Sketches of Elegy and Praise is an orchestral work, approximately twenty minutes in duration, cast in five movements of nearly equal length. Each movement is a miniature portrait of a person (or persons) now deceased, who was influential in the composer's life. The first movement, A Forgotten Graveyard, uses air sounds from the brass, sinuous melodic lines in the oboe and alto flute, and sustained harmonies in the strings and winds to evoke images of the weed-choked graveyard which is all that remains of Buchanan, Texas. Movement two, A Friend» uses block brass and woodwind choral effects to convey the solidity of a reliable friend. This movement is interrupted by an elegiac chorale for solo winds and string quartet, after which the previous material is recalled in a com¬ pressed form. The Sages, the third movement, commemorates several men who were advanced in years when the composer was quite young. The use of polyphonic and canonic technique, framed by brass and percussion fanfares at the beginning and end, contrasts the wisdom and dignity of age with the exuberance of youth. The middle section, in addition to canonic technique, employs a Renaissance formal procedure - the use of overlapped points of imitation. Movement four, A Young Athlete, uses driving motor rhythm, tutti unisons and brass choir block effects to evoke the perpetual motion and lean muscularity of a young athlete. The abrupt ending and truncated form suggest the tragedy of a life cut short. The final movement, Of Yesterday, utilizes multiple ostinati to suggest the continuity from generation to generation in commemorating several people whose death preceded the composer's "birth hut who were very influential nonetheless. The movement ends with a section recalling the opening of the piece. Harmonically and melodically, the work is generated from two series of pitches. Sketches is scored for a moderately large orchestra, using flutes, oboes and clarinets in threes (with the third player doubling on alto flute, English horn and bass clarinet, respectively), two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets (in C), three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, tam-tam, xylophone, tom-toms, four suspended cymbals (small, medium, large and sizzle), crash cymbals, celeste, vibraphone, temple blocks, wind chimes) and strings.