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Highlights from the Last Month

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So, it’s been awhile since I have had time to post anything on here. 1 month in Internet time is equivalent to “like forever” in real world time as we all know. In order to make up for that time, I will attempt to explain the highlights  in a nutshell:

1) Cumulus Humilis was performed 3 times by Avguste Antonov the week of the New Music concerts at the end October. In that time, he was approached by Hartshorn record company in NY to record a cd of New piano works. To make a long story short (too late) he chose my piece to record on the Cd and I am still ecstatic!!!

2)New Pieces have been written- As an added unexpected feather in my cap, I was asked to write music for the upcoming Worlds Quest browser game. This was my first official video game related project and I am elated to say that my first attempt was a success .To sum things up, they liked it-a lot and I am grateful. The game will be released  on December 20th.

Also, I have been working on a new experiment at the request of Scott. I will be writing a blog post about it shortly. Other plans include creating a  collection of one page solos for  from all of the 8 bar excerpts that were composed for Instrumentation class this semester. I am debating calling the collection Doodles and Scribbles or something to that effect.

Desiree Carrion and I after Carols and Cocoa 2013

3) I played my last Carols and Coccoa concert of my undergrad. This was a surreal experience as it is hard to believe that the time has flown that quickly. Kudos to my friend (and soon to be SAI sister) Desiree Carrion for having her first arrangement for Trombone ensemble performed. God Rest Ye Marry Trombonists was a ball to perform for a last hurrah ,and I especially cracked up singing the Lyrics “to save us all from Schoenberg’s Music when we’ve gone astray”. For a three hour plus long annual concert that we all complain about, I’m sure going to miss performing in it-sort of.

4) In November, I helped premier  a piece for Trombone quartet by fellow composer Richard Zacharias called Pardon My Slide with my friends Mariah Bailey, Bo Violette and Andrew Stamp. I also had the honor of Performing The Dance of Spring for Yanda Zhu’s Graduate Composition Recital. If you haven’t heard of him, you probably will soon.

My Top 10 Composers

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*Disclaimer: This list tends to fluctuate on an almost a weekly basis as there are numerous composers that I admire and respect. The composers that have made this current list are the ones that end up on this list most often when someone asks me this question and are in no particular order of ranking .  When you reach the bottom, I encourage you to comment on some of your favorite composers and add to the discussion. That being said, lets get on with it.

#10: Gustav Holst

Who are they: An English composer responsible for the first original concert band piece  (Suite in Eb)and composer of The Planets among other fantastic works.

Why is he/she a favorite: He wrote some of the first band music, my favorite large scale orchestral piece (The Planets) and was also a trombone player. His story of how hard he worked in his lifetime by teaching himself to compose, deal with  having a weak constitution, and teaching many, I find inspiring. Also,I love his sense of melody and use of folk tunes in his works.

#9 Joe Hisaishi

Who are they: The composer behind much of the wonderful music in Hayao Miyazaki’s films. For Example: My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke.

Why is he/she a favorite: Many of his melodies are breathtakingly beautiful. I was first exposed to his music when watching anime such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited away, and Howls Moving Castle. When I saw him playing the piano AND conducting his own pieces simultaneously thanks to you tube, he instantly became one of my favorite living composers. He not only writes notes, but knows how to make music as well.

#8 Igor Stravinsky

Who are they: The composer responsible for the alleged May 29th, 1913 riot. It was all his fault for composing The Rite of Spring.

Why is he/she a favorite: I am a sucker for rhythm and rhythmic gestures. That being said, Stravinsky’s music captures my attention in a way that most music evades. I can also appreciate how he as a composer evolved from his early Firebird Suite days and developed a distinct voice that is heard in his ballets Petrushka and The Rite of Spring and in  Histoire du soldat . Incidentally, he was also one of Frank Zappa’s favorites as well.

#7 Koji Kondo/ Junko Tamiya/Hirokazu Tanaka

Who are they: Composers behind the music for various Nintendo and Capcom Titles. To name a few: Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda (Kondo), Bionic Commando, Little Nemo, The Dream Master (Tamiya), Metroid and Super Mario Land (Tanaka).

