I’m starting the morning like I usually do: propped up against some pillows, typing away with my laptop rested on a carved chest from Singapore, my cat happily purring his fool head off on my lap. Through the lounge windows, the lights surrounding Wellington harbour gleam as they surround its inky darkness […]
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry to the 2014 May Orchestration Challenge! The Evaluations [link] have been posted in the Orchestration Online Blog. Please go have a look to see all the entries, including mine, along with some analysis and orchestration tips. 2014 June Orchestration Challenge This month’s challenge is the opening of “Reflet dans l’eau” from Book…
Read more…
For my first Monthly Orchestration Challenge, the entries totