Moving On

Yesterday was mostly dedicated to recording a flute version of Rylee's Theme and figuring out how to put the violin version on YouTube. And with that I can kind of move on to other projects.

I'm hoping that one of the ways a daily blog will be helpful for my productivity is that it will force me to do enough  work to have somewhat interesting content from day to day. Although I'm excited about the prospects of this it is also incredibly intimidating. My biggest fear is that this blog will turn into a daily whining session about writer's block. I really, really, REALLY don't want that to happen. So now I am off to try to do something worth posting about tomorrow.

Rylee's Theme on YouTube!

 Click on the picture to hear Rylee's Theme on YouTube

Looking back on old pieces

Last night, I started reorchestrating a composition for Wind Ensemble that I wrote a few years ago.  There are many competitions for wind ensemble pieces and since I'm not a huge fan of the ensemble (what?! I just like strings, okay?!) I have only gotten around to writing one. And boy was that a strenuous process. I got my most intense and awful case of writers block trying to finish that dang piece. I even completely restarted the piece after getting about 70% finished with the original version.

I hadn't looked at the piece in a long time. When I finally came back to it, I was able to almost instantly fix many of the problems I had struggled and toiled with for so long while writing the piece. This experience was reassuring because it felt like a tangible way to measure how I had improved as a composer and orchestrator. In this field where progress in craft is often abstract, slow, and incremental, it is nice to have these occasional reminders of how far I've come.

I often have a very loathing relationship with time (as I'm sure most do.) I feel like time is always moving so fast. Far too often I hear my self saying "I wish I had a little more time!" But this is one of the times where I am thankful for time. Significant amounts of time placed between individual events can be extremely helpful in being able to find benchmarks. These achievements are needed for motivation to continue and to give a sense of energy and drive to the work that needs to be done.

Anyways, enough rambling for today.

Wedding music photo

I thought I would add this very cool photo my friend Maddy took of the music for my sister's wedding march

Inspiration: Podcast Interview

Podcasts involving dialogue with creative individuals about their craft has often provided a source of inspiration and energy in the face of daunting challenges. Because of this I would like to often share and promote these podcasts as well as other sources of creative insight on my blog.

Today I listened to a very good episode of a podcast I started listening to called Composer Quest by composer Charlie McCarron. The show has interviews with a wide range of composers from all levels. The one I listened to today was the season one finale, which introduced me to the composer Dimitri Tymoczko. Tymoczko is a very fascinating composer whose work seems very approachable considering how mathematical and theoretically based it is. 

Unlike many interviews I listen to with academic composers, this one shows warmth and a deep understanding for how music can be relatable to the human condition while still being artistically challenging. So often when I listen to composers talk about their music it is very cold, isolating, and selfish. This distinction is one very hard to define and would require discussion of specific examples and descriptions that I will save for a later date. Suffice it to say that I am happy to have discovered Tymoczko's work and philosophy. 

Tymoczko has written a book which I am very interested in reading at some point called "A Geometry of Music" which can be found at his website.

Flying Home

Well, the wedding is over.  I am now writing this post while sitting in the Atlanta Airport. The Wedding March went pretty well. I am an extreme perfectionist when it comes to my music  but the performers did incredibly well and the weather remained warm and wind-free. Most importantly, my sister was happy with the music. I was honored to be able to contribute my composition to her wedding as well as be a part of the wedding party and walk my mother and grandparents down the Aisle. It was a wonderful weekend and a beautiful ceremony in the mountains. A recording of the wedding march will be available on this blog soon. 

Waterfalls and Windy Rehearsals

Well, I'm in North Carolina for my sister's wedding. I finally got to hear my wedding march performed at the rehearsal. The piece is for violin and piano. Considering that we did the rehearsal outside in the freezing cold wind, everything went pretty well. of course freezing temperatures can make the intonation hard for a violinist and wind can really kill the volume of the sound. Luckily, the whether for the wedding tomorrow is suppose to be significantly warmer and less windy. I'm still working with the performers but the are doing a very good job.

This wedding is so much fun. It's great to visit so many old friends and family and meet so many new people. Today, the wedding party went on a hike in the mountains and I saw the biggest water fall of my life!