Why is he/she a favorite:  Having grown up in the era of the Nintendo Entertainment System, I was exposed to the 8 bit music of these games on a regular basis . Composers for these games had to be extra creative because they had a much more limited sound palate and range  to work with and had to create music that looped indefinitely. Although the  midi “instruments” sounded like beeps and boops (which probably helped earn  its passe reputation with more “serious” music critics) some of these melodies are surprisingly harmonically complex.  Kondo and Tamiya and Tanaka   are grouped together because it was their music that I was first inspired to pluck out on the piano  Many of my earlier compositions (and some recent) echo their influence.

#6 John Mackey

Who are they: Self made composer known for writing lively pieces with lots of percussion and ostinatos.

Why is he/she a favorite:  Did I mention I love Rhythm?  Also, his blog is a bowl of fun to read and he has an adorable cat. Musically speaking, I remember playing “Strange Humors” for the first time in All College Band and thinking “Woah!,  You can use Djembe in a band piece? And, I’m really allowed to gliss on my trombone? So this is what modern  band music sounds like.” Besides the fact that I enjoy his compositions, I admire him for the fact that he has literally made composing music his day job and does both the creative and business sides of music himself.

#5 Claude Debussy

Who are they: French composer labeled as an impressionist, although he probably would have disagreed with that label, according to a music history professor of mine. he Wrote the infamous Clair De Lune and  Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune.

Why is he/she a favorite:Because he dared to be different and not follow the conventions of Western music that he grew up with and still made beautiful music. The colors and scales he uses in his music are what draw me to it.

#4 Frank Zappa

Who are they:Composer known for his sensational stage antics, complex rock, Jazz, Classical and everything in between, and knowing everybody.

Why is he/she a favorite: Yes, I know that many people look at Frank Zappa the person and are instantly turned off by the absurdities or look at some of the vulgarities in his lyric content and are too disgusted to consider listening to the music. Just as many are probably intrigued. Personally, I try to ignore this when applicable and try to focus on the music only. That being said, he was very eclectic and resourceful, drawing on several influences, sound palates and styles. This is  a strategy I try to emulate with my own music but in my own way. Many are also unaware that he wrote classical music as well. The  style transitions in his music are also genius.Fun fact: Although he is no doubt eccentric, he did not support drug use and was relatively clean, aside from liking his Smoke and drink.

#3 George Gershwin

Who are they: A composer who successfully fused American Jazz, Tin Pan Alley and Classical and is known for Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess and An American in Paris.

Why is he/she a favorite: This man’s music is Fun to listen to. I’ve Got Rhythm, Swanee, and the tune from Rhapsody in Blue all got stuck in my head at one time or another and, unlike most ear worms, I was OK with it. Also, although I did not list any more jazz composers on this particular list, Jazz  is a genre that I enjoy listening to and it is interesting to hear the obvious influence in his music.

#2 Ralph Vaughn Williams

Who are they: An English composer who was a friend to Gustav Holst and wrote some gorgeous orchestral music in my humble opinion.

Why is he/she a favorite:  Three words: The Lark Ascending.

#1 Me…….Just Kidding

The actual # 1 is Bela Bartok

Who are they:Hungarian Composer who gathered Folk melodies, wrote pieces for students and professionals alike.

Why is he/she a favorite: As an avid lover of Folk influence in music, he is a composer up my ally. Plus, in theory classes, I sincerely enjoyed analyzing his music. It was fun to see how much thought was put into his music and it still sounds musical to me. Unlike many other pieces that I have studied, his have always been like putting a rewarding  jigsaw puzzle together. After doing the academic work to find the visual pattern on the page, the resulting sound “picture” was not torture to the ear, even with the amount of sophistication in the pieces studied. Also as a teacher, he knew how to write music that was geared towards teaching students that was also not corny (like many tunes in student level books) to listen to when playing through it. On top of that, his last name is just plain cool;cool enough for the white bat in Anastasia to share the same name.

New Music Concerts this week (and a piece of mine that will be played)!

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A picture of Cloud Pictures.

Hello everybody,

I wish to inform you of the upcoming New Music Society concerts this coming week, featuring guest artist Avguste Antonov. You can find the whole press release here. As an added bonus, I am privileged to say that Avguste, an amazingly technical and accomplished pianist (and who has become a friend over the years) will be performing one of my pieces, Cumulis Humilis (Cloud Pictures) on  these concerts, among other talented local composer’s works.

Here is the schedule:

10/23 Wednesday at 12:15pm, Butler institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio

10/23 Wednesday at 8:00pm, Bliss Recital Hall, Youngstown, Ohio

10/24  Thursday at 5:30pm, Holy Apostles Church on Covington Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio

All of these concerts are FREE to the public and I would love to see you there.

Also, If you would like to hear my music in action, check out the  Performances and Premiers page for more information.

The Recording of Eclectic Images is Finally Here!!!!

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Eclectic Images is a piece with varying musical styles, moods and melodic ideas. Movement one evokes the image of a hurricane and the eye that inevitably comes along with it. You will hear the music evolve from a dark dissonant mood to a jazz inspired rhythmic ostinato played by the bass. Sunshine will pass through the eye in a jovial dance rhythm played by the orchestra before a dark mood returns. Movement two is based on an incomplete melody that recycles itself in several ways, meant to represent relatives at a large gathering. You will hear the ambiance of the occasion, members of the family like the interrupting uncle and playing cousins, and feelings of memories discussed. River Route begins with a calm stream represented by the solo violin and later cello and traces the various depths and speeds that a river route can take. How will this trip end? Movement Four, as the title suggests, is meant to evoke an experience of extreme happiness. The movement takes elements of the first three movements and combines them with a Celtic inspired melody that pits the rhythms of 6/8 and 3/4 against each other.

 

 

Update on Summer Vacation ’13 and Goal list

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A while ago, I posted a blog entry which outlined my intended goals for the summer of 2013. With the Summer drawing to a close and the beginning of the last  year of my undergrad swiftly approaching, I feel that this is a good time to reflect on what I have done  and still need to accomplish before school starts.

Goal number one: Compose/arrange twenty minutes of music

Mission Acomplished! However, the pursuit of this goal had some mixed/unintended results.

1)Orchestrating the rest of Of Wizards and Dragons For Wind Ensemble-and in the process learning how to orchestrate- This piece is now about 65% done. In the process of playing with this piece and having received valuable guidance From Scott Pfitzinger this summer, I have learned so much about this process, but there is still so much that I want/ need to learn still. There are  so many possibilities that I want to exploit before releasing the final version.

2)Working on Music for The Adventure Path series, and hoping to write a blog post about it soon-More Music has been written. However, before I can post a blog entry, I must get permission and clearance from the producers. Development for the series is now in progress and it sounds as though it will be awesome when it’s done. If you are interested in learning more about the series, click HERE for a link to their Facebook page.

3) Writing an accapella vocal piece per request of my teacher– This work is now in progress!

4) Correcting old scores, touching up Hoover’s Paradise, and finishing my just for fun band arrangement of Ghostbusters– Hoover’s Paradise has been improved/ reworked   (and will hopefully be premiered this School year!) However, I have yet  to finish the rest of this goal due to some of the pieces that have popped up. To Elaborate:

a) A  Fanfare that I had hoped would be played  sometime during a YSU Football game this season. It blends elements of YSU’s Alma Mater ( a melody from Brahms Symphony no 1) and the Fight Song. There is also an audience involvement cheer as well. At least the experience of having written it will hopefully help prepare me for if I ever get a commission to write something akin to it in the future.

b) Characture, a woodwind quintet that I had begun in early spring has been expanded an completed (outside of the edits that are sure to appear in my lesson). The piece illustrates the situations and people that one may encounter on a daily basis.

c) A just for fun brass trio about  cloud-sailing pirates. This has been put away for the time being but will likely be picked up on a day when  the orchestration for ‘Dragons isn’t flowing.

d)The Essay-UPDATE: due to a last minute situation with personnel, we were unable to perform it as planned. However, the professor has offered us the chance to come in and perform it in one of his fall classes. Sometimes things don’t work out as planned but I am elated that he is giving  us this chance. I am currently in the process of negotiating a time/date for the performance. Also, if anything, the piece will be performed live at my upcoming senior  composition recital (Date TBA).

