May 2012

My Summer Project... Symphony No. 1

I started a symphony a couple days ago on Finale. It's written for a full orchestra (Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet in E-Flat and B-Flat, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Contrabassoon, Horn in F, Trumpet in B-Flat, Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Contrabass.) I just wanted to throw that out there, as this is something I've been wanting to do for ages, and, well, now I can! The Pops Concert really inspired me to do some work on that.

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Orchestra Pops Reflection

Well. Today was certainly a big day - or should I say night; it's the Orchestra Pops Concert! I think we did a pretty good job as a general whole. I screwed up in a couple spots, but since I sit in the very back of the first violin section, it was hardly noticeable. I was sitting in an odd spot - it's towards the middle of the orchestra's curve in the back, by the bass section. We had the 180 string players forming the arch, and behind that, by the cartoon projectors, were the wind symphony with flutes and clarinets and percussion for the full orchestra pieces. It was so cool seeing everything come together, and I think we did a pretty good job! Well, it was hard for me to see the music, because, though we had a stand light, our stand was a dud, as it kept falling even though Dominique kept trying to keep it up... it failed. Oh, well. It all worked out!

Now it's only to wait until next year! And the Prism concert in December 2012! This Pops Concert, though, was a fantastic way to end the school year as a lead-in to the summer.

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Orchestra Pops Panic! (Heh... not really.)

Our Pops Concert is so close! I'm getting pretty nervous, especially considering my teacher is beginning to up the tempos of The Polar Express, and playing sixteenth notes when a quarter note is 172 (approx.) is not very easy! The concert is at night on Tuesday; our dress rehearsal is Monday. We also have Fine Arts Saturday afternoon, although that music is pretty easy and I don't really have to worry about it, although I'll still go through it tomorrow night.

Does anyone have any practice tips for practicing up until the concert? I'd really appreciate it! I've already tried slowing the tempo down for the difficult sixteenth-note passages in The Polar Express; in Ratatouille, there are some fingerings that are difficult, and overall Fantasia 2000 needs work. Ugh!

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Happy Mother's Day!

This evening I practiced all seven Pops pieces for an hour. It was pretty tiring! :)

For Mother's Day, I wrote a song for guitar, piano, and violin; using my keyboard I created an orchestra as in my story project with harp, cello, acoustic bass, and violin/viola pizzicato. Tomorrow we're probably walking around Chicago, and I'm pretty excited!

What about you? What are you doing with your mothers - or what is being done for you :)?

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A World Without Color

Hello.

Please take the time to read this short story I wrote a while back. The reason is because I am planning on creating an orchestral soundtrack for different parts of it, and in the coming weeks I will post links to either each song individually or the entire playlist from YouTube. I hope you enjoy this story; please leave any comments or questions about this project!

A World Without Color Short Story

I just finished one track. Find it below:
Track 01

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The Epic Orchestra of Super Mario Galaxy 2

One of my favorite video games is called Super Mario Galaxy 2. It's for the Nintendo Wii. You may have heard of it. I really enjoy it not only because of its great gameplay, but also its music, which, unlike many video games, is engendered through a symphony orchestra.

I remember the summer of 2010 (the game came out in May of that year) and I was playing a lot, attempting to go through it all. The soundtrack is huge, featuring a lot of original songs and a lot of songs from past Mario games. For example, the "Sliders theme" from Super Mario 64 is present, and the violin solo in that piece is now remastered, for this time around real heart is put into that violin, not just a MIDI file from the computer. There are also plenty of original themes, with epic choir sections, intense brass sections, and beautiful strings sections. The orchestral soundtrack of this game, and the one that came before this one, is wonderful; I believe this game has one of the best soundtracks ever, and, if I possibly do any composing for video games in the future, I'll be sure to put in some epic orchestra pieces.

UPDATE: It IS a MIDI violin from the computer. The Space Storm Galaxy, for example, which I'm listening to currently, combines synth with an awesome violin section and epic low piano. :)

Listen to the soundtrack!

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Orchestra Pops Concert

What's new for violin (for me) this May?

Our Orchestra Pops Concert is coming up; this year the theme is movies!

We are playing all of the following songs in late May:

Colors of the Wind
Music from Ratatouille
The Pink Panther
Music from Toy Story 2
*Music from Fantasia 2000
*Music from The Polar Express
*The Story of Mumble Happy Feet

*Full orchestra pieces

In class we played through everything to see how everyone was doing. There are definitely various measures of various pieces I need to work out, whether it be fingering or bowing or whatever. Needless to say, I'm very excited for the concert, as a lot of my friends and family are coming to watch. It's going to be an exciting night of violin-playing!

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