New Performance Dates and Shadow Play Updates

I just received confirmation that the University of Trinidad Percussion Ensemble, directed by fellow Mizzou alum Josh Watkins, will be performing my percussion ensemble Four African Dances on April 16th. This will be the first time my music has been performed in South America and needless to say I am very excited to hear this wonderful group perform my music.

The next item of business is an update on the progress of Shadow Play. I spent the weekend dreaming up blueprints for the Encounter section and I think I have come up with a pretty clever layout. What I wanted to do with this section of the piece is for each performer in the duo to maintain their own musical identity, which in this case represents their "shadow" but have them switch roles.  I also wanted to use diminution on a large scale so I started subtracting consecutive eighth notes (using mod 8 math I subtracted 1 eigth note from 8/8 then 2 from 7/8. 3 from 5/8 and so on). From there I grouped the odd meters (for instance 7/8 and 5/8 make 12/8 or in my case 6/4) into a four bar pattern of 4/4, 6/4. 4/4. 6/4 but still keeping the odd groupings with the larger meter structure. After that I applied the same approach to form and came up with a 36 bar structure. By mere accident I stumbled upon the discovery that if I simply subtract 1 bar at a time (going simply from 8 bars to 1 rather than the mod8 approached mentioned earlier) I would still get a 36 bar chunk of music. So all of this leads up to the idea that each part will occupy the same space but their musical role, material, and structure will be unique to them. Here is a formal diagram if you are more of a visual person.

Also, in this section both performers are using different versions of the octatonic scale for harmonic and melodic roles which the players will switch halfway through the section. Since the performers are going to be dealing with different meters changes and formal structures occurring at different times I decided I will use the low C of the tenor pan to mark formal division in the piece, much like the use of a gong in Balinese gamelan music (one at the beginning of the section, then agin in the middle, and at the beginning of the new section (Merge). Another device I am borrowing from gamelan music is the use of "follow the leader" type kotekan patterns.

That's a lot of info but not alot of music so I should get back to my desk (after I watch Walking Dead of course) and hammer this thing out.

The Birthday Project: Shadow Play (Part 2)

Today I started working on Shadow Play for flute and pan. This is the first piece of purely instrumental music I have worked on since 2011. I had a great composition session and came up with an opening section that plays around with various sound effects to create an ethereal atmosphere (harmonic trills, singing and playing in unison, slow glissandi, flutter tonguing, measured vibrato) while the pan provides support in the forms of drones and imitation of melodic ideas. The title of the first section (The Appearance) is in reference to the Jungian archetype of the Shadow. There will be four sections that make up the work (The Appearance, Encounter, The Merge, and Healing Spirals), each one referencing the Jungian concept of the Shadow. It is my goal to complete one section a week and get feedback from my players. This will allow me to  make the appropriate edits before the March 6th deadline.

Update on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 09:56PM by Wes Stephens

Just spent the day putting the first minute or so of music into Finale (despite Finale 2014's best attempts to thwart me, but that is another matter entirely). Just sent the PDF of the music to Jason and Beaux and eagerly await their input!

Debussy Arrangement Reviewed in Percussive Notes

A few days ago a friend informed me via Facebook that my arrangement of Debussy's Le Petite Negre for marimba received a positive review in Percussive Notes! Check out the January 2014 issue for the whole thing. The score is available for purchase from Amalgam Publishing.

Vocal Music To Be Choreographed by Tulsa Modern Movement

I just received confirmation that Who Knows if the Moon's a Balloon will be choreographed by Tulsa Modern Movement. The performance will run two days (June 7th-8th, 2014) at Tulsa Ballet Studio K. Needless to say I am excited to see my music set to dance by such talented performers!

The Birthday Project: Shadow Play

I spent last night pondering how I can use the setup of a lead pan (for those who don't know, the notes are laid out in a circle of fifths) as a compositional starting point. I began by trying to come up with interesting scales by starting on a given pitch and skipping one note in a given direction, then two, three, etc. While I came up with is what is considered to be "standard" 20th century pitch classes (Augment/Diminished chords which can be synthesized into whole tone/octatonic collections) I now at least have a more idiomatic understanding of the pan from a composer's point of view.

Today I did a little research on youtube regarding Kotekan patterns (interlocking rhythmic patterns found in Balinese gamelan music) used in the tradition of Wayang Kulit (Balinese shadow puppet theater). I stumbled upon some cool examples that I will definitely have to play around with.