Goal Number Two: Get as much trombone performance and practice in as possible

This goal is a never ending work in progress. Currently, I am working on the audition excerpts even more so after a lesson that turned simultaneously into  a confirmation that the work has been paying off and a wake up call that I need to learn the excerpts much better than I felt that I had them.

YACCB Trombones 2013 playing the National Anthem at the Scrappers baseball game August 11th.
YACCB Trombones 2013 playing the National Anthem at the Scrappers baseball game August 11th.

I feel that joining the YACCB for the summer was the best decision I made for improving my playing because of the ample performing opportunities and, the commitment that I had made gave me even more incentive to pick up my horn and practice. Also, as an added bonus, the Trombone section had the privilege of playing the Star Spangled Banner at  a Scrappers baseball game this past Sunday, This is an opportunity I would have missed if I didn’t join.

Goal number Three: Learn something new

I have definitely accomplished this goal and then some. Camping at Pennsic was the best thing that I did for this.  During that wonderful week in the current middle ages, I was taught (rather unexpectedly) how to tell a story as people might have done back then (and told to stand up and do it myself- and I enjoyed it too), the history, identification and application of henna, tips for performance in front of an audience, the art of filk and folk songs of the SCA, and a host of other miscellaneous facts.

Also, I learned that:

Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family

Pirates and sailors  used limes, not usually oranges, to treat scurvy.

Pirates would use rum for a variety of things, most notably to sterilize water (or to drink instead of water because alcohol kills germs and was deemed safer than water) and to get a person who needed a limb amputated , possibly from gangrene, so drunk that he wouldn’t really care that he was  in immense pain.

There is a proper method to choosing and tying a leather belt.

The Ghostbusters theme matches the medieval dance “Black Nag”.

Celtic/ Indian history fascinates me.

Goal number Four: Make sure that I spend some time with Friends every week and do something non music related with them (at least 3 hours per week).

I feel that I have done a good job in holding this goal up. Also, in keeping with learning something new as well, I have begun taking  weekly driving lessons.

Now my new goals to accomplish before I run out of time are to send out the rest of my letters, get the rest of the portfolio ready to send out, and to get some new music posted to the site for some feedback.

Help to get your Creative Juices Flowing Again (composition edition)

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Anyone who has done  a large amount of composing knows that  from time to time,  a creative rut can occur. But have hope. These mental blocks can’t last forever and there is help out there. Here is  a list of ideas to help with getting rid of writers block that I’ve learned over the years from others as well as from personal experience.

1) Pick an instrument and give yourself a time limit to compose (I usually do 45 minutes to an hour). After the time is up, do not touch the piece for the rest of the day. Repeat several days in a row with a new piece each time.

The best thing about this exercise is that, though whatever comes out of the session may not be a masterpiece, it gets you in the habit of writing every day and may even help you develop a more efficient way of writing down ideas and coming up with them quicker. Also you can always take fragments of these bits later and use them in a larger work. Many thanks goes to fellow composer Dan Brandt for showing me this exercise.

2) Read a book and envision a movie score.

This works best with Fiction Novels. As an example, Of Wizards and Dragons is inspired by events of the first book in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

3) Get a list of random subjects and pick them out of a hat.

Whatever you pick is the subject for your next work. (similarly, you can do this by putting instruments into a hat and repeating the same process) Here is a list to help you get started.

4)Step away from the Music and give your mind a break.
Sometimes doing something non-musical like taking a walk or attending a scientific lecture  can inspire in unexpected ways. When I studied with Dr. Gwen Rollin, she recounted how her former  composition teacher, Iannis Xenakis, once required his students to drive a long way to a lecture about celestial bodies. His justification : inspiration for a piece can come from any source and educating the mind is always beneficial.

