While Christopher Coppola visited the University of Redlands a few weeks back, one of the things that he mentioned in the PAH FEST kickoff was that he pushes his film students to have a very clear vision of what they want their projects to look like before they even start filming. As he talked … More Finding a Clear Vision
Jhula Jhule, by Reena Esmail, for violin and piano The Blue Room, by Reena Esmail, for violin and orchestra Piano Quintet, by Reena Esmail Sinfonietta, by Daniel Eichenbaum, for string quartet and wind ensemble Myself and the resistance of wine, by Amir Sadeghi Konjani, for solo harp Hijab Initiation No. 2, by Amir Sadeghi Konjani, … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: September 7, 2013
Many of these are from various friends’ recitals this past semester, including those of some fellow composers at Redlands. Although they are not what I’ve listened to most recently, I would like to keep track of these for journaling purposes: Turning Points, by Joan Tower, for clarinet and string quartet Head Talk, by Mark Ford, … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: May 5, 2013
too many arguments in line 17, by Ryan Carter, for string quartet Bailes encima del escritorio de nuestra juventúd, by Charles Zoll, for oboe, violin, cello, and piano Impetus, by Chris Brubaker, for violin and piano Riff(raff), by Matthew Mendez, for bass clarinet
Most of these are form Q2 of course: Ballade, by Oskar Morawetz, for piano For Heart, Breath and Orchestra, by Richard Reed Parry, for orchestra Different…Rains, by Pavel Karmanov, for flute and piano L’auberge de Loupiac, by Florent Ghys, for voice Still With Me, by Alexander Balanescu, for string quartet Musica Optica, by Gyorgy Geszler, … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: January 13, 2013
Octet (Eight Lines), by Steve Reich, for string quartet, two pianos, clarinet/bass clarinet, flute/piccolo Nimbus, by Iancu Dumitrescu, for horn, ensemble, and tape Spectrum, by Iancu Dumitrescu, for string quartet
I’ve been looking for a contemporary piece to put on my junior recital, hence the bundle of viola pieces here. Any suggestions??? I’d prefer a piece about 7-10 minutes long, more or less. Simply Purple, by Joan Tower, for solo viola Purple Rhapsody, by Joan Tower, for viola and orchestra String Quartet, by Derek Bermel, … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: September 30, 2012
Oops! I missed a week. Still trying to get back in the groove of things though–here are a few treats from Q2: Violin Concerto, by Andrzej Panufnik, for violin and string orchestra Shadowlines, by George Benjamin, for piano Les Fees from Four Pieces for String Quartet, by Bruno Mantovani Rising, by Joan Tower, for string … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: July 8, 2012
Preludes and Fugue for 13 solo strings, by Witold Lutosławski MotorCity Triptych, by Michael Daugherty, for orchestra Raise the Roof, by Michael Daugherty, for orchestra Lux aeterna, by George Crumb, for soprano, bass flute, soprano recorder, sitar, and percussion Out of the Window, by Emily Praetorius, for string quartet Distances at Dawn, by Emily Praetorius, … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: May 27, 2012
Oops! Accidentally skipped a week. Here you go! Betwixt and Between, Kim Scharnberg, for trombone, string quartet, and marimba. 5 Pieces for Trombone and Piano, Op. 198, by Ernst Krenek Clarinet Concerto (Peacock Tales), by Anders Hillborg, for clarinet and orchestra. One of my friends has a sticker on her cello case that says, “Hug … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: May 12, 2012
Howling at the Moon, by Dana Wilson, for saxophone quartet Thracian Echoes, by Derek Bermel, for clarinet and orchestra Cool Fire, by Paul Moravec, for flute, piano, and string quartet Soe-pa, by Ingram Marshall, for guitar
Hey everyone! On April 22nd Josh Tuburan will be releasing a new album entitled Smile, and it features many local artists from the Inland Empire, including my string quartet from the University of Redlands, Upbeat 2 Rough. Some of the proceeds from the album will go to the charity Operation Smile. It will be available … More Check out Josh Tuburan’s new album, Smile
Hey everyone! On April 22nd Josh Tuburan will be releasing a new album entitled Smile, and it features many local artists from the Inland Empire, including my string quartet from the University of Redlands, Upbeat 2 Rough. Some of the proceeds from the album will go to the charity Operation Smile. It will be available … More Check out Josh Tuburan’s new album, Smile
Happy Easter everyone! Here are my picks for this week, simply a few great selections from my theory class that I haven’t yet mentioned: Salome Dances for Peace, I. Anthem of the Great Spirit, “Half Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight”, by Terry Riley, for string quartet Still Angry, by Andrew May, for flute, clarinet, and … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: April 8, 2012
The Desert Music, by Steve Reich, for amplified chorus and orchestra She Shooed the Tempting Shadow, by Anna E. Garman, for string quartet Await, by Anna E. Garman, for orchestra Dandelion, by Anna E. Garman, for solo trombone Fratres, by Arvo Pärt, for string quartet Violin Sonata No. 3, “Sonata Stramba,” by William Bolcom, for … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: March 25, 2012
Fourth Sonata for Violin and Piano, “Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting,” by Charles Ives Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra (formerly titled Concerto for Clarinet), by Emily Praetorius, for clarinet and orchestra. Emily, a fellow composer in our studio, wrote this piece and performed it in our university’s annual concerto competition. String quartet, by Emily … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: February 26, 2012
There are times when I begin writing a piece with intentions of grandiose innovative ideas only to discover the next day that it was completely absurd and nonsensical. Dissociating myself with such trash is, at that moment, an emotional, awakening experience (how dare I admit to composing garbage!), but in the end, never regretted. I … More Starting fresh…even when it isn’t that stale.
