“With Thursday’s performance of ‘Pulse,’ the BSO [Boston Symphony] performed its first-ever piece by Brian Raphael Nabors.” “…I hope that name [Brian Raphael Nabors] shows up on another BSO program before too long. Crackling and teeming with life, ‘Pulse’ was music for and of fireworks.”
–A.Z. Madonna, The Boston Globe

"Pulse is also, though, an exuberant display of expressive virtuosity: a demonstration of his ability, like a film composer, to shift through emotional gears quickly while strongly maintaining the thread of the musical narrative." 
–Robert Kirzinger, Boston Symphony

“…an impressive opener to the concert, and left one keen to hear more of his music.”
David J. Brown, LA Opus

"Pulse" is the first of a triptych of works–along with "Onward" (2019) & "Upon Daybreak" (2022)–that explore subjects on humanity, nature, and our place in the universe. They each have a similar length and construction, respectively capitalizing on the use of perpetual motion figures to pull the listener through the sonic experience. Although similar in makeup, each approaches the sonic landscape differently.

My conception of ‘Pulse’ began as a long contemplation of daily life as we know it, combined with thoughts of life in nature. The universe seems to have this natural rhythm to it. It is as if every living and moving thing we are aware and unaware of is being held together by a mysterious, resolute force. Pulse is an episodic rhapsody that explores several phases and colorful variants of rhythm all held together by an unwavering pulse.

Each episode is meant to symbolize a different scenario of life for the listener, be it a buzzing modern metropolis, a deep wilderness abundant with animalia, or the scenic endless abyss of the ocean. All of these worlds and their philosophical meanings are then brought together in a contemplative theme of "unification" in the strings that symbolizes our deep connection as living beings to everything within, over, under, and around us.

*First performed by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero on September 9th, 2019 in Laura Turner Concert Hall at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN for the NSO 2019 Composer Lab Showcase.