SONATA for Viola and Piano was written for Patricia McCarty and premiered by her and the composer in 1987. All three movements are unified by a recurring six-note pattern (C-E(-B(-F-G-B() used throughout as a basis for the repetitive harmonic plan of the Chaconne, as a nostalgic reminiscence in the Interlude, and as a thematic element for a mixed-meter hoedown in the Rondo.