There are several pieces from the 2nd Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern) that I like and certainly respect as being important. Still, it's fun to laugh and poke fun at art sometimes. Here is a hilarious segment:
Groove Music
I'm currently working on a new piece for saxophone quartet and flute ensemble, a commission from the University of Central Florida. Indeed, you say, what a unique combination of instruments! It's an exciting challenge to create music for this interesting instrumentation. I've chosen to expand upon a movement of my 4-movement "Nocturnes" for solo piano.
As I started to think about material for saxophone quartet and flute ensemble, I realized that the music from the fourth movement of Nocturnes would score really well for this instrumentation. And, I have been wanting to expand on the "groove" section in the middle of the piece for some time. In this new iteration, the opening half of the movement (the slow part) will remain relatively the same, but the fast section will be greatly expanded and the work will end fast, not returning to the slower music like the piano version. I love driving and rhythmic music, and I'm enjoying working on this section.
The groove made me think of Michael Tilson Thomas, one of my favorite conductors to watch. He is always so engaged in the music, always grooving, and always having so much fun. I love it. I hope my fast, grooving music is as much fun as MTT and Tchaikovsky in this great HD video from the San Francisco Symphony:
New Year :: New Music
In my last post I did a quick recap of 2011, and today I want to touch on my compositional plans for 2012. I have a bunch of other goals and plans, but for this post I want to focus on pieces I plan (and hope!) to write this year: Nocturne IV - Flute & Saxophone Ensemble Commissioned by the University of Central Florida Flute & Saxophone Ensemble
Magnolia Star - Wind Ensemble A short and energetic piece for wind ensemble based on trains and the blues scale. What could be better!
Keep Me Fully Glad - SATB Choir (?? not sure of exact instrumentation yet) A setting of a beautiful Rabindranath Tagore poem - read more here.
Untitled - Wind Ensemble & Screen A 15 minute work for wind ensemble and film, inspired by the photography of Ansel Adams. Click here to see a video about the project. Commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles. You can join! Contact me here.
Shout! - SATB Choir (?? not sure of exact instrumentation yet) A fun and rousing song with powerful text by one of my favorite poets - my wife!
Morning Hymn - SATB & Piano A setting of the beautiful text (see here) by Charles Wesley
There you have it - my compositions for 2012. Of course, there will probably be other projects that sneak in here as well. And, if you/your ensemble wants to commission a piece this year, there is still room! I can always fit in special projects, but the sooner we start planning, the better!
Best wishes for an exciting 2012!
Recap: 2011
I like to think that I am always forging ahead, ready to dive into the next project, learn from new experiences, etc. But, every now and then it is good to look back and evaluate our path, make goals and strategies for the future, and put things in perspective. 2011 was a great year in many ways.
First and foremost, I married a loving, caring, and musical(!) woman whom I can't imagine living without. I also composed a bunch of new works, and looking back, I'm pretty happy with them! That is always good - not having to burn too much music! I saw many friends and colleagues throughout the year, and made wonderful new acquaintances. Dedicated performers and conductors put a wealth of time, energy, and musicality into performances of my music this year, and I'm grateful for their passion.
Here are the new pieces I composed in 2011 (in date order, oldest to newest):
Distant Moons - Wind Ensemble
Arise & Sing - SATB Choir
Once More, My Soul - SATB Choir & Piano
From Our Happy Home - TTBB Choir & English Horn
Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven - Cello & Violin (coming soon to the website!)
A Song of Singing - SATB Choir, Piano, Timpani, Brass Ensemble
The Star Spangled Banner - Arrangement for Chamber Orchestra (coming soon to the website!)
This Song of Mine - SA Choir & Piano
Stay tuned for 2012 plans!
Poems Under the Christmas Tree!
Well, we actually didn't have a tree this year... but I did get some lovely presents which were beautifully wrapped. Among the highlights are a set of poems that my wonderful wife gathered together for me. She knows that I love to peruse poetry for possible song texts, and she has a great ability to find texts that resonate deeply with me. She has given me this type of gift before, and several recent pieces have been the result of her poetry finds. Given my recent work with a Tagore text (see here) she included several fantastic Tagore poems that I had not discovered previously. Her gift of about 15 poems included this one on top (beautiful!):
KEEP ME FULLY GLAD by Rabindranath Tagore
Keep me fully glad with nothing. Only take my hand in your hand. In the gloom of the deepening night take up my heart and play with it as you list. Bind me close to you with nothing.
I will spread myself out at your feet and lie still. Under this clouded sky I will meet silence with silence. I will become one with the night clasping the earth in my breast. Make my life glad with nothing.
The rains sweep the sky from end to end. Jasmines in the wet untamable wind revel in their own perfume. The cloud-hidden stars thrill in secret. Let me fill to the full my heart with nothing but my own depth of joy.
Say Hi to the Midwest Clinic for Me!
