Welcome!
I’m Maxwell Lowery, a music teacher, composer, and violist! I’m passionate about string orchestra education and viola music—whether I’m playing or writing it!
Visit the shop to see my compositions and arrangements!
About me
My Beginnings
I started composing music in 2011 when I was in eighth grade, after my brother showed me how to use MuseScore—I still use MuseScore today! Here is a photo of me performing my first-ever composition at the junior high talent show.
High School Days
In high school, I had huge support from my orchestra teacher. He programmed an entire string symphony that I composed on a concert, and encouraged me to enter the Illinois state composition competitions, where I won several prizes.
Training in College
At the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), I started out as a viola major, added a music theory double major, and eventually added minors in composition and eurhythmics. I am proud of my high-level training, which informs and enhances my work. I wrote tons of short exercises/pieces during my music theory coursework, such as this fugue!
Sonata for Viola and Piano (2018)
From 2011-2018, I wrote music emulating the common practice era. My studies of counterpoint and tonal harmony culminated in my colossal Sonata for Viola and Piano in d minor, the earliest piece that is available here on my website! This piece has it all: memorable themes both turbulent and ecstatic, flashy virtuosic fireworks, and contrapuntal wizardry. I performed it at my CIM junior recital.
So you’ve played Brahms’s, Vieuxtemps’s, and Bowen’s sonatas, Bruch’s Romance, and various works by both Schumanns, and you’re looking for your next big passionate Romantic-Era work. Well, look no further than my own 2018 sonata for Viola and Piano!
From 2011-2018, I wrote music emulating the common practice era. My studies of counterpoint and tonal harmony culminated in my colossal Sonata for Viola and Piano in d minor, the earliest piece that is available here on my website! Three passionate and dramatic movements encompass a wide range of common-practice-era compositional techniques. Memorable themes cover the spectrum from dark and turbulent to soaring and ecstatic. Flashy virtuosic fireworks contrast with introspective lyricism. Contrapuntal wizardry is on full display—motivic transformation saturates the entire work, fugato sections appear in each movement, and hidden canons embellish developmental passages. If you are a fan of the Romantic Era, I believe this is the piece for you!
I performed it at my CIM junior recital—listen with this link. See the image of me playing below! (Note-this is a link to a score video, with an out-of-date score. The score that you are purchasing was heavily revised and modernized in 2026!)
You will receive a zip folder containing the score and viola part.
On the Trail (2018) - piano quartet
In the second half of 2018, I officially became a composition minor at CIM and started taking composition lessons for the first time in my life. With that guidance, I was emboldened to make a huge shift in my creative output. 19th-century styles were out, and I focused on finding my own voice. I sought inspiration from programmatic themes and pursued a more modern compositional style. The first piece I came up with is the epic On the Trail, an eleven-movement piano quartet about hiking a mountain. Three of my friends and I performed the world premiere that school year.
On the Trail will be available for purchase soon! Email me if you really want it and I can speed up the process.
Nostalgia (2019) - viola solo
In December 2018, violist Molly Wise, who is now my wife, commissioned a short work for solo viola to perform at her CIM senior recital. I wrote Nostalgia, capturing the idea of bittersweet memories with light and dark moods, various open string drones that accompany the same tune in different ways, and a fixation on major seventh chords, my favorite type of chord. Molly gave the world premiere.
Beautiful and heartwarming, Nostalgia floats between bright and dark moods as you ponder your bittersweet memories of childhood. At a contemplative 7 minutes, it is the perfect slow piece to add to the middle of your recital program if you are looking for something contemporary and unaccompanied!
Landscapes (2019) - flute, viola, harp trio
I almost always write for strings or piano. To expand my horizons, my composition lessons focused on orchestration and learning about other instruments. I really enjoyed learning about the harp, and composed Landscapes, my flute, viola, harp trio. Three movements inspired by landscape paintings take the listener to the nighttime Ocean, the dark and spooky Forest, and the Plains with wild horses racing about. The world premiere was given by friends at CIM.
Landscapes will be available for purchase soon! Email me if you really want it and I can speed up the process.