There are times when I begin writing a piece with intentions of grandiose innovative ideas only to discover the next day that it was completely absurd and nonsensical. Dissociating myself with such trash is, at that moment, an emotional, awakening experience (how dare I admit to composing garbage!), but in the end, never regretted. I … More Starting fresh…even when it isn’t that stale.
Last month, I decided to browse through and listen to about 20 string quartets in order to select a few to study more closely. Here are the pieces I have decided to study in the most depth: Rochberg, George, String Quartet No. 3 (1972) Husa, Karel, String Quartet No. 3 (1968) As well as a … More The Decision Has Been Made!
Happy New Year everyone! Lately, I’ve been listening to the 22 quartets that I got from the library in efforts to narrow them down. The first stage of this project is going a lot quicker than I expected–there are only 6 more quartets left for me to listen to, and half of those don’t appear … More Cool Stuff I’m Listening To: January 2, 2012
Today, Dr. Suter sent me on an adventure to browse the string quartet collection. The plan is to listen to/look over numerous quartets until the point where I’m so filled with ideas that I can’t bear not to write. (This is the same quartet that I wrote for the Hugo Wolf Quartet to play, but … More It’s a string quartet marathon!
Today, Dr. Suter sent me on an adventure to browse the string quartet collection. The plan is to listen to/look over numerous quartets until the point where I’m so filled with ideas that I can’t bear not to write. (This is the same quartet that I wrote for the Hugo Wolf Quartet to play, but … More It’s a string quartet marathon!
More treats from Q2: String Quartet No. 4, “Buczak”, by Philip Glass for string quartet Stabat Mater, by Arvo Part, for soprano, alto, tenor, and string trio Soul Garden, by Derek Bermel, for solo viola and string quartet Magic with Everyday Objects, by Missy Mazzoli, for mixed chamber ensemble
This morning our quartet had a masterclass with the Aiana String Quartet. Since we are continuing to study Mozart’s String Quartet No. 4 in C Major, K. 157, we decided to receive coaching on the second movement since it has been quite a challenge. Fortunately we were a lot less nervous because of our previous … More Our Masterclass with the Aiana String Quartet
This much-belated post is about the masterclass and composition readings with the Hugo Wolf Quartet on October 19th. For related posts see “Just two more days” and “One more day…PSYCHE!“ The day of the masterclass was much like the coaching session the day before. We continued to work on the first movement of Mozart’s String … More “It’s like pushing big American cars!”
On the way out of class piano this morning, I checked my phone as I usually do when I get out of class. Jeanne had texted the four of us that she just found out that the coaching session was not with her, it was with the Hugo Wolf Quartet! We were in a little … More One more day…PSYCHE!!!
…until the masterclass and readings! It’s such a relief to have my composition ready for Wednesday. I finished writing and doing major editing to the quartet piece yesterday, and I made a few minor fixes today after meeting with Dr. Suter. Just thinking of the warm paper sliding out of the mouth of the printer … More Just two more days…
Oh gosh. It’s been almost three weeks since my last post. Epic fail. That was totally not my goal. The great news is that I have had a lot of subject matter that I wanted to write about. The bad news: not enough time. Hopefully I can backtrack a bit on at least a few … More Getting back on board
