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!

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!

My Studio Tour

This is where a lot of the work happens... my little studio!

I love having dual monitors on my desk so I can have multiple programs open at once.

I have a full-size keyboard with headphones set up next to my desk (in front of a window), so I can play or improvise and then input it into Finale right away.

Endings

I'm finishing up a trumpet and piano piece, which got me thinking about endings.  I love writing endings.  Sometimes it is the hardest section of a piece to compose, but I love it anyway. Most composers probably agree that starting a piece is often the hardest part, but there is a certain pressure that looms when it comes time to write an ending.  You have to wrap everything up - successfully, creatively, and uniquely.  The ending is also a great opportunity - to transform the music you've written, to "kick it up a notch" and take the listener somewhere special.

Endings are often where we find composers being the most creative.

Sometimes composers choose to bring the music to its highest moment of tension at the ending, saving the climax for the very end.  Other times, the ending is understated, drawing the piece to a close in a hushed calm.  Still other times, endings surprise us with their wit.  Think about some of your favorite pieces and how they end - being that they are your favorite pieces, I bet they have endings that you love.

Renaissance composers such as Josquin developed the compositional idea of a conclusione - an ending which brings together all the pervading motives of the work.  The technique provides a satisfying summation of the work - bringing back elements of music which we have heard before, but combining them into an amalgamation which is new and often stunning.  Lately, I have found myself more and more attracted to this idea of conclusione, and several of my works aim for an ending that somehow brings together several music motives and transforms them through their simultaneous (or nearly simultaneous) combination.

Here is a wonderful example of a conclusione ending by Josquin, from his astounding psalm motet Miserere mei deus:

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