A Very Long Day (2020) - viola solo
In January 2020, I was a second-semester senior at CIM, and the theme of my upcoming senior recital was “unaccompanied works composed after my birth.” For that recital, I composed A Very Long Day, a four-movement suite for solo viola that tells the story of an eventful afternoon in the life of a toddler. The protagonist has a temper tantrum, a nap, a time out, and attends a birthday party! My recital ended up on Zoom due to COVID-19, and I gave the world premiere in my parents’ living room. I performed it again when I was on the production staff of the Bowdoin music festival.
In January 2020, I was a second-semester senior at CIM, and the theme of my upcoming senior recital was “unaccompanied works composed after my birth.” For that recital, I composed A Very Long Day. Inspired by a day in the life of an archetypal little kid, this fourteen-minute, four-movement suite for solo viola presents a wide spectrum of emotions and viola techniques!
The ferocious first movement, Spilt Milk, depicts a temper tantrum with dissonant perpetual motion 16ths!
The serene second movement, Nap, depicts a peaceful sleep, a pleasant dream, and a nightmare through soft bariolage, sometimes with sul ponticello, as well as soaring melodies and twisting chromatic lines!
The imposing third movement, Intermezzo: the Aftermath of an Indoor Crayola Mural, depicts a time out, with a stark left-hand-pizzicato heartbeat accompanying a funeral-march tune!
The boisterous finale, Cake and Balloons, depicts a birthday party with plenty of quartal double stops, trills, glissandi, harmonics, and more celebratory sounds, with a brief nod toward the “Happy Birthday” song at the very end!
My recital ended up on Zoom due to COVID-19, and I gave the world premiere in my parents’ living room. I performed it again when I was on the production staff of the Bowdoin music festival—listen here.See the image below of me at my recital, and note the use of three music stands at the same time as I didn’t have an iPad yet!
Cloudgazing (2020) - octet for 4 violins, 4 violas
I vividly remember a fascinating 5th-grade science unit about identifying types of clouds, where each day we went outside and reported cloud data to NASA! I still remember all the different types of clouds, and when I had the idea to write an octet for four violins and four violas, I knew clouds would be the perfect theme. Cloudgazing has never been performed live, because COVID-19 cancelled my plans to play it with friends at CIM; in 2025, I recorded all eight parts myself in this video!
This fun and compact 9-minute, four-movement suite depicts four types of clouds and packs an experimental punch with tons of extended techniques! Get a group of eight chinstrument-wielding companions together for the perfect exciting closer for your next concert! Natural and artificial harmonics represent high-altitude wispy Cirrus clouds, popcorn pizzicato represents rows of small puffy Altocumulus clouds, dreary sul tasto, creepy glissandos, and spazzolato represent gloomy Stratus clouds, and finally an explosively chromatic fugue represents the thunderclouds, Cumulonimbus!
I learned most of the extended techniques used in this piece by studying Garth Knox’s Viola Spaces, so this octet will tie into any viola student’s curriculum nicely.
Busy Bees (2020) - violin duo
While living with my family during COVID-19, I was enjoying views of my mom’s flower garden and came up with some ideas for Busy Bees, a very short violin duo. The two violins perform slurred sixteenth-note passages, written with close intervals, to imitate the sound of bees buzzing! It has never been performed live, but after acquiring a violin, I made a recording playing both parts myself in 2022.
While living with my family during COVID-19, I was enjoying views of my mom’s flower garden and came up with some ideas for Busy Bees, a very short violin duo. This charming miniature depicts the strenuous flight of a pair of busy worker bees! Undulating sixteenth-note patterns and close intervals imitate the classic buzzing sound. Sudden dynamic shits and dissonance accentuate the drama of the life of a bee, and a mysterious ending leaves the bees’ final fates uncertain.
A great add-on or encore for your recital with a friend!
This piece has never been performed live, but after acquiring a violin, I made a recording playing both parts myself in 2022—listen with this link!
good morning, beautiful (2021) - viola and piano
Molly commissioned a work for viola and piano for one of her Masters recitals at Rice University. Stylized in lowercase to impart an aura of gentleness, good morning, beautiful is about waking up peacefully beside your partner on a day off. There is a mysterious opening viola cadenza for nighttime, a delicate piano entrance at dawn, a sweeping, poignant theme for sunrise, a ringing alarm clock, and a chaotic section of noises accumulating outside your window. Molly gave the world premiere.
good morning, beautiful will be available for purchase soon! Email me if you really want it and I can speed up the process.
