Thoughts and Decisions

Beginning the thought process for moving to a new city is a difficult task. I don't feel that overwhelmed, to be honest. I used to live in Chicago for a year - granted, that was 10 years ago. My choices now are whether to live on campus or off campus, whether to get a part time job or perhaps apply for work study, and what equipment am I going to need to get to ensure that I do my best at the university. The on campus/off campus decision is a hard one - largely because it's like weighing to evils. Off campus housing in Chicago can be cheaper BUT it can also be more costly when bills and food costs weigh in. On campus housing in Chicago can be pricier BUT it can less costly considering your not paying for utilities! Transportation isn't an issue as the school requires students to have a CTA pass - so that is at least one factor that is alleviated. I'm kind of bent on the job issue. A music major degree, I've always known, requires a LOT of work. Rehearsals, practicing, composition time, study time, etc. can eat away at any amount of free time that I might have available to me to work a part time job. Work study, however, appears to be the best fix for that as the school would work around MY schedule! Finally, I'm going to need to get a new macbook or mac pc to make sure that my computer and software are in synch. Ah, so much to think about. It's exciting!

Accepted!

I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University! I plan on accepting close to the end of April AFTER I get up the $1,000 tuition/housing deposit! I was so excited to receive the news and am extremely thankful that I have been given the chance to pursue my career goals at such a fantastic institution AND a great city! Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me to apply! <3

A Friends Work

It's not my habit on here to share many works by my peers on Young Composers Music Forum, but this work I felt deserved a little plug. The work is by Justin Tokke.

Piano Sonata No. 1: Movs. 2, 3

The work is a wonderful compendium of various styles BUT it doesn't quite show upon first listening, which I find to be a wonderful thing that draws me into a work. The playfulness of the 3rd movement got stuck in my head while waiting for World Religions today.

Sofia Gubaidulina - A new role model!

I've been becoming increasingly more aware of the work of Sofia Gubaidulina. I was perusing YouTube to hear famous violist, Yuri Bashmet, and came across a viola concerto by Sofie Gubaidulina. Instantly, upon hearing, I was mesmerized. The work was in a basic ritornello form but was amazing in scope and intensity. After spending months listening to nothing but Gubaidulina, I have gained an amazing respect for this modern composer! If only I could study with her!

Here is her Piano Concerto:

Lisztian Gems

I was perusing the vast amount of videos on YouTube and came across this amazing gem by Liszt. I knew Liszt had experimented with quasi-atonality and other things, but this work really took my breath away. I think I might arrange this some day for strings - it'd be gorgeous!

A Beautiful Tuesday

I have a bit of free time today. I think I might be able to get some more work done on 'Story of the First Butterflies'. I may also make some amending to Imprintations. I received a lot of VERY positive feedback on the work. Lots of recordings to pour over! I didn't really expect that much response on the work - especially considering most of my other works seem to fall on deaf ears/eyes. Needless to say, I'm greatly enjoying the attention it's receiving!

New Solo Viola Work

Was talking to a friend of mine who is taking pre-college courses at Julliard and he wanted to know 'when' I would write a piece for him to play. He's a young man, I think only 13 or so, but is an amazing prodigy at music. On top of playing viola, he is also a wonderfully talented young composer! Needless to say, I was taken aback at him asking me for a piece - I hadn't even heard him play! So, in talking with him, I tailored a short viola piece of about 135 bars. I focused on exploring one of my favorite intervals: the minor second. The work's form is in abridged sonata-allegro AND is one which I purposefully work with climactic points. The work is viewable on Young Composers, link provided below. Enjoy! Once he gets the piece practiced he promised he would play it at his next recital!

Imprintations for Solo Viola

Beautiful Day and a Wonderful Discussion

First, I want to say that I am going to be making a more conscientious attempt to keep regular with my blog postings. I was kind of discouraged in myself yesterday when I saw that I hadn't posted in well over a month! Shame on me! Second, today was such a beautiful day. The birds were out, spiders were starting to make their nests, and the temperature was a nice fifty five degrees! I loved it. Third, I LOVED having the windows open!!!

Lastly in today's installment, I got into a wonderful discussion on Young Composers Music Forum regarding imitation of older composers work. By imitating another composers, one member posited, a young composer can learn how to write music AND do so after the initial learning phase. I argue, however, that no one can 'truly' imitate the work of another. While you may be able to imitate some aspects of the work, you are not able to imitate others. Namely, you cannot imitate how the composer wrote the work, the reasons why the composer chose one form and structure as opposed to another in terms of development, the reason why the composer focused on certain material instead of other material, and finally you can't imitate the composers frame of mind while writing the work. So, the idea that one can fully imitate a musical style of a composer from the past is virtually impossible.


Just my two cents.

You can read the discussion here.

Waiting patiently...

So, I have been waiting patiently for my letter of acceptance or rejection. I applied at Roosevelt's CCPA in Chicago. It's my #1 choice. It's been a very nerve wracking experience. Hopefully, it's good news!