This is my "blog"
Really, it's more like a place for me to share the music that I've composed, and have them all in a library-style place. I've tried and failed miserably to start up legitimate blogs.
I'm doing this so that people can access things that I've composed and arranged, and not just individually with links that I spam my chats with.
So, without further ado, my "blog".
At first sight, the title "Empty Space" can have a negative connotation-- maybe referring to someone's empty heart, or a death. My piece, however, doesn't refer to that kind of empty space. Rather than a metaphorical empty space, it refers to a literal empty space, waiting to be filled.
I wrote it for Oboe and Piano; not an oboe solo with piano accompaniment but instead a duet between the two.
Special thanks to Caroline Wu and Beatrice Grant for performing it for me!
Empty Space: Theme and Variations, written Summer of 2017 (5m16s)
The second assigned piece on my plate at Interlochen was a brass quintet. Being a trumpet player myself, I knew that this was something I could do, and probably do well.
I thought about what would sound great in a brass quintet, and the first thing that came to mind was a chorale. So I decided on that.
Now, admittedly, chorales aren't that fun to play. I could have taken advantage of the fact that I knew what was fun to play and written something that the players would enjoy. But I was becoming intrigued by chords and I really wanted to write a chorale.
The chorale I came up with, Ode to Simplicity, was exactly that-- simple, but even though it was simple, presented a very difficult piece to play. The first trumpet part especially is very, very difficult, and requires an amazing range and stamina to get through. I knew that when I wrote it-- I'm a trumpet player.
But the result of a good performance of this is mind boggling.
I decided to publish both the midi version and the live version of this piece. The live version isn't perfect, but I was happy with it. It's hard.
Ode to Simplicity, written summer of 2017 (3m2s/2m50s)
Performed by one of the Interlochen Arts Camp WYWS brass quintets
Recorded by Interlochen Public Radio
When I first got to Interlochen, I was a little intimidated because most people seemed to know a lot more about composition and things in general than I did. Then we got into working on our first assignments-- for me, a woodwind quintet-- and I settled into a rhythm. I reminded myself that I was at Interlochen to get better, not be the best.
So came forth The Id.
According to Freud, there are three aspects of the human personality: The Id, the Super-Ego, and the Ego. The Id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends (food, water, sleep, etc.), the super-ego is the part of the personality that looks at things critically and morally (what would be a good, pure thing to do), and the ego is the realistic part that strikes a balance between the two.
So I decided to take inspiration from this and write a piece based on The Id-- basic needs that need to be attended to, and I came up with this. I hope you enjoy.
The Id, written summer of 2017 (3m22s)
Performed by Interlochen Arts Camp WYSO woodwind quintet
When I started writing this piece... I couldn't write this piece. Really I've had no motivation and/or inspiration for composing since maybe November of last year (except in bursts here and there, usually with the piano pieces. That's why there's been a few of those in a row).
So when I started writing it, it sounded like complete crap. It was bad. Nothing sounded right. With a little help from my teacher, though, I began to slowly chip away at the bad parts.
Now, after four months of writing and deleting and rewriting and turning utter and complete garbage into something a little better, I have this: out of my mind.
The title is meant to be lowercase: the piece is very tightly based around a best-selling novel by Sharon M. Draper that I read last year called out of my mind. It's a book about a young girl with cerebral palsy-- essentially, she can't walk, she can't talk, and even though she's very highly intelligent, everyone thinks that she's stupid. The book's very good. I recommend it.
This piece, after months of effort, may not be my best composition ever, but in the end I'm still fairly proud of it.
Also-- it's a long one. Sorry.
out of my mind, written winter and spring of 2017 (8m45s)