Magical Miniatures (2021) - viola duo
One of my most standout large-scale works is Magical Miniatures, a collection of no fewer than twenty-six miniature movements that work together to tell a fantasy story. The work travels through diverse magical landscapes, meets a varied cast of characters, and faces multiple obstacles and adventures before the journey comes to an end! In each miniature, I focused on a particular compositional device or instrumental technique to create a unique sound for that part of the story. Molly and I gave the world premiere at a concert for my grandma at her retirement community.
Magical Miniatures is a substantial concert piece for two violas! Consisting of 26 short movements, this 42-minute epic is the centerpiece for your viola duo concert. Take the audience on a fantastical journey through epic landscapes, such as mountain, forest, and clouds; introduce them to memorable characters including bunnies, mermaids, and unicorns; and experience unforgettable musical adventures together!
The 26 movements each feature unique viola techniques or compositional strategies, giving each one a unique sound! Explore a wide variety of scales and harmonies and execute a spectrum of extended techniques to bring this story to life.
Shades of Green (2022) - viola and piano
Shades of Green is a theme-and-variations showpiece for the viola and piano! It’s based on a movement of one of my earlier viola sonatas, composed in 2016, back when I was still a composer-in-training. That sonata as a whole is buried in my past as a “student piece,” but I always loved this one movement for its quirky rhythms and transformative variations. In 2022 I heavily refreshed and revised it, adding one additional variation, and giving it the colorful title! It has never been played.
Shades of Green is a theme-and-variations showpiece for the viola and piano! It’s based on a movement of one of my earlier viola sonatas, composed in 2016, back when I was still a composer-in-training. That sonata as a whole is buried in my past as a “student piece,” but I always loved this one movement for its quirky rhythms and transformative variations. In 2022 I heavily refreshed and revised it, adding one additional variation, and giving it the colorful title! It has never been played.
The boisterous initial theme is full of quirky metrical shenanigans and charming accented nonharmonic tones. The variations that follow include perpetual motion, a lilting dance, a dignified slow procession, a minor-mode scherzo, a spritely march, and finally, a big buildup and a grand finale. This whimsical joyride works well as a recital opener or closer!
You will receive a zip folder containing score and viola part.
Fruity 575 (2023) - treble voice and piano
Another of my rare non-viola works, Fruity 575 is a zany song cycle where all the lyrics (written by me!) are in the form of Haiku poetry and are about fruits! The Apple, Tomato (huh?), Watermelon, Pomegranate, Pear, Orange, and Banana are the fruits in question, with the lyrics describing physical features, culinary uses, and even heartfelt emotional connections of each fruit. I wrote most of it in 2023, then finished it up and hired two professional musicians to make a studio recording in 2025.
Do you like Fruit? Do you like Haiku Poetry? Do you like Lieder? Then you’ll LOVE my composition, Fruity 575! This 15-minute cycle for voice and piano consists of seven songs about tasty fruits with original haiku poetry for their lyrics. Savor the sweet crunch of an autumn apple; question the classification of a tomato as a fruit; tremble in fear of a watermelon growing inside your body; contemplate smashing pomegranates to access their seeds; ponder the romantic sweetness of a pear; taste the delicious juice of an orange, pulpy or pulp-free; and celebrate the joyous banana in this fun and lighthearted set of songs!
Voice range: A3-Ab5
Night Light (2025) - viola and piano
I consider Night Light my greatest achievement as a composer. This five-movement, 35-minute work for viola and piano is inspired by nighttime, childhood, and my fear - both as a kid and today - of the dark. This is a classic “Max” work, the culmination of all my musical studies, and contains all my favorite devices: virtuosic viola writing, contrasting light and dark moods, octatonic clusters and major seventh chords, motivic transformations, sweeping, passionate themes, and a heroic conclusion as day breaks, ending the terror of the dark!! It has never been played.
Night Light will be available for purchase soon! Email me if you really want it and I can speed up the process.