Composition Commons^™

I Have Not Always Been As Now, Bailey Knowles

Compositions

i have not always been as now is a four-movement piece for soprano voice, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and glockenspiel. The libretto is a reworking of literature by Edgar Allen Poe. I read through his entire output of poetry, isolated lines that I enjoyed, stood out, or triggered a musical thought in my head, and rearranged them to create a new story. The story is purposefully vague, and its specific meanings and interpretations shall be deciphered by the listener. The story follows someone who is recalling memories of a love from the past. This love could be a person, a …

La Bicicletta, Jack Druffel

Compositions

Program Notes:

La Bicicletta was written in the fall of 2018 and edited for the Illinois Wesleyan Symphony Orchestra in early 2019. It is a narrative about an accident the composer endured while in Milan, Italy. While cycling home, he was struck by a motorcycle and spent a night in an Italian hospital and was released the next day with minor injuries. The main idea of the piece is to reflect the mundane tasks of daily life, and this motif is presented in each of the four sections that make up La Bicicletta.

The first part of the piece reflects …

Symposium Of Contemporary Music, 2017, School Of Music

Programs

The program for November 16-17, 2017 featured guest composer Judith Shatlin, he William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor at the University of Virginia. Ms. Shatin also founded the Virginia Center for Computer Music. Her music has been commissioned by organizations including Carnegie Hall and the National Endowment for the Arts.

American Spring, Sam Mullooly, Tom Mullooly

CrissCross

Composer's Notes

I composed American Spring during the 2015-2016 school year, my final year as an undergraduate at Illinois Wesleyan University, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. This opera takes place mostly in April 1865, the year Richmond burned and Lincoln died, and deals with America’s feelings of pride and shame in war. The opera’s main character is Varina Davis, the wife of confederate President Jefferson Davis. Varina offers the 1860’s Southern perspective on slavery and the war, one glossed over in most readings of our history because it is so obviously repugnant …

Symposium Of Contemporary Music, November 2016, School Of Music

Programs

Presented by the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Music, November 10, 2016, and featured special guest composer and vocalist Eve Beglarian.

Little Birds, Anna Wagner, Daniel Swilley, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Jonathan Green, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

Charlie Schlenker from WGLT interviews IWU Provost Jonathan Green. A January 2016 recital at Illinois Wesleyan featured several original pieces composed by Provost Green.

See WGLT for more information about the interview. A transcript of this interview can be found by clicking the download link above and to the right of this page.

Movement I. "Lo" From Four Moons For Brass Quartet, Gregory V. Goeden

Compositions

"lo" is the introductory movement of a four-part suite, entitled Four Moons for Brass Quartet. As suggested by the title, the four movements of the work were modeled after a specific set of astronomical entities, the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. These celestial satellites provided inspiration for this work in a number of different ways. Scientific observations and measurements for each moon, such as diameter, mass, density and composition, provided melodic and harmonic ideas through a 20th century musical process that is commonly referred to as "pitch set theory." The visual and physical qualities of each moon, and their relationships …

Illinois (Honors), Luke J. Mcloughlin

Compositions

This work was abstractly inspired by the landscape of my home state. I composed its building blocks while just north of Normal, Illinois, specifically while at various points along the square formed by Main Street, E 1800 North Road, N 1300 East Road, and W Ziebarth Road. During multiple sessions, I visited these locations and wrote down, on staff and loose leaf paper, what came to mind. The goal was that, during the composition process, I would focus more on the development of the music—in and of itself. The resultant piece was to avoid relying on some sort of outside …

Oasis Dreams, Clarisse Tobia, David Vayo, Faculty Advisor

Compositions

Full musical score for violin, viola, cello and piano for large or small ensembles.

Provost Publishes 6th In Series Of Conductor’S Guides, Matt Kurz

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Student Composition Concert, Danielle Kamp

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Flow, Tommy Bravos

Compositions

Flow was composed in the Spring of 2014 and premiered in it’s entirety during the April Student Composition Concert here at Illinois Wesleyan University. I composed the piece during an emotionally tumultuous time, and it represents many events that were occurring cyclically in my life at the time. The emotional events that directly inspired Flow were like opposite sides of a coin: one being relationships attempting to grow and the other being relationships gradually turning sour, needing to be left behind. These ideas are represented by the piece revolving around the recurring motive, showing how these events constantly wove in …

Dolce Stil Novo, Timothy W. Mcdunn

Compositions

Dolce Stil Novo is a slightly unconventional kind of tone poem. As the title suggests, the main inspiration for the piece is the poetry of Dante Alighieri, especially that subset of it which belongs to his so-called "Sweet New Style." While the three successive intermezzi are tied only obliquely to this subject, the first and final movements make direct reference to Dante's Sweet New Style as found in the Vita Nuova, an autobiographical compilation of prose and verse. In this way, the piece is a reflection on Dante's writings from two perspectives: that of the author (in the first and …

Jonathan Green, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

"How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? Write - As Well As Practice"

An Illinois Wesleyan University composer recently had a work of his debut at Carnegie Hall. WGLT's Charlie Schlenker has more.

