Pacifica poet Emmanuel Williams," Kimbell said. "Emmanuel will recite his own poetry with orchestral accompaniment. The orchestra illustrates and amplifies the poetry. The use of a speaker instead of a singer was pioneered by the Czech composer Georg Benda, a contemporary of Mozart, whose 'melodramas' inspired my own work. My own music uses traditional formal, dramatic and contrapuntal gestures, combining them with more expanded modern harmonic idioms." This work came about after Kimbell and Williams met each other at Florey's Book Co. in March of 2013. The beloved bookstore on Palmetto hosts many events, including book signings and poetry nights. This particular poetry event featured Williams - a published poet, author, actor, riddle-maker, multi-media director, dramatist, photographer, and longtime Pacifican (by way of South East England). "I was immediately struck by the power and polish of Emmanuel's work and also the excellence of his delivery," Kimbell said, "so much so that I asked him to be the narrator for my work, Time Does Not Move. This piece was also written for speaker and orchestra and it uses poetry written by Swiss poet Gottfried Keller." Using Kimbell's compositional skills and Williams' poetic skills, the two men decided to collaborate on a miniature Benjamin Britten War Requiem, and Front Line was born.

Raven and Panther is the story of two animals, born on the same day and bound by a deep life-long friendship. The piece was inspired by Jennifer S. Holland's Unlikely Friendships.

I. Grandfather Tree - Raven and Panther were born in the Jungle the same day. Grandfather Tree was their home. Raven began life in the canopy and Panther in a den deep in the roots. From the first days that they began venturing out of nest and den they became best friends.
II. Raven - Like most of his kind, Raven was crafty, wild and comical. He was also extremely intelligent and a loner. After he left the nest he rarely spent time with his own kind. There was something about the big black cat that attracted him.
Ill. Panther - Panther remembered the day at the stream where the hunters killed her mother. Raven had warned them both, and Panther had run up into the rocks to hide, but her mother did not understand Raven's warning and had been shot with a poison arrow at the stream. When either one was ill or hurt, the other would supply the food, water and care. Panther was a formidable and powerful killer, but always kind, gentle and protective of Raven.
IV. The Hunt - Raven would accompany Panther on hunting expeditions, and his ability to fly high and spot game made it easy for Panther to track down pray. Raven, often in the lead, had the job of disrupting a heard of monkeys in the trees and beginning the chase. Eventually a younger or weaker monkey would become separated from the rest and Raven would surprise it, knock it from canopy to the ground below where Panther was waiting.
V. Sunset - At sunset after a day of adventures the two would settle into a spot high in the branches of Grandfather Tree to spend the night.
VI. Epilogue - For their whole lives Raven and Panther lived together in the jungle and shared a bond of friendship and love.