If you’ve enjoyed “The Raven” from my recent suite for viola and piano, Nevermore, then you might be pleased to know I’ve just finished the second movement, “Annabel Lee.”
I think this poem by Edgar Allen Poe might be one of my favorite literary works… 🤔🥰 I tried to keep the sense of innocence and deep sorrow in this musical rendition. There is a third and final movement–“Tell-Tale Heart”–planned for the future, too; so keep an eye out for that. 😉
In the meantime, enjoy the simple demo of “Annabel Lee” below…
The work is a 12-minute exploration of the human condition as told through the symbology of a tarot deck. It’s written for five musicians, who each represent an important natural element: piano (Tree of Life), violin (Fire), cello (Water), flute (Air), and clarinet (Earth).
Based on an unaccompanied violin partita variation from the eighteenth century by Bach, layers of electronic elements breathe new life into this classic. Also appearing on this release is “Sonata Moderna (Remastered)” from 2010. “Sonata Moderna” is based on a piece from the seventeenth century (“Sonata sopra la Monica” by Biagio Marini). It was the May 2016 Akademia Winner for Best Ambient/Instrumental Song. Featuring two violins and cello with rock rhythm and chords, the past is united with the present in this driving work.
Enjoy this little amuse-bouche of mashed-up music! 🙂
I was thrilled to discover this morning that my April 2019 album Legend Seekers won the Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the composer/composition category of the Global Music Awards!
I am so honored (and validated)!
If you haven’t already, go take a listen to Legend Seekers today!
Sunday, April 7, 6pm (pre-concert AMA with the composers at 5:30pm)
Come enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of an intimate social chamber music event in our underground studio! Featuring all-original music from local composers Simeon Goode, Brian Bunker, and yours truly ?
We’ll be presenting music for small chamber groups including strings, piano, flute, electronics, voice, and more!
Seating is very limited, so RSVP today—show your ticket at the event and get your choice of free music download-card from my work!
Running at just over 4 minutes, this dramatic, challenging chamber work for solo viola and piano recounts the emotions that course through Edgar Allen Poe’s classic poem, “The Raven,” with modern, neoromantic flair.
As of right now, I only have a midi demo; please take it with a grain of salt. 🙂 Soon, however, I should have at least a video of its live debut performance…
Legend Seekers, featuring the concerto for 6-string electric violin, “Leviathan of the Ancient Deep,” is planned to be released April 5!
Enjoy this official Press Release with info about “Leviathan…” and the rest of this adventurous album! Please share this pdf with anyone else you think might be interested in learning about Legend Seekers!
These past few months have been indescribably fulfilling, yet chaotic, as these things usually go, lol. 😉 I’m nearly through my first semester as a music professor for Cal Poly Pomona; I’ve spent nearly every waking moment setting up and teaching my new classes! I’ve really been enjoying this adventure, and I look forward to each following experience with this wonderful school.
Naturally, as the semester draws toward a close, I’ve been itching to get back to composing and completing my upcoming album, “Legend Seekers” – I’ll be able to start getting back to these projects in just another few weeks, yay! In the meantime, I’ve been meaning to set up this blog post to showcase some of the photos and videos documenting our recording sessions for “Intrepid” and some of the other works that will appear on this upcoming album… Enjoy the gallery and impromptu videos below!
Don’t forget… if you’d like to be a Backstage Supporter of this and other future projects, visit the Backstage Community to see what perks are available–like autographed copies of scores and albums as well as your name listed on the albums you support!
A very special thanks to everybody who has patiently worked with me to make this become a reality!! <3
Angela recording her solo oboe part for Intrepid
The Brass and winds, recording Intrepid
Working with Tina and Mike, recording “DodecaFunky”
Charlotte recording “Fever Pitch”
Gorgeous original artwork by Tim Wilsie
Mike and Irene recording “Forgotten Melody”
Chatting it up before we begin…
Strings recording Intrepid
Strings recording Intrepid
Winds and brass recording IntrepidStrings recording IntrepidTina recording “DodecaFunky”
Coming up soon in these next couple of months, we’ll be recording the epic Fantasy for Oboe/English Horn Soloist and Chamber Orchestra, “Intrepid“! It will be an amazing compliment to the Leviathan E-Violin Concerto on the upcoming album! <3
To prep the upcoming strings-only session — to make the process as easy as possible on my dear friends helping to make this possible — I decided to record myself playing the 2 violin parts and viola part ahead of time. It’ll give me a lot more flexibility in mixing the tracks, and give my players a really solid footing when reading through this together.
One of the things I love about a process such as this, is getting to hear a larger piece broken up into its basic layers–getting to hear what components interact to create the overall effect–and it never ceases to amaze and thrill me! I love music that weaves in and out of itself like a sonic tapestry…
You can get a sense for the intricacy of this work by listening to the following two segments of this prep-recording. Enjoy! 🙂
Want to contribute to this recording? There are several ways you can help:
