New Projects

To keep myself busy during the spring and summer, I now have a few projects which I will be devoting my time to.

1. My YouTube page has been horribly neglected over the last year and a half. I haven't had many new videos to post. Today, I created a video for my new recording of the performance of silence. To better utilize YouTube as a potential place for more people (and potential commissioners) to access audio of my work, I am going to start working with musicians around the country to record small works of mine to be placed on YouTube. These recordings will be given 'mini-recitals' of 3 works at a time. To help facilitate this, I am going to look for funding to help with the overall logistics and planning of the videos themselves. I think there is something positive that could come out of YouTube for me.

2. I will be contacting musicians in Indianapolis and look at hopefully starting my own small ensemble which I can use to also record my works and those of my peers at the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

For my readers, I am placing a link to the YouTube video for Silence.

Silence - YouTube Video! Click Me!!!

Handling Performances While Being Sick

This week has been a blur for me. This past Monday I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis and walking pneumonia. It was horrible. I slept from Friday afternoon through to Tuesday afternoon. Ended up missing most of my classes this week - luckily, I informed my professors of my sickness and they were gracious to excuse me. The premiere of my piece, Silence, was on Tuesday (audio from the concert below). The performance was amazing. Sadly, while I was in attendance, I wasn't in attendance. My mind was far more focused on getting better and prepping for the two finals that I had this week.

Silence - Click Me!

If you'd like to comment on the performance, you can visit the posting on Young Composers Music Forum:

YC Silence - Click Me!!

I was greatly appreciative of the wonderful musicians who rehearsed with me (and took it upon themselves to meet when I couldn't be there due to being sick). They were amazing.

Mezzo-Soprano: Meredith Godsall
Oboe: Taylor Nelson
Horn: Josh Rosen
Violoncello: Sarah Zilonis

I was also impressed with a few of the other pieces on the program by my colleagues in the composition department at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. When I get my last final done on Monday, I'll rip the audio and share their amazing works with my readers here, but here is a list of some of the other amazing pieces:

A Cadenza Prior to a Revolution - Daniel Fawcett
Devil Wings - TJ Russo
Story of the Eye for Solo Flute in 13 Parts - Daniel Souphis
4 Songs - Dominic Frigo
Nay Nava - Parisa Sabet

I hope everyone is ready for the holidays! Merry Christmas!!

Bad Day...

Today has been a fairly bad day. I went to work this morning at 9 am, after having only gotten a few hours of sleep. I had this feeling last night that something was going to happen today - and thus, just couldn't sleep. Well, sure enough, after about an hour and a half of work. My boss asks me to gather my things and come to the conference room. There, I was terminated for not meeting the sales quota for the past two/three weeks. The impact of the termination is still fresh on me - I guess I'm sort of wrought with fear. What am I going to do now? What can I do to possibly raise the money I need to remain at school for the spring semester? How can I raise that money in less than a month?

I don't want to let this experience taint the success that I've had here the last few months career wise:

1) I've had readings of my work.
2) I've composed several new works that, I feel, are my best works to date.
3) I have a performance of one work coming up on December 6th.
4) I've finalized the contract with a publisher from Europe. This publisher will publish my work for the next 5 years - with distribution in Europe and America.

For once in my life, I am actively living as a composer - doing what I always wanted to do. I feel that these little obstacles that come up are minor at best and, hopefully, that things will work out so I can maintain the growth that I'm experiencing in my craft. Time will tell though. It's not going to be an easy time coming up. Most I can do is face it head on and persevere. The rewards in the end make this time of struggle important.

In closing, I want to wish my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! Despite the setbacks I've had the last three months, I'm still grateful for all that I've experienced and all the positive things that have happened. I'm also grateful for my step-mother, Barbara Woodruff, she has stood strong by me and has aided me as best she can in this trying time. And I'm grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. Thank you all, I wouldn't be in Chicago right now if not for all your pushing. I promise I will try to make this work and will do my best to make everyone proud. I love you all.

Video of my Reading!!!

As promised to my readers, this is a reading of my Fanfare for Brass Quintet. The group is the Gaudete Brass. While the work was not chosen for their program, they provided this awesome reading which was recorded! Thanks!! I hope my readers enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiAR4EoGTio

Reading of two of my works

I have been having an amazing time up here in Chicago despite the stress in dealing with financing. So far, I have had two of my works read in our composition seminar: Falling Ash for solo flute and Fanfare for brass quintet.

