Tag: viola

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New Movement for “Nevermore” Available, with Demo

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… šŸ¤”šŸ„° 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. šŸ˜‰

In the meantime, enjoy the simple demo of “Annabel Lee” below…

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ā€œLegend Seekersā€ Awarded Silver in the GMAs

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 havenā€™t already, go take a listen to Legend SeekersĀ today!Ā 

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Newest Album “Legend Seekers” is Available!!

It’s out now!! This project has been roughly eight years in the making, since the time I finished writing “Leviathan of the Ancient Deep“… and this album itself has taken about a year to complete. It was all worth it–I learned so much in the process and I think we’ve got a really superb collection now! šŸ™‚

Thank you to everyone who made this possible: musicians, backers, and everyone else who patiently rooted for me.

In a world where adventure calls and the intrepid answerā€¦ where the daring explore a mystifying world of Dream and Thoughtā€¦ where heartbreak twists into furious desperationā€¦ where virtuosic fits of funkiness stare brazenly into the face of dangerā€¦ where forgetfulness drives discovery and hopeā€¦ 

In this world, Leviathan ā€” a creature that haunts the Ancient Depths ā€” lies in wait to strike upon those that seek its legendary might! 
Who will win this contest of wills? The stirring waves bear witness to this eternal struggleā€¦

ā€œLegend Seekersā€ Album Notes

Listen to it on any of your favorite music platforms today!

Listen to the Legend…
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Pre-Sale and Pre-Save for ā€œLegend Seekersā€ Now Open! ā€” Sound Deliverance

In a world where adventure calls and the intrepid answerā€¦ where the daring explore a mystifying world of Dream and Thoughtā€¦ where heartbreak twists into furious desperationā€¦ where virtuosic fits of funkiness stare brazenly into the face of dangerā€¦ where forgetfulness drives discovery and hopeā€¦

In this world, Leviathan ā€” a creature that haunts the Ancient Depths ā€” lies in wait to strike upon those that seek its legendary might!

Who will win this contest of wills? The stirring waves bear witness to this eternal struggleā€¦

Get an exclusive sneak peek at all the tracks on the upcoming ā€œLegend Seekersā€ album below! If you like what you hear, pre-order the album on Bandcamp to receive two tracks NOW ahead of release as well as several extra goodies, like exclusive Leviathan artwork and liner notes! Coming soon, thereā€™ll also be a SpotifyĀ [ā€¦]

via Pre-Sale and Pre-Save for ā€œLegend Seekersā€ Now Open! ā€” Sound Deliverance ?ļø

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Presenting, ā€œNevermoreā€!

The first new work for 2019!

Running at just over 4 minutes, this dramatic, challenging chamber work for solo viola and piano recounts the emotions that course through Edgar Allen Poeā€™s classic poem, ā€œThe Raven,ā€ with modern, neoromantic flair.

As of right now, I only have a midi demo; please take it with a grain of salt. šŸ™‚ Soon, however, I should have at least a video of its live debut performance…

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#NewTuneThursday: ā€œThe Elusive Everyman and Her Majestyā€ from Music for The Book of I

Welcome to #NewTuneThursday!

“The Elusive Everyman and Her Majesty” represents our main character, forced to live everyday with his mental illness, unsure who is real and who is not… Though that’s not entirely true– all the characters are very real to him.

Here’s how I put the work together; it’s really my most formulaic of the whole suite, which I think suits the mental state of our character…

This track represents one part of the two-fold heart of the main characterā€™s ultimate saga, in my musical interpretation of it. Essentially, this track is comprised of an increasing hodge-podge of melodic fragments ā€” ripped violently from the original works in which they are first found (from ā€œI Know What Death Sounds Like,ā€ ā€œFaces in Foam,ā€ and The Everyman and Her Majesty themes at the beginning of this present track) ā€” that swirl into an angry and frustrating mass of sound and angular textures, up until the very end, when they merge together into The Whiteness of Teastonā€™s mind. My next track will strive to illuminate musically the flip-side of Teastonā€™s disjointed thoughts, and the ways in which he attempts to come to terms with his schizophreniaā€¦.

Technique-wise, I assembled these fragments by first labeling them both alphabetically and numerically, then, taking seven of Teastonā€™s own chaotic fragments of thought from random places in the book (ā€œEver will I?ā€; ā€œCan I?ā€; ā€œConsumptionā€; ā€œHello Bloodā€; ā€œThe Cliff, Thanksā€; ā€œAnd the Waterā€; ā€œEven My Faceā€), I used the letters and syllables of these phrase-lets to ā€œspellā€ out and overlay the musical phrases.