5)Ask a musician friend for an assignment

…or what it is they want to hear for their instrument and write it for them. Bonus: There is a greater chance that your piece will be performed.

6)Pick 3 instruments/ styles that you have not written for yet and write a trio.

You can also apply this exercise to time signatures and voices you have not used yet in a piece.

7) Reverse your Process

If you are used to writing the melody first and then the accompaniment, try writing the accompaniment first next time. Or, vice-verse.

8)Pick 5 notes at random

This is your melody. You can further challenge yourself by allowing these to be the only pitches allowed in the piece.

9) Mirror Image

At a keyboard,  pick two pitches, preferably at least an octave apart. When one pitch goes up a third, the other pitch goes down a third for example. Try playing with various combinations. I have “accidentally” come up with germ  melodies and harmonies this way.

10) Close your eyes and don’t look at what you play.

Let your musical ear and creative heart be the only things that guide you. Don’t forget to record yourself in the process.

Most importantly, remember to Always Be Open, as anything may prove to be an inspiration for a piece.

If my fellow composers have any other suggestions to add to this list, please leave them in the comments below. And as always, Happy Composing!

What I’m doing with my Summer Vacation

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…Besides work that is. This summer happens to be a special one as it is the first that I am staying full time in  the state of Ohio. To celebrate this fact, and the fact that It’s my last summer as an undergrad (hence possibly the last summer for awhile that I will have this much time on my hands) I have created a list of goals that I want to accomplish before the first day of the Fall Semester.

Goal number one: Compose/arrange twenty minutes of music

So far I am about 8 minutes in. At the moment, I am working on the following:

1)Orchestrating the rest of Of Wizards and Dragons For Wind Ensemble-and in the process learning how to orchestrate

2)Working on Music for The Adventure Path series-and hoping to write a blog post about it soon

3) Writing an accapella vocal piece per request of my teacher

4) Correcting old scores, touching up Hoover’s Paradise, and finishing my just for fun band arrangement of Ghostbusters.

Goal Number Two: Get as much trombone performance and practice in as possible

I am doing this by making sure to practice every day, participating in the YACCB, reading in a weekly Orchestral Excerpt reading club, and playing duets whenever I can. Even though I am a composer, I believe that it is just as important to keep my playing chops up. How else will I meet and convince musicians to give my music a chance one day? Also, I have too much fun playing the trombone to give it up now.

Goal number Three: Learn something new

This goal is being accomplished by researching and practicing orchestration, reading lots of books on the subject, and learning about building websites. Also, Pennsic is coming up so I will hopefully be learning a lot about life in the Middle Ages there as well.

Goal number Four: Make sure that I spend some time with Friends every week and do something non music related with them (at least 3 hours per week).

This is not as easy as it sounds. When you devote your life to becoming a musician, a lot of time is invested in practicing the craft  and  it is sometimes easy to forget about everything and everyone else that is important in your life. Also, I have found that sometimes trying something new that is not related to composition somehow inspires the mind to create something, even if the only reason is that the brain is getting rest from thinking constantly about music. I have created a list of friends and family that will be receiving a handwritten letter every Friday (one to two people/ week) from now until the first day of fall Semester. Also, I need to take a day to write a list of things that need to be accomplished this Fall. Oh Yeah, I also intend to get my driver’s license before I forget.

Best Extra Credit Ever

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Being a musician in an English class can have its perks. Today is a lesson in  being open to any opportunity that may open up unexpectedly to have one’s music performed and exposed to an unlikely audience.  When I began taking this class, it was discovered through introductions that we had four musicians; a violin, trumpet, french horn, and trombone (me). When I announced that I compose in my introduction, the instructor seized the opportunity and offered the extra credit opportunity of a semester. My task was to compose a short piece for the four of us musicians of varying ability and write an essay about collaboration.