Symposium Of Contemporary Music, 2011, School Of Music

Programs

Presented by the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Music February 3-4, 2011. Featured guests from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music: Yang Xiaozhong, Song Mingzhu, and Zhou Tianli.

Music Compositions Student Presentations, School Of Music

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Se Tu Mi Lassi (If You Leave Me) For Choir, Katherine Spencer

Compositions

No abstract provided.

(Waterfall), Scott Schumann

Compositions

No abstract provided.

With Eyes Closed, Queenie Li

Compositions

No abstract provided.

Light The Way: Song Cycle For Baritone Voice And Piano (Honors), Brian Baxter, Joshua Ziemann

Compositions

Light the Way is based on seven distinct poems written by Joshua Ziemann. I was compelled to write a song cycle based on Ziemann's texts after reading through his poetry and seeing great possibilities for musical settings. The poems that I chose to set are not concretely related to one another; however they are related on an abtract level. The texts in many respects, represent a sense of searching for purpose and meaning in life and our environment. I chose the title, Light the Way, in order to reflect this sentiment.

Acoustic Exploration For Prepared Piano, Jesse Schaar

Compositions

The strings which correspond to the circled pitches are to be prepared with dimes. These notes on the piano have three strings per note, so the dime may be wedged between the three strings. The pitches created will be lower than the written pitch. The target created pitches for d, e# and f% are a, c# and d respectively. The dimes may be adjusted along the length of the string to achieve these target pitches. The strings which correspond to these circled pitches (which are an octave above where written) should be prepared with the rubber insulation of a wire. …

People Movement (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

People Movement was written for the second session of the 2006 Interlochen Composer Institute. The piece derives its motives and rhythms from the sounds of public and private transportation in Chicago, IL. The opening repeating motive in the bassoon which serves as a rhythmic base for the work represents a group of motorcycle riders revving their motorcycles while sitting idle in a parking lot." The rhythm of the motorcycles was fascinating to me and it had in fact originally interested me while on a trip to Minnesota when I was in downtown St. Paul. All of the other material in …

Passing Tour (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

In the overarching development of my compositional voice, Passing Tour has proven to be a pivotal piece. Written in 2004 during my first year as an undergraduate music student, it pulled my musical knowledge from before college and combined it with my new heightened passion and higher understanding of music to create a piece that would become a jumping off point for my compositional style as an undergraduate student. The piece itself was composed with the memory of family road trips ingrained in my head from my childhood. This piece is meant to evoke the type of introspective thoughts that …

Vermont (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

Vermont was inspired by the great amount of time that I have spent in the state of Vermont visiting with my family. The state of Vermont has always been a very important part of my life and to an extent I consider it my second home. The initial theme played by the first cello is of great importance throughout the piece and is a chant that comes from the Catholic mass. This theme is reminiscent of the old, small town New England churches that I have attended with my family as well as a representation of the importance of Catholicism …

At The Grave Beneath The Oak, Benjamin Johnson

Compositions

No abstract provided.

String Quartet (Honors), Luke Gullickson

Compositions

I began my String Quartet in the summer of 2006 with the opening section, which flashes in a sort of montage between passages from the first three movements. The piece then grew into four ostensibly disparate movements that are linked through many references that are built into the musical structure.

After The Fact (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

Composer's Note: After the Fact has no specific extra-musical program however as I was writing the piece I was inspired by many thoughts on the age-old question of "what if?" By this I mean what would people do differently if they had known in the first place the outcome of a certain situation. While writing this piece I was specifically paying close attention to the news about the war and tensions that were taking place over in Iraq and the Middle East. In many ways this piece is a reflection on this war and all of the conflict taking place …

Kyrie (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

Kyrie was written in a three part form reminiscent at the actual form of its namesake in the Catholic mass, however it has no programmatic basis. The number three is a primary organizational mechanism for this piece. Kyrie is based on the Eb dorian mode and contains a number of motives reminiscent of Gregorian chant.

Fanfare For The Black Cat (Honors), Brian Baxter

Compositions

Fanfare for the Black cat is a short comical work for brass quintet. It was inspired by a black cat that followed me home one night as I was walking through a park. As I reached my house, the cat vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. The piece is based on two motives which are spun out through the entire piece and intended to create a mysterious ambience.