Famous Composers

Found this picture in a desk calendar. Thought it was funny and worth sharing. My favorite composer on the list is Johann Sebastian BockBockBock.

bicemusic.com: Page added - Shadows of Dreams

Shadows of Dreams for flute quartet was composed for the University of California, Santa Cruz Flute Ensemble.  This piece came to be after I was put in contact with the ensemble director Greer Ellison.  She was very supportive during the composition process which made the writing of the piece much easier.  It is not often where you find someone who is genuinely excited about a piece being composed for their ensemble as Greer was.

Shadows of Dreams was composed between October 2008 and April 2009.  On the page you will find program notes, the score and the recording from the premiere on June 2, 2009.  You can view the page under the chamber music section of the Compositions page or by following the link below.

http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=475

bicemusic.com: Page added - Play Ball!

Play Ball! was my first attempt at encoding baseball statistics into music.  The process I developed was similar to twelve-tone music; however the primary difference is that not all twelve notes of the chromatic scale were used.  Essentially I selected two sets of fifteen of the “most important” baseball stats.  One set for batters and one set for pitchers.  Then I selected a player and a season upon which I would build my “tone row.”  For this piece I selected different players for the different instruments.  Similar to twelve-tone music the “row” would be played prior to the repetition of the “row.”

Even after all these year I am still uncertain as to how well the process works.  Play Ball! is a fun piece and there are moments that I really enjoy.  However without further exploration into this technique I really do not know if it is a viable method.

The recording available on the page is taken from the most recent performance in the Spring of 2004.  A score is also available as a PDF File.  You can view the page through the chamber music submenu of the Compositions tab or by clicking the link below.

http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=465

Listening Journal: June 20-26, 2011

Steve Reich - Double Sextet (2007) for 2 violins, 2 cellos, 2 pianos, 2 vibraphones, 2 clarinets and 2 flutes
Steve Reich - 2x5 (2008) for 2 drum sets, 2 pianos, 4 electric guitars and 2 bass guitars
Olivier Messiaen - Trois Petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine (1944) for ondes martenot, piano, chorus and orchestra

PDQ Bach - Music You Can't Get Out of Your Head - CD
   "Howdy" Symphony in D major
   Perückenstück (Hair Piece) from The Civilian Barber
   Suite from The Civilian Barber

First look at Flit

Here is a first look at my flute piece Flit. I realize the image is not the best, but I do plan on scanning the sketch and posting it at some point. This sketch encompasses the first 28 measures, about a minute in duration. Flit is almost complete and I hope to finish it within the next two weeks.

Listening Journal: June 13-19, 2011

Billy Joel - Invention in C minor, op. 6 (2001) for piano
Billy Joel - Waltz #3 (For Lola), op. 9 for piano
Witold Lutoslawski - Lacrimosa (1937) for soprano, choir and orchestra
Igor Stravinsky - Suite No. 1 (1917) for small orchestra
Iannis Xenakis - Mikka (1971) for violin
Kaija Saariaho - Monkey Fingers, Velvet Hand (1991) for piano

Composing briefly takes a backseat

While I am close to completing Flit for flute I have decided to spend some time focusing on my website.  My intent was to compose Flit for this year's Festival of Contemporary Music.  However, I realize that even if I were to finish this piece today, it would be a difficult piece to learn in a few weeks.

I feel like some of my time is better spent adding content and trying to complete the website.  I am also considering moving this blog to bicemusic.com.  However, I am not certain if I want to combine both things.  My goal is to complete Flit within the next two weeks and send the piece to Greer Ellison.

bicemusic.com: Page added - Sleep's Journey

Sleep’s Journey is my first work for solo piano.  It was also the first piece I composed as a Master’s student at Bowling Green State University.  I distinctly remember the composition lessons with Burton Beerman.  I learned a lot from him and the rest of the composition faculty at Bowling Green State University, but that is a story for another time.

The following statement taken from the program notes sums up this piece quite nicely:
This piece represents a dream or a sequence of dreams one might have during the night.  Sometimes in dreams, ideas and streams of thought can be broken or interrupted without notice taking the dreamer to another place and time.

Sleep’s Journey was composed during September and October 2000.  I revised this piece in the summer of 2001.  On the page for this piece you will find the complete program notes, score and recording from the premiere of the original version.  I do not currently have a recording of the revision.  I am trying to locate a recording and will post it when (or if) I get it.

http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=457

Coming Soon: The Recital Hall

Coming soon to bicemusic.com is The Recital Hall.  This area will be your one-stop listening room for all of the recordings posted on the website.  Currently there are 15 composition pages with recordings.  In an effort to streamline the listening I have decided to create a Recital Hall where you can listen to recordings without switching pages.  There will also be links to the information pages for the compositions so you can read about the piece.

More information about The Recital Hall is forthcoming.

bicemusic.com: Page added - Age Of...