How many of the phrases from these earlier tracks can you recognize, rushing and overtaking Teastonā€™s poor troubled mind?

I am fascinated with this work but I have yet to be happy with a performance of it… it’s just such a wickedly tricky work!

There are two versions you can listen to at this point: a live version that’s not entirely accurate but has a lot of heart, and a digital rendition that is spot on as far as accuracy goes but is missing a little bit of the humanness to it… See what you think! šŸ˜‰

Listen on Amazon Music
Listen on YouTube Music

Listen on Amazon Music (Live Version)
Listen on YouTube Music (Live version)

“The Elusive Everyman and Her Majesty” can be performed by an advanced ensemble. Get the sheet music here! And stay tuned for our new workā€¦

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Sneak Peek into Recording Prep for “Intrepid”

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! šŸ™‚

Want to contribute to this recording? There are several ways you can help:

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#NewTuneThursday: Greek Dance

Welcome to #NewTuneThursday!

“Greek Dance” is one of my earliest pieces; I believe this is one of those tunes I wrote while sitting on the bus during my tour years, like “Face in the Moonlight“…

Composed in 2002, this charming and enthusiastic work for string quartet makes playful use of the various rhythmic textures able to be derived from odd-beat patterns. Though it stands, in its spontaneity and brevity, as one of Wallin Huffā€™s earlier works, it remains a favorite among those who have tackled its deceptively simple intricacies.

It seems so simple, yet it’s such a challenge and a blast to play!

Earlier this year, Ryan M. LuƩvano invited me to include a short piece for string orchestra of my own during the debut concert of the Neue World Orchestra Project, so I decided to arrange this old quartet for the group. I really love the extra layers of color and texture it provides!

Below, you can hear the original quartet recording, as well as see the video from NWOP’s performance of the string orchestra version. Enjoy!

Listen on Amazon Music
Listen on YouTube Music

“Greek Dance” can be performed by groups of intermediate to advanced ability. Get the sheet music for the quartet here, and the string orchestra music here! And stay tuned for our new work of next weekā€¦

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#NewTuneThursday: Bonnie Prince Charlie

Welcome to #NewTuneThursday!

This has always been such a fun medley to play!

Based on a set of traditional Scottish tunes, this 5.5 minute long work is a sweeping journey of melody, color, and heart. Beginning somberly with a single violin, it soon opens up and begins driving forward. Each consecutive tune increases in tempo and ferocity until the set ends in a passionate, victorious rendition of the title tune, ā€œBonnie Prince Charlie.ā€ Though the melodies reflect the ageless tunes on which theyā€™re based, the chords and harmony parts are all original, bringing the classic fiddle sound into a fresh, modern light.

This work took a long time to put together, in the sense that I grew up “fiddling around” on each of these traditional tunes, and others. So I guess this medley is sort of a microcosm of my joyful foray into traditional Celtic music throughout my youth. I eventually had an opportunity to use the ending arrangement of “Bonnie Prince Charlie” with another song that I was playing with a band. And from there, it just evolved into this awesomely fun work!

There are currently two versions of the sheet music available:

In the recording below, you’ll hear the version for string trio (2 fiddles and viola). Enjoy!

Listen on Amazon Music
Listen on YouTube Music

“Bonnie Prince Charlie” can be performed by an early-intermediate ensemble. Stay tuned for our new work of next weekā€¦

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#NewTuneThursday: Dance the Dream

Welcome to #NewTuneThursday!

ā€œDance the Dreamā€ merges an electronic ostinato with looped parts for electric and acoustic violins, accompanied by electric bass, creating a rich tapestry of dreamy color.

This little piece was meant to be a “spiritual sibling” to the 2003 electric violin work “Personal Echo,” utilizing a electronically looped ostinato as well as repeated phrases in the string parts that layered in and out of each other over the course of a basic ternary form. It’s really a very simple concept, but out of that evolves a lot of possibility!

I especially dig the chord progressions and the rich texture that blossoms out of them…

Enjoy listening to the live single of “Dance the Dream” below!

Listen on Amazon Music
Listen on YouTube Music

“Dance the Dream” can be performed by an early-intermediate ensemble. There are a couple different ensemble versions of this work available:

  • Get the original version (with parts for 6-string (or 5-string) electric violin, 4-string acoustic violin, and electric bass, as well as the mp3 Official Backing Track created to accompany this ensemble) here.
  • Get the all Acoustic Version (with parts for two acoustic violins, viola [or cello], and electric bass, as well as two mp3 Official Acoustic Backing Tracks created to accompany this ensemble — one of which includes a pre-recorded bass part, and the other which is the electric ostinato only, to accompany all four parts live) here.

And stay tuned for our new work of next weekā€¦