Hey, well I thought I would share some of my music for your listening and critiquing pleasure! Now, my good stuff unfortunately is over 10mb and I cant upload it here since I write huge orchestral pieces most of the time but I thought I would share some of my smaller ones that were small enough to fit!

March of the Wineaux (concert band) - A march dedicated to wine drinkers around the world! Premiered in 2004 in Nappa Valley for their yearly Wine Festival.

Jacqueline's Theme - A work for a video game project I was a part of. A playable character, mage-type... etc... repetitious because of what was requested of me. lol

Adagio for Strings - Took a shot at it. lol Not bad! Live recording too.

Who recorded your Adagio for strings? The recording is great! The piece is really nice, as well. I'd love to look at the score to give more comments...

The midi recording of "March of the Wineauxs" nearly made my ears bleed, but that's not really your fault.

I really want to hear some of your orchestral stuff now; you could probably upload it on some file sharing site like zshare if you want to show us.

Good job! I like the change of style in Jacqueline's Theme at around 1:35. I think the melody is a little predictable, but otherwise it was quite good. :)

Adagio for Strings is pleasant as well.

Who recorded your Adagio for strings? The recording is great! The piece is really nice, as well. I'd love to look at the score to give more comments...

The midi recording of "March of the Wineauxs" nearly made my ears bleed, but that's not really your fault.

I really want to hear some of your orchestral stuff now; you could probably upload it on some file sharing site like zshare if you want to show us.

Thanks Deathraider. The string orchestra was actually many volenter string players from around my area who worked with me. They play for many different orchestras in the Los Angeles area. About seeing a score, I sent you a pm about that.


Good job! I like the change of style in Jacqueline's Theme at around 1:35. I think the melody is a little predictable, but otherwise it was quite good. :)

Adagio for Strings is pleasant as well.

Thank you Gotank. These scores are a little outdated but I hope that I am getting better. The Jacq's theme is suppose to be a little predictable since that is what they kind of wanted. I tried to include some variation but its hard when the director only wants that theme in and out of there. Kind of the reason I rarely work in indie games anymore. Those silly directors/creators want this massive orchestral score and they want it for FREE! lol.

I was only able to listen to Jacqueline's Theme because of time constraints but it was a nice listen. The only thing I would suggest is to bring the melody out more. Seems to hide behind your harmonies. May just be the speakers I listened to them on though. Great stuff!

Adagio for Strings was beautiful. absolutely gorgeous. that cello, man... seems like everyone wanted to deliver the emotional value to this piece. i didn't know strings could make those kinds of sounds. :heh: now i know.

When I love something, I don't say much. :)

Thanks all for the wonderful feedback. If you want to see a score or something don't hesitate to send me a pm. I am not too fond of posting my original sheet music online for all to... see... lol.

Anyway, I will look into a file uploader website so I can share some of my larger works.

Currently I am working on:
Premier of my Clarinet Concerto
Requiem Mass
Die Lutshiff - The Airship - Opera (only got thee pieces done.... will do more when I finish Mass)
Orchestral Suite No. 4 Les Trois Fées (The Three Faeries)
Piano Concerto (Sitting on the Back Burner)
Guitar Concerto (Sitting there too)

So as you can see, I have a lot of unfinished crap to do. A lot of it has made a wonderful manuscript fort for my dog. That and you cannot see my wallpaper anymore due to hand written scores blocking their view.

Glad you all enjoyed it and I hope to share more real soon.


Adagio for Strings was beautiful. absolutely gorgeous. that cello, man... seems like everyone wanted to deliver the emotional value to this piece. i didn't know strings could make those kinds of sounds. :heh: now i know.

You'd be surprised what instruments can sound like when given the proper directions to do so. As a composer I believe that great musical communication in paramount to being a good composer. If you want people to understand your music and appreciate it they have to be able to relate to it, to feel its essence and the message, emotion, concept, idea, color, etc... of what your writing. If they don't grasp it how can they enjoy it. Always keep in mind to bend your style of writing slightly so that it can appeal to those listening.

Always keep in mind to bend your style of writing slightly so that it can appeal to those listening.

I think you just hammered my loose nail.

I think you just hammered my loose nail.

Well, I mean some colleges I have taught master classes at I swear are hilarious in a way. I was at a state college with a seemingly self proclaimed GREAT music department (Not going to disclose name of school due to UBER embarrassment on them) and I taught a master class there in composition. So, the whole composition program there is directed strictly towards atonal music and only one class is dedicated to all other forms of composition.

So, after the class and a ton of q&a the head of the composition dpt asks me to stay for the composers guild concert. I agree and go. The whole theater (400 seats) is sold out and people are standing in the isles. By about the 5th piece (on the 4th composer) they had not gone into intermission yet and the whole place only had about 14 people left to listen. This implies people were leaving the concert in the middle of it, sacrificing their ticket, and just leaving. You could hear the murmuring during the performance... people disgusted at what they heard. I was asked after the concert what I thought of the music performed... I only responded with: "Well, I understood it all since I am a composer too... But I regret to inform you that your audience seemed to not enjoy it at all". She replies "Well, they are just not artistic enough to understand true music as the art that it is."

One of the pieces was the words from Poe's "Tell Tale Heart" sang with a piano accompanying it with nothing but decatonal chords...... that was the best piece of that evening too and even I cringed at the bad singer (Or was it written to sound like that)...