Age Of... is the second piece I had composed.  The pitch material comes from a twelve-tone row I constructed for a music theory class in Fall 1997.  The first three tones of the row are A-G-E, hence the title.  The ensemble for which the piece was composed is different: flute, soprano saxophone, horn and tuba.  I chose these instruments in part because of people I knew who could play the piece.  In addition, I chose this ensemble because I was not interested in writing for a more "traditional" ensemble at the time.

The page for Age Of... can be found under the Chamber Music heading at bicemusic.com.  On this page you will find information about the piece, a PDF of the score and a recording created at a recording session in October 1998.

bicemusic.com/?page_id=440

Listening Journal: June 5-12, 2011

Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 53 (1939)
Anton Webern - Variations for Piano, op. 27 (1937)
George Crumb - Pastoral Drone (1982) for organ
Joseph Dangerfield - Ascent (2007) for wind ensemble

Composing Session: June 12, 2011

For the second time in two days I was able to spend a few hours composing.  During this time I completed the middle section of Flit and pushed through to sketch most of the final section.  My goal for this weekend was to finish the sketch of Flit.  While I did not reach this goal I am happy with the progress.  The underlying goal was to get myself motivated to compose more than I had recently.  I have a clear vision of the remaining section of this piece.  It will not take too long to finish the sketch for this piece.

bicemusic.com: Page added - The Winding Road

I have just added the information page on bicemusic.com for The Winding Road.  This piece exists in two versions: euphonium and piano and clarinet in A and piano.  The version for euphonium and piano is the first piece I ever composed.  When I first took composition lessons my teacher Jeffrey Miller suggested that I write a piece for a familiar instrument.  I selected euphonium because it was an instrument I played.  I did an arrangement of The Winding Road for my graduate recital in spring 2000.  I chose clarinet to bring out the light and playful aspects of the melody.

Both versions of The Winding Road are available for listening and viewing.  Feel free to listen to both versions and let me know which you like better.  You can access this page under the chamber music heading of the compositions tab or by going to this website. http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=419.

Working towards my goal

Today I feel like I have accomplished a lot.  I completed the first section and at least two-thirds of the middle section.  As it stands the piece is almost four minutes long.  My goal for this piece is about six to seven minutes, so I am well on my way to the goal.

The one issue I keep thinking about while working on Flit is the number of movements.  There will be three distinct sections in this piece.  I keep wondering if I should make this a three movement piece.  There are two fundamental reasons as to why I am leaning towards keeping Flit as a single movement piece.  The first is because that is what I want.  The other reason is that some of the thematic and rhythmic material of the first section will return.  To me this will tie the piece together making it more logical to keep it as a single movement form.

Listening Journal: May 30-June 5, 2011

Iannis Xenakis - Mists (1980) for piano

Composing goal for this weekend.

For this weekend I have set a composing goal for myself.  The goal is to finish the sketch for Flit.  This is a somewhat lofty goal, however it is a reasonable one.  Right now I would say that the flute piece is around thirty to thirty-five percent done.  I do have sketches for a middle section and some ideas for other parts of the piece.  If I were to include these ideas in the previous completion percentage, then this piece would be over fifty percent done.  Conceptually this is not a hard piece to compose.  It just takes time to sit down and write it out.  Regardless of the stage of the piece after this weekend, I do plan on getting a sketch of at least the first section to Greer Ellison by Sunday evening.

bicemusic.com: Page added - Dissolution

I have just added a page on bicemusic.com for Dissolution.  This is a piece I composed in 2003 for flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone, chimes, violin and cello.  In Dissolution I began experimenting with time using a concept I call durative notation.  In this type of notation the time signature is abandoned as melodic and thematic fragments are repeated and different sections are marked by cues.

On this page there is a recording from the premiere performance on February 24, 2003 to which you can listen.  There is also a PDF version of the score so you can see how I notated this piece.  You can access this page in the composition menu under the chamber music submenu or by clicking here: http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=405.

Night Sky score and recording posted

Today I posted the complete score and recording of Night Sky.  The recording is from the premiere performance on May 31, 2011 by the Symphonic Band at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School.  More details about Night Sky can be found at bicemusic.com.  Click her for a direct link to the page for Night Sky: http://bicemusic.com/?page_id=35.

Performance Blog: Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School Symphonic Band - May 31, 2011

Last night the Symphonic Band of Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School premiered Night Sky.  This piece was commissioned by Adam Noel, the band's director, for the Symphonic Band.  The band did a great job performing the piece.  It is not an easy piece, but they managed to do it justice.

One thing I noticed about this band and performers of this age is that you can definitely hear when they are comfortable and confident about the music they are playing and when they are not.  This was apparent in the first couple of minutes in my piece.  I do not fault the band for this.  The section after the introduction is more exposed and somewhat difficult to play.  The confidence was not there, however they did a good job getting through it.  The rest of the piece was a lot more confident and they took control of it.

I am very grateful to Adam Noel and the Symphonic Band at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School for the opportunity to compose Night Sky.  This was a wonderful experience.  Adam and the Symphonic Band should be proud!