New Composition in the works

Working on a new composition. I've been thinking a lot on mortality and similar topics. The result of that pontificating is a poem which explores the three scenes of a person's life. Yes, I know, I have been so into portraying scenes in my music of late. The three scenes are: 1) Youthful rebellion, 2) Middle Age realization of mortality, and 3) Twilight and the waiting for the inevitable. Interspersed between these scenes is a refrain of silence and a saying about one's observation on time. I think it's going to be a pretty interesting work. Musically, I am working with very limited material for this: a 6 note scale and just two ideas pulled from it. It's going to be interesting to see if I can pull an interesting work out of this - hopefully, I can do it.

Also, I have great news! I am getting published!!! I am still pouring over the contract and making sure everything is to my liking - but I am excited none-the-less. Now to see if I can come up with a way to pay for my schooling, lol.

Hope everyone is staying warm! Have a great day!

Dream

I had an amazing thought today! I was walking to the back of the house - which has this huge backroom that used to be the garage. Well, I thought... hmmm.. why not use it to give performances and recitals of my works! Would take some decorating BUT it might be worth it to actually invest the time to do it. Just now, I have to get the energy up to do it.

Writer's Block

So, I sat down today to start work on my submission for the Cabrillo Festival this year. Well, I had a good work started and was in a good 50 bars... then I opened up Young Composers and read the dialog on the shoutbox - about how one of the composers there should 'embrace' the modernity and utilize more modern techniques in his music AND forget totally about all of the traditional 'blah' that came before. Since my music is very traditional in some aspects... well, a lot of aspects... it got me down. SO.. now I have writers block. I just don't know whether I should abandon my grasp on tradition or maintain it boldly. I just don't care for much modern sounds. They grate on my ears and don't sound overly musical at all to me. Sometimes I wonder why I should even bother...

Follow Me!

Ok, I see that I am getting a lot of people viewing my blog here. Who are you? Where you from? Do you like my music? What are your names? Tell me about yourselves! That's not a hard thing to ask for - trust me, I don't bite! I'd love to meet the people who read my many hours of ramblings.

New Composers Online

I am currently assisting a friend of mine in a venture that he has undertaken to help bring a more stable income to composers. The idea's are still in development currently BUT the initial start is now online and active: New Composers Online! If any of my readers are interested and would like to assist in the start up for the site, please check out the forum and sign up as a registered user. The more the merrier.

The website is: http://newcomposersonline.com

Overcoming Obstacles

Life has been a bit difficult for me the past week or so. Situations around me are changing - but surprisingly one thing has remained that I am devotedly working on: my music. The brass preludes are being added to - rather slowly BUT the work and results are good. I am now composing feverishly from the moment I awake till the moment I'm ready for bed - so much music to compose. My output has slowed as I work meticulously over each and every bar - making sure each note is perfect within my ideal of the piece itself. My eyes, despite the change in living situation, is still focused on my hopeful career as a composer. My good news is that I am now collaborating with a DJ from the east coast - assisting him in composing his tracks. The results of this venture would be immense for my career and would *hopefully* provide me the capital necessary to continue to compose full time. On the classical front, I am sending off the Preludes this Friday! This will meet the deadline for the opportunity in which they were composed. My favorite of the set of 6 is the fifth. This work is quite personal in sound and touch as it utilizes, I think, the brass quite well. I'll post a link to the works once the full set is finished.

Ideas and new submissions.

I sent off two works this week to two separate opportunities and I finally have a pianist to record one of my works!! I was so excited to receive that news - I admit, I almost cried. Hopefully now, I can get that submission ready and sent in by the February 16th deadline. Going to be cutting it close though! In the interim, I've started work on a new string quartet. I started the piece this evening around 3pm and have been working on it ever since (it's 4am now...lol). I must say this piece is shaping up to be a very good composition. I'm in now about 100 or so measures and am no where near completion. My idea is to have my new chamber ensemble premiere this work at our first concert. I have many other pieces ready for that date.

Another piece submitted.

Ah. Such productivity! I finished yet another work for a performance opportunity yesterday and finalized it and sent it this evening. So far now, I have sent out about 3 - 4 works. I have plenty more to send out.
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On other news, I have decided to start a chamber ensemble! I'm busy working on the plan and am about to begin networking within the Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois area in the search of musicians. My goal is to start with about 2 - 3 performances a year. First concert HOPEFULLY around May or June. First things first though: if any musicians from the Mattoon/Charleston area would like to become a part of this ensemble please leave me a comment here! I'm very eager to see what this area has to offer as far as music goes.

Working on deadlines...

So, I am busily composing a piece that has to be ready by the 31st of this month. It's at times like these that I wish I could survive solely off of my music. Receive compensation for all this time I put into my craft. I compose almost 16 hours a day - only to break for food, restroom, and sleep. My partner, at times, has to pry me away from my work to hang out with friends or go out to eat/watch a movie/shop. On my online forum, I am a reviewer - so I break at times to review works by other composers. I have top profile views on the forum itself and two of my works are in the top 5 on the site's music storage network (12 short pieces for piano is #1 in views and my Symphony no 1 is #5 in views). All this attention I receive on the site makes me wonder, does anybody really care about my music besides myself? Obviously, I have a silent fan base on the forum BUT who are they? Do they read my blog? Do they anxiously await a new work by me? I would give the world to know who loves my music and who frowns upon it. As I get this work composed at breakneck speed for what I hope will be a performance this year... I must know, does anybody really care?

Reflections

This past year has been a year of many milestones in my compositional style. I started the year on a rocky foot with my first piano trio. Structurally, I think that work was one of my best. Each movement contained the same thematic material - the same 'germs' - but each was woven together in quite a different way. There were lots in that piece that I feel now could've been done much better. From January to May, I composed mainly smaller works. In May, with the end of an 8 year relationship and all that aspired afterwards, my output dropped to next to nothing. I suppose that was largely due to the fallout of the end of that relationship. From May till October, I began composing again - determined now, with nothing holding me back, to reach my goals. This short period saw the creation of a number of works this year. From October till now, I have had a few more projects on my plate - namely, a number of submissions to opportunities! With the dawn of the New Year approaching, my goal is to finally see one of my pieces to performance. Whether that piece is one of the many I've sent off to various competitions/opportunities or my first ever commission - there is no doubt in my mind that this experience will be rewarding AND greatly enrich my compositional ability.

List of Works completed in 2009:

Piano Trio no. 1
Piano Concertante
3 short trios for 2 clarinets and horn
Symphony no. 1 in C minor
Requiem
Christmas Mass
Pestis Eram for A Capella Choir
12 Short Pieces for Piano
2 Episodes for Piano
3 Episoes for String Orchestra
String Quartet in 1 Movement
3 Variations on a Theme of F. Chopin
Piano Sonata no. 1 in C minor
2 Essays for Orchestra
Domine Deus for A Capella Choir
Kyrie for SATB Choir and Piano