Ever since that day I told this story to every masterclass I taught to make the point posted earlier. ^^

I think there are ways to make "atonal" pieces accessible (although "atonality" includes such a wide range of techniques, including modality, that the word is nearly meaningless, in my opinion). I agree that to be a successful composer, you have to tailor music to your audience, but I think there's also something to be said for stretching the comfort zones of audience members in order to show them new things; otherwise, we're not being creative.

I think there are ways to make "atonal" pieces accessible (although "atonality" includes such a wide range of techniques, including modality, that the word is nearly meaningless, in my opinion). I agree that to be a successful composer, you have to tailor music to your audience, but I think there's also something to be said for stretching the comfort zones of audience members in order to show them new things; otherwise, we're not being creative.

Well, this is an age long debate but keep in mind Atonal and all the concepts around it are over 150 years old. There is truly nothing new about it anymore and really has not been anything new for about 100 years. Frank Techeli (Famed Band Composer and teacher at USC) once stated that it came, it impressed for brief moment (reference to the Cage years mostly though this is truly debatable), and is still not accepted by the masses. I mean, yeah, it was new but we also have Neo-Romantic, Neo-Classical, and even things like Bebop-Fusion brought to you by the Seatbelts. John Williams, though not a strong source but I do accredit him highly for his few golden quotes: "Atonal music, as a stand alone form, seems to never do well or appeal to audiences in general. But as a tool, or to introduce it as decoration, atonal has shown to be a wonderful supplement to the crafting of modern music and film." A quote which I found out later in life he stole from Rimsky-Korsekov. Though I come to realize Rimsky-Korsekov stole a lot from his teacher Ivanoff-Ippolotov.

Edit: Keep in mind French Impressionists push audiences well and Milhaud and Poulanc were able to push audiences comfort zones. Actually Milhaud wrote that concept of "it is and insult to get up and leave in the middle of a concert you don't like, but you can easily look away from a painting without insulting the creator." Interpret that how you will. I think of it as: God this music is terrible but don't want everyone to notice me being an ass and leaving in the middle of this concert. I wish it was like looking at Modern Art, if it disgusts me I can just turn look away.

I agree, atonal seems to be a strong supplement and I have found myself using it in parts of various film scores or to push certain effects or tensions when writing in transitions. Rimsky-Korsekov also discusses Atonal and its design towards decoration and how he believe it was not a powerful style within itself to use as the foundation of writing a composition piece. He had a whole chapter about using atonality to decorate music and the colors you get from it in his orchestration/composition book. But even knowing that Rimsky-Korsekov touched on atonality should really enforce how old the style is.

I also recommend Hindemith Composition Vol. 1 & 2, Berlioz Orchestration Book, and Ravel also wrote an orchestration book. I have all of the books mentioned in this post. Wonderful reading and if you have not read them yet in a class at your college shame on your private composition teacher. I also have the Schoenburg guide to harmony. But after 5 read throughs I use it as a door stop. Still useful though. Sitting next to my Biography of P.D.Q Bach which I use for a drink coaster at my workbench.

I think atonal music has a run with younger people still because it SEEMS to be out of the box and different though I have heard from people like Robert W. Smith that "If you think Atonal is new and going to breakthrough to audiences eventually you are deluded and naive to think it will ever get any farther than it has gotten". - R.W. Smith masterclass quote from Paebody Conservatory 2003 I think.

But most composers know it is not new at all anymore, and in some circles its like beating a dead horse. Or like Nintendo bringing back their old characters over and over again and once in a while there is a shining gem in there using old ideas and showing them off as new. I think its important to learn atonality just like it is important to learn how to write counterpoint and how you should learn to compose in each era from Renaissance to Nationalism, Romantic, Classical, etc...

Anyway, at the end of the day do what you will, but I do recommend looking into it yourself at who is successful and what direction they are going as composers. Even Corgliano and Glass know how to compose on both sides of the spectrum very well and do so. b^^

I didn't say atonality was new, did I? In any case, you have some interesting points. I still stand by what I said about the word "atonal" meaning basically nothing anymore because of how many different techniques it encompasses, not all of which are, in my opinion, a dead end. There are ways that composers can be creative and original within both the spheres of "tonality" and "atonality" regardless of how long the concepts behind them have been around, and I think it is important for an artist of any type to be creative and original.

Sorry, this is kind of off the topic of your music in specific; I'll look forward to hearing more from you!

Nah, I just go on witch burnings from growing up and working in the field with that mentality and as soon as I even see the words atonal my eyes turn blood red and I go for the kill. Probably from the generation of composer I grew up with of composers telling me the only way you'll make it is to be atonal and artistic and coming to see the tables turned on them is my triumph in a way. lol Ignore my stampede of overly defensive atonal hate. b^^

No worries! I totally understand where you're coming from. By the way, if you are to the point that you are teaching masterclasses, does that mean you have a Ph.D.? Most of the people that come to my school for composition masterclasses (my school being the University of Utah) are well-known professors and the like...

Well, I prefer to keep my alias for the time being. But yes, I do have an advanced education in music. I focus mostly at orchestration. I have been able to easily take piano scores and turn them into huge orchestral pieces... was a hobby after school but now I do orchestration for.... more entertaining things... and I prefer to leave it at that. lol Though I probably gave it away.

Nice! I'm only a lowly undergrad...

Well, look at John Rutter.... fool got an honorary Doctorate from the Vatican... I wish stuff like that was just given to me. I think I compose as good as him! LOL!