Falling Ash started as a piece with very little programmatic inflections. I named it falling ash out randomly. As I got into composing the work, however, the title seemed to direct the overall flow and development of the ideas. In that vein, the work focuses on 1 lone ash ember as it descends to the ground. Rising up and falling down. Zooming in to see the intricacies of movement every now and then. The reading of the work was good. The opening was a bit too airy - not what I wanted. The tempo marking I indicated asked for Rubato and the flautist was able to provide that, somewhat. All in all, a good reading.

The Fanfare for Brass Quintet was one of the most difficult pieces I've written. I had the initial idea, which opens the piece in the Horn, sketched weeks before. The final version was the result of about 9 previous attempts at writing for the ensemble. The work itself looks at two contrasting ideas and superimposes them on top of each other towards the middle of the work. The reading went well. The only issue they had was my use of the tuba descending on triplet sixteenths AND a few notational errors in the score - mainly beaming issues.

All in all, I really enjoyed hearing both of these works being read by live instruments. I think I learned a lot from the experience!

Hope my readers are having a good morning!

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!

Time Constraints, Funding Issues, and Composition!

The past few months have been exceptionally busy for me. So this will be a much longer post than normal to make up for the absence!

My time of late has become extremely limited. I have been working in the call center at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, going to school full time, and trying to arrange time to complete homework and compositions! I like keeping busy but time is just so precious AND I have to have time to relax to regroup my bearings a bit. I love it though!

I still haven't got the funding issue taken care of. My family urged me to live on campus instead of off campus - and that has really cost me. So, since I'm unable to pay the 1200/month payment on my remaining balance to the school - I won't be able to register for spring classes. I've been searching for various grants and scholarships to assist in helping me pay off the housing. Sadly, with this economy most of these options are swamped with applications! I'm debating, and perhaps my readers can offer insight, about perhaps trying to raise money through my friends via FB and my other social network sites. I've heard of people doing this before - any thoughts?

Finally, I have been very active in my composition pursuits. I have composed a new work for string quartet, a piece for solo flute, a miniature for brass quintet, AND am now working on a song for mezzo-soprano with oboe and horn accompaniment! I've learned a lot so far in my studies up here. Hopefully, I can get things situated financially to remain in class without any interruptions!

Hope all my readers have been having an amazing couple of months. I promise to start blogging more! I miss sharing and venting my thoughts and frustrations.

Dad - 1 year later

Tonight is the evening before the 1 year anniversary of the death of my father. To commemorate the anniversary, I will be spending the weekend with my family in Indianapolis. It's amazing to look back at the past year and see how much things have changed in my life. 1 year ago today, I only *dreamed* of getting back in school. Today, I am not only back in school but in the fall will be transferring to a very good music conservatory to study with an amazing teacher. 1 year ago today, my life lacked clear direction. I dreamed of various projects and complained about how I would do them. Today, my life has a clear direction and I am now working on those projects that I complained about a year ago. I think a lot of the changes this past year have been largely due to the rammifications of my father's death. When I heard the news that morning, it clicked something in my brain and made me realize that life is too short AND one must make the most of it. I decided that morning to go back to school AND today, I am grateful for that decision. Dad, thank you for giving me the impetus to do good in my life. I promise I will not let you, nor I, down. I know you are smiling down upon me. I will always love and remember you!

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

Lots of Homework and revisions need to be made

I showed my Piano Quartet to my wonderful teacher - as I expected she gave a much more thorough review than anyone else was able to give. So, this weekend - I have a lot of work to do! I have first to do my homework (including possibly going to see a concert for my last essay in class.) Then once all that is done, I get to go through and revision the first and second movements of my quartet. I think I'm going to view a few works in the genre on IMSLP to get a sense of typical writing for the ensemble - just to better educate myself a bit. Also, I am proud to announce that -barring it costing out of my budget- I am going to take my viola to get it fixed! I can't wait, I need to start practicing a lot! That would definitely give me something to do while I'm waiting for Mark to get out of his photography class on Thursdays. Other than that, it's been a wonderful day!

Second Movement

Finally! I have a good start to a second movement. Took me about a week so far just to let one gestate!! My material for this is very simple. In keeping with the contrapuntal aspect of the work, I treat the material at first in a sort of fugal manner - but, I plan on departing from that for this movement (I really want the movement to stand out.) Will post details later.

Working...

I've been taking a bit of a break from composition while letting my mind stew on a few ideas for the second movement. The first movement is largely done now with the exception of the articulations and perhaps beefing up the piano part. I'm not sure what I want to do yet for the 2nd movement - generally, I find slow movements to be easy to write. This one, on the other hand, has proven to be anything but. Stay posted! I will probably do a lot of the composition on Wendesday!!