So far the piece is composed (you can listen to it here) and is called The Essay because of the nature of the assignment.  The piece will be videotaped and shown to the class. Stay tuned for a video in the coming week and  blog entry about the collaboration experience.

Eclectic Images

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Hey Look! I’ve been reviewed.

This was from the Dana New Music Festival concert on May 1st 2013. It was a truly enlightening experience to work with a group this large for the first time and I felt that they did an admirable job on my piece, Eclectic Images, as well as the numerous pieces composed by other talented area composers and the concert, though long, was wonderful.

One thing that I will take away from this experience is the lesson of Patience. It takes a lot of time and effort to compose a piece of music this length(this piece alone was the result of at least 200 hours and probably more, four and a half months of long nights of hair tearing from working and reworking themes and trying to figure out Finale’s many cleverly hidden features,  and many hours of listening to string music and reading about the instruments) . The imagination to come up with the themes and harmonies is often the easiest part of the process. It’s the craft of editing  and re editing the score multiple times to make sure that a) the rhythms and notes are not only playable by the musicians but as efficiently scored as possible so they are able to read the rhythms in one or two read-througs, b) The score is organized in the best format possible so that conductor and musicians can REMAIN AS CALM AS POSSIBLE and avoid unnecessary confusion and aggravation in the rehearsal as most groups have limited rehearsal time and c) There are NO PARALLEL FIFTHS! (this has been drilled and instilled by many a composition professor in voice leading instruction and considering that my professor, Dr. Robert Rollin, was the conductor for this concert, I needed to be on double duty watchdog mode for this, and other common errors). Many thanks to Dr. Gweneth Rollin for  the hours sitting with me and walking me through this process,as well as editing much of the score and parts outside of my lessons as well.

The most difficult movement for me to score  was the fourth, Sheer Elation, mostly because of the poly-rhythmic structure of 6/8 against 3/4  that would not always line up then inputted into the computer and ended up being scored in 6/4 with grouped triplets . This was also probably the most difficult for the musicians to read as well for similar reasons but ironically became the favorite of many of them and the audience.  For a future version of this movement, I may re-score the piece in 4/4 with drag triplets to make it even more efficient but that is a project for a future date when I have some more time.

All in all, the hours spent on this piece were well worth it. It was a pleasure working with the Festival Orchestra and having the privilege of hearing Eclectic Images performed in real life and not on a midi player for the remainder of its existence.

Matt’s Music

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I know this is old news but it is also good news. Back in early February 2013, my mom approached me over the phone and asked me to write a brass piece for students to play for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Matt’s Music Store in Tonawanda NY. Gladly I obliged not knowing what I was getting into. For this piece, I got to practice writing music for a student level ensemble for the first time. This is something that I hope to do many more times in the future and this was a great opportunity to do so.

While I was beginning to construct the piece, it was requested that the piece be fun, attention getting, and that it include some of the music that students studying their instruments would be practicing and subsequently, the staff at the store would hear on a constant basis during student’s lessons. I then came up with the Idea of beginning with a Fanfare that made use of common chord structures and melodies like Do a dear. I then decided to make the piece go into a Polka that includes the infamous “Hot Cross Buns” because Mr. Matt is an avid accordion player who has appeared on the Lawrence Welk show. The piece then evolved into an eclectic style medley of swing (referencing the fact that the Store has a Jazz band) pop songs quotes that you may hear through the walls,and other typical lesson book songs.

All though composing this I had to keep the ability level of the players in mind and there were some things that initially did not work because of this. However, it was the process of changing things to make them more idiomatic for the students where I learned the most from this piece (thank you Mom for the guidance). Even though I was not able to be there for the premiere, I am told that the students had fun playing it and that Mr. Matt and the Audience enjoyed it. Also, it helps that those kids did a fantastic job, and my mom did great coaching the quintet, Without them, this would not have happened. All in all, it was a very rewarding experience that I am proud of and I had a BLAST doing it.

P.S. if you read this whole post and watched the video, you are AWESOME! Also, remember, Feedback is always welcome and much appreciated.