Several months ago, I had the idea to write a year cycle for the piano. Composers throughout time have done this (such as Fanny Mendelssohn and Pyotr Tchaikovsky); they wrote a short character piece for each month of the year that imitated the mood of that specific month. (Check out this post for some examples.) […]
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On April 26, 2019, I had the opportunity to perform a 50-minute concert as part of the Oregon State University Music à la Carte series. The majority of the pieces performed were premiers of my own compositions, and I want to share a little bit about the experience with you! Today I want to discuss […]
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On March 15, 2019, Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi released a new studio album: Seven Days Walking: Day One. This heartfelt album is the first in a huge musical project, where Einaudi plans on releasing a new album each month (the rest being Day Two, Day Three, etc. through Day Seven) over the next six months. […]
Read MoreNature is a huge inspiration to me. I love being out in it, and I love incorporating it into my own music. Nature is a driving force in my album A Million Skies, and I can’t wait to share that story with you over the next few weeks (as I release the videos on YouTube). With that […]
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Happy Friday! To celebrate, I have just released a new album called A Million Skies! You can stream/download it on Spotify, Apple Music (iTunes), Google Play, Amazon Music, and pretty much any other streaming service. About A Million Skies A Million Skies (the album) was first realized as a track called A Million Skies that I composed back in the summer of 2018: And […]
Read MoreThe last track on my album Christmas Piano is an arrangement of the beloved carol O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. And because this is my husband’s favorite Christmas song, I wanted to make the arrangement extra special. Check out the sheet music here: A Brief Recap You might remember that O Come, O Come, Emmanual had its origins in 9th […]
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Today I want to share a contemporary piece entitled Elastic Harmonic by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy (b. 1970): Elastic Harmonic and Dennehy’s Style Elastic Harmonic is not Einaudi. There isn’t a singable melody or anything really familiar about this piece. While Dennehy uses minimalism as a compositional technique, his works do not follow the “modern-classical-music” style. And after […]
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We’ve looked at the musical development of minimalism in the mid-20th century (part 1). Then we discussed four minimalist-music pioneers and their contributions to the style (part 2). Today, let’s talk about the impact minimalism has had on 21st-century music and how minimalism continues to make a statement in modern ways. And let me tell […]
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Last week we discussed how minimalism became a musical movement in the mid-1900s. After decades of experimental music and a shift away from traditional melodic and harmonic ideas, a group of American composers aimed to return to the simple and – as a result – created minimalism. Today, let’s take a look at some* of […]
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Minimalism: “a form of art music that employs limited or minimal musical materials” (thanks Wikipedia). But what does that mean exactly? And why does it matter? I’ll tell you why it matters. Minimalism as a musical style emerged in the middle of the 20th century, and its influence has since permeated contemporary music. Many famous […]
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