Greetings friends! It has been about two months since I have posted something and much of that has to do with life, the universe, and not getting a good a proper recording done. It is also coupled with that I am trying to get a recording from another organ and space as I have been becoming increasingly frustrated with the instrument in the Monastery Church. I have attempted to be as kind as possible about it, but the Möller is a Möller and has limited potential, one that I feel has been realized by the Evening Improvisations.
And now for something completely different… Earlier this year I ran an improvisation session with a bunch of young students. It was a blast! I think there are some fine tuning elements that I will include next time I do it, but the real success of the night was one particular piece I titled, “To be determined…” It was modeled after modern pop ballads (as I see and hear them), but it was template in which the students would be able to improvise upon.
Well, it was enough of a hit that my violinist friend who sponsored the event wanted the students to have something to take home. Another friend of mine from CCAC, needed people to record for his Audio Recording course. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to help both of my friends get things done! I am happy to announce the result: a fully realized version of the song “To be determined…” Here is a link to the score:
Here I will note that I have titled this a “composition.” For me, creating a template for improvisation falls far on the side of composition and less improvisation. Knowing that improvisation will happen is only a part of the compositional process, not an actual realization of the result. Writing, planning, and realizing the backing track was truly fun; though the sound of the song is of a pop kind, the process for me was as much like any other composition that I have written, with decidedly different results.