I’ve written in the past about James Tenney’s Meta-Hodos, on this blog and for school. (Fast summary: According to Tenney, just as we usually divide time into years, months, days, and so on, music can be divided hierarchically. This hierarchies arise in music because of musical differences from moment to moment (and phrase to phrase, section to […]
Continue readingMy Favorite Piano Concerti
. . . prompted by discovering I had a recording of Schumann’s Piano Concerto, op. 54, on my computer. In chronological order.
Continue readingSome Things I’ve Read Recently . . .
. . . and why I’ve liked them. Articles about notation software, the European/American musical divide, and bell towers.
Continue readingWhat Goes Through My Ears While Composing
Thank goodness nothing literally. I like to have “reference” music while composing. It usually has nothing to do with the music I’m writing. In fact, I’m actually not quite show what relationship it has to what I end up writing, except that I like having some consistency to what I listen to. Here’re some highlights […]
Continue readingThe World’s Ugliest Music? Nice Try . . .
So Dr. Scott Rickard thinks he’s composed the world’s ugliest music using fancy math. I’m not convinced, but you can hear for yourself: the piece, written for piano, starts at 7’48. Rickard is not the only one to use fancy math to write music. Most notably, Iannis Xenakis beat him to the punch nearly sixty […]
Continue readingMusic Theory for the Twenty-first Century
(I wrote this blog post during the SOPA/PIPA internet blackout, and, WordPress being out, I couldn’t post it till later. Along with millions of others, I oppose those bills.) On Tuesday, I presented a paper at BYU’s composition seminar about James Tenney and the theoretical system he developed. Without getting into its specifics (which manage […]
Continue readingMyths and Legends: the Video
Jared Starr recently sent me the video recording of his performance. Check it out below: In other news, I’ve just started in on a new string quartet. Details forthcoming . . .
Continue readingThe Things You Find When You Have Nothing Else To Do, Part 1
No comment necessary: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNabSidq2XU&context=C3ae8240ADOEgsToPDskJG-_jV26Uliu2ZXVTAvfWD] . . . and for something completely different, here, as promised, is the audio for Myths and Legends. Good job again to Jared, Kory, and the BYU Chamber Orchestra!
Continue readingMyths and Legends Premiered Tonight
Jared and the orchestra did really well and gave a performance that was filled with life and energy. In addition, it was a great concert all around, with pieces by C.P.E. Bach, Stravinsky, and Haydn. Afterward, I got to have a picture with some key players in the premiere. Thanks as well to everyone who […]
Continue readingField Guide Premieres in Utah
Less than a week after the successful premiere of my Clarinet Sonata (Kudos to Jaren Hinckley and Jed Moss! It was an electrifying performance!), A Field Guide to Natural History just received its Utah premiere this past week as part of BYU’s Group for New Music concerts. For those who weren’t there or who want […]
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