This week is the fantastic Midwest Clinic in Chicago - the largest gathering of wind and orchestra conductors, composers, ensembles, etc. Unfortunately I won't be there, and I'm sure I will be missing some great performances, talks, colleagues, and friends! I plan to be there next year, and who knows... if I'm lucky enough maybe I will have a piece performed! In honor of Midwest week, I'm posting this video from the 2009 Midwest Clinic featuring the one-and-only Eastman Wind Ensemble performing Mark Scatterday's transcription of Tumbao from Roberto Sierra's Symphony No. 3. Enjoy!
Women's Choir Piece - In Progress
In a previous post, I shared a beautiful text which I have been planning to set. I've been working out some ideas for weeks and 2 weeks ago I decided that the piece would work well for women's choir (SA, some divisi) and piano. So, I've been hard at work and the piece is basically done now, just some editing and tweaking to do. It's one of those pieces I just wanted to write, and wasn't being written for specific performance or ensemble. So...that means the premiere performance is up for grabs! I'm posting this on my blog and facebook to see if a women's choir out there would like to premiere the piece.
If you/your ensemble is interested in premiering the piece, let me know (email steve [at] stevedanyew [dot] com). As a special holiday treat, I'm willing to provide the PDF version for FREE to the ensemble that will premiere the piece!
The whole piece is about 4.5 minutes long. The piece is not very difficult - sort of a delicate lullaby-type song. The text is taken from a beautiful poem titled "My Song" by Rabindranath Tagore - more details about the text follow the two pages below...
Tagore's "My Song" is a simple and beautiful poem - a collection of statements, promises, about "this song of mine." I selected several of the lines from the poem to make up the text for this piece. Here are the lines included in the text:
This song of mine will wind its music around you, my child, like the fond arms of love. This song of mine will touch your forehead like a kiss of blessing. My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams, it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown. It will be like the faithful star overhead when dark night is over your road. When you are alone it will sit by your side and whisper in your ear.
Beautiful words from Tagore, don't you think? If you are interested in premiering the piece, please contact me at steve [at] stevedanyew [dot] com. Thanks!
Recap: A Song of Singing Premiere
I didn't get sun burned! (I wasn't in the sun very much... alas.) I had a wonderful visit to Delray Beach, FL from November 30 - December 4. I was in Florida for the premiere of A Song of Singing, which was commissioned by the Delray Beach Chorale (DBC) in celebration of their 30th anniversary season.
The dress rehearsal on Tuesday night (Nov. 30th) was the first time the choir had rehearsed with a 9-piece brass and percussion ensemble that would perform with them that weekend. The size of the church, power of the brass, and arrangement on the stage made balance a little tricky, but the DBC director Eric Keiper did a great job harnessing the brass and bringing the choir to the fore. He even brought a beautiful red rug to the performance, laying it down in front of the brass which helped absorb a bit of their powerful sound!
Between Tuesday (dress rehearsal) and Saturday (performance) I was hosted by a wonderful choir member and her husband, and was treated to great food, weather, and conversation. On Wednesday evening I had a lovely dinner with Eric and two members of the DBC board. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the choir and hear all their great ideas for the future - this is a group to watch!
Friday evening I had dinner with a board member and another singer in the group, and was fortunate enough to attend a brilliant concert by the Delray String Quartet. They played a wonderful program of music in a beautiful venue in Fort Lauderdale, and played with fantastic sensitivity. It was really a pleasure to hear them - I only wish more people had been there to appreciate some great music-making.
Saturday was a great day - we took some pictures prior to the performance in the afternoon, touched some spots in my piece and others, and began the concert at 3pm. It was a wonderful performance on many levels.
First, I think there were about 400 people in attendance! Second, it was an ambitious program of music that really showed many different sides of the choir and all the instrumentalists involved.
Third, the performance had a great energy and excitement that doesn't always happen. Sometimes the dress rehearsal will have that extra edge and energy, followed by a performance that seems lackluster. But in this case, the performance really kicked it up a notch.
My piece in particular sounded fun - which is exactly what I wanted. I wrote the piece hoping that it would be fun for everyone involved - the choir, the director, the brass, the timpani, the piano! I wasn't entirely sure how the audience would react to the piece (I guess because I was thinking so much more about the performers, in this case) but they loved it!
I was honored to be a part of this significant anniversary for the DBC and I look forward to following their next 30 years of singing!
My Song
Below is a text I found a couple of months ago. I'm working on a few preliminary ideas, but I'm still not even sure what the instrumentation will be. Might be SATB choir unaccompanied, but not entirely sure yet. Anyway, the text is beautiful and I'm looking forward to working on it: My Song
This song of mine will wind its music around you, my child, like the fond arms of love. This song of mine will touch your forehead like a kiss of blessing.
When you are alone it will sit by your side and whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd it will fence you about with aloofness.
My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams, it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown. It will be like the faithful star overhead when dark night is over your road.
My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes, and will carry your sight into the heart of things. And when my voice is silent in death, my song will speak in your living heart.
- Rabindranath Tagore