When I'm not creating music, I can always be found creating something else! I was super drawn to Legos as a child, and now I've rediscovered them as an adult. As part of this fun hobby I built a kinetic sculpture, DUET, in celebration of the Aurora School of Music’s spring recital series. This sculpture features a pianist and violinist playing together. The pianist’s arms move up and down the violinist rotates in place. The pianist is the most dynamic part of the sculpture and was the most difficult to build! It takes a few simple machines to get it up and running. Inside the sculpture are two weights that rise and fall, each is responsible for the motion of a different hand. The weights are lifted by prongs sticking out of two small wheels. As the wheels rotate, they cause the weights to rise. Once a prong moves past the weight — because of the wheel’s rotation — the weight drops down. Thanks gravity! Each weight is attached to a loop of string (courtesy of some Christmas ornaments). When a weight drops, this causes its loop of string to yank down on a lever inside the piano. When this lever is yanked down, a piano key quickly flips up, causing one of the pianist’s arms to bounce in the air. In this sculpture the piano plays the pianist! The violinist sits on top of a big gear that can spin freely. Its back-and-forth rotation is caused by the movement of a grooved Lego piece—one with teeth that fit the side of the gear. The grooved piece itself moves forward and back because it is attached to a rod being cranked by a small gear. Lastly, the speed of the sculpture is controlled by an early-2000s era LEGO train controller. Ta-da!
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When I'm not creating music, I can always be found creating something else! I was super drawn to Legos as a child, and now, I've rediscovered them as an adult. As part of this fun hobby, I built a little model of the Aurora School of Music as a Christmas surprise! Special highlights include two itty-bitty grand pianos (with adjustable lids and shiny strings!), wooden stage, concert hall balcony, practice rooms, waiting area, faculty lounge (with adjustable fridge door!), and the outdoor garden arrangement of white hydrangeas. In all, this project took 40 hours and was totally worth it!
My friend Elanor Lee (cello) and I are halfway through our collaboration! We're super EXCITED by how well it has been going. After a lot of brainstorming, we decided to write a set of six little pieces for cello that don't use the bow. It's 2021, and everyone has explored the infinite library of techniques using the bow. Why not explore what's possible without it? There's a whole world of techniques associated with pizzicato playing, and Eleanor is super dedicated to mastering all the possibilities! She is the perfect musician to help me compose this piece! Below are some excerpts of the second and third movements with brief commentary. The second movement began life as a Sarabande, but never found itself in the proper meter (3/4) for that dance. Instead, it's a quiet, melancholy meditation for the cello. With no bow to use, Eleanor does an amazing job using all of her pizzicato playing techniques to turn the cello into a harp! This movement alternates between slow arpeggios (rolled chords) and lyrical recitative-like passages. In the third movement, the cellist will use a rat tail comb in place of a bow! Eleanor and I actually discovered this technique somewhat on accident. At first, I was planning on having her use dowel sticks to play this movement. To try this out in a Zoom session, we used a comb to substitute for the dowel (We hadn't bought a dowel yet.) However, we realized that the comb was WAY MORE AWESOME! Because of the difference sides of the comb (teeth, handle, etc.) there's so many playing techniques possible. We ended up using arcomb to create a kind of drumming on the strings and comb bows drawing the comb of the teeth across the strings; it creates a school scratchy punctuation!
An incredible piece I recommend to everyone for listening! Truly amazing music by an amazing human being. After a months on hiatus in the COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself more ready to composer than ever. I’ve been very fortunate to work on several engraving and arranging projects during all this craziness, but now it’s time to get back to my own music!
I will be working on a series of modern cello miniatures (think bite-size music) in collaboration with cellist Eleanor Lee. Our goal is to explore all the sound possibilities of the cello by using alternative playing techniques (e.g. using a wooden dowel instead of a bow) in variety of combinations with established techniques for the instrument. Just how far can we push the boundaries? Stay tuned! We hope these little pieces will prove to be of great interest to cellist, composers, and our fellow audience members! What good is a piece of music, without it’s listeners? Today's composing inspiration brought to you by Cleveland's Wade Park under fresh snowfall. Not pictured: church bells ringing
Current state of the living room...
A new concerto for bassoonist Brendon Sill. (Probably good I have no roommates!) What shall we call you?
Composing in Color Part of a new chamber concerto for bassoonist Brendon Sill. Every day in the studio, library, or coffee shop, an artist is making decisions, taking risks.
Though letting go of perfection is a huge part of the decision process (at least for me), I’ve found some other mind tricks that help me decide the details of a piece.
Happy creating in 2020!! |
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