Ah.. classwork

I've been sitting in Neal Hall this evening waiting for my other half to get out of class (it's already 9:16 PM!!) My thoughts have largely been on my musical and where I want to go with it. I was originally planning on just going straight to eastern - but, I got to thinking. I'm 30 years old, in college again, so far maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA, and my compositions are coming along nicely. Perhaps I should do as my teacher says, and look at other schools as well. I think tomorrow I will revisit that discussion with her and get her opinion on it. I could also consider University of Chicago. That institution is regularly rated as top notch. SO many choices - and with my GPA.. I'm sure I could get in it. Now to get that viola fixed!

Schoolwork and Composition

Well, I am doing very well on my classes so far. Math 006: A. Understanding Music: A. Composition 121: A. World Civilization to 1660: A! If I can maintain this for just 1 more month, my cumulative will be 4.0!!! I will be ecstatic! For Spring Semester, I am planning on taking Music Composition class at Eastern Illinois University in preparation for my eventual full transfer to the institution. I can't wait! Compositionally, I bought several thick pads of composition paper! My goal is to try to wean myself off my addiction to Finale! My current project now is a full scale Piano Quartet. I won't post, of course, until it's finished.. BUT... I thought I'd advertise it's what I'm working on. I really wish readers would comment more. Does anyone even read this?

Classes... Classes... Classes...

So, I'm doing good in my classes this semester. Have so far gotten a nearly perfect score in my Understanding Music course. Kind of upset that I missed 1 question on the exam today! I don't even think she went over it. Not sure though, I probably just overlooked it's significance WHATEVER the answer was. My World Civ to 1660 course is going good as well, I think I'll at least get a B out of it. Not sure though - I don't do well writing essays. We will see though!  A large part of the grade is the midterm and final exam.. so guess who will be studying extra hard! I have composed a few small pieces of late. Inspired by my listening to Baroque works! Imagine that... me, inspired by Baroque music. *cough*

Busy.. Busy.. Busy

Meh, I haven't typed here in quite a while. It's been very hectic for me of late. College is going well. As I may have mentioned a little back, I got a 4.0 GPA for Summer Term and am going to try my best to match it for Fall Term. I have been composing short works here and there - nothing to substantial though, as school keeps me from devoting full time to it (which greatly saddens me!) I love my classes this semester. Understanding Music is by far my favorite. My teacher, Elaine Fine, is a wonderful teacher and I hope becomes a wonderful friend once class is over. She had a chance to view my work and said I have some talent!!! I was so ecstatic! Anywho, I will attempt to let everyone know how things go - If I don't post a new blog post soon... I'm sorry.

Inactivity

So, I've been extremely busy the past couple months with school and composition.  For summer term, I passed all my classes and achieved a 4.0 GPA!!!  I was so excited about it.  So, my goal for the remainder of the year is to maintain that 4.0 GPA.  I've completed a few new works while in school - nothing real substantial though.  As always, the links to these are below - if anyone cares to check them out.  Will try to keep this updated as much as possible.

String Quartet - for the young composers august competition

Substantial Colonization - a work for string orchestra

Rondo for String Trio - a short work for violin, viola, and violoncello

Crux Sancta - A work for A Capella Choir

Miniature Suite - A short series of works for various ensembles

School

I apologize to all my readers for not being current with my blog posts.  I have been extremely busy with school.  Just this week alone, for instance, I have had a few papers due: an 1 page research paper for my Anthropology course and then a 5 paragraph essay for my comp 1 course.  I'm sooo inundated with work!!!!  I haven't had the time to compose much at all here lately - again school.  I am still working on a string quartet and hope to have more of it done this weekend - when I have more time to work on it. 

New thoughts

So, as I gear up to start school again after 10 years... It's really making me look back at how far I've come as a composer in that time.   At 19, I was very naive on my views of music.  To me, at that time, music was something far different than it is now.  It was a means at which to relieve myself emotionally.  Today, it's a little more complex than that.  I view music now as a language.  One that can transcend cultural and social boundaries and express ideas and thoughts in ways that words for me can not.  Yes, it still helps relieve my emotions - but it serves far more than that now.  At 19, I didn't want to listen to criticism.  I felt that I had learned everything there was to learn about music.  From the shaping of melody to the fine intricacies of harmony.  That's most likely why I got so discouraged in my time at the University of Indianapolis.  I wanted to just 'do' it instead of take the time to learn from those who 'did' it.  That was a mistake, in my opinion, but not one that I would ever take back.  I've learned a lot in the last 10 years.  My music today is a clear representation of that.  It is an extension of me in every aspect now.  I'm so glad to be going back to school and I look forward to all the connections and opportunities it will bring me.