Generation Upon Generation for woodwind quintet (1980) is about the process of reproduction and evolution from the smallest to the largest level. The first movement, "Through the Microscope", describes this process on the cellular level. The second movement, "Through the Naked Eye," is a satirical look at the reproduction on a human scale. The third movement, "Through the 'Macroscope'," depicts the birth and death of stars and galaxies.
The piece was commissioned by the Composers Forum and Chamber Music Conference
of the East at Bennington.