More Composing Adventures

So, I've told you all about my composing adventures (including my escapade trying to make a CD)... but somehow I overlooked sharing this last semester's adventure. I took an actual composing class, and it stretched me a bit. I've been used to only composing for piano (supplemented with voice, violin or guitar), but during this class I tried composing for a number of other instruments such as cello, flute, glockenspiel, clarinet... I had never dared do that before since I'm only familiar with piano, but I was surprised at how well I could do with just a little research about the instrument.

The last piece I wrote was for a small ensemble. We could go with a typical group (think piano trio, brass quartet, or string quartet), or come up with our own. I, being the ever-adventurous one, came up with my own ensemble comprised of: violin, clarinet, flute, glockenspiel, and marimba (the glockenspiel is the one on the back right that sounds like bells, and the marimba is on the left). I went for a more "minimalist" sound with my piece (which means that it sounds very repetitive and flow-y), and I like how it ended up.

For the "final" of the class, we had to have the piece performed, with ourselves conducting (if we knew how). I called the piece "A Spark of Inspiration," but it accidentally ended up as "A Spark of Imagination" in the program. I ended up sticking with that because I like it better. :)

We also had to write up liner notes, and this is what I wrote:

So many things sparked the inspiration for this piece: a child's wonder at the vast world about them, that tricky inspiration which always eludes your grasp when you most want it, and the magical feeling of fairy tales and fairy dust. These ideas are sprinkled throughout as the music ebbs and falls.

So, I give you "A Spark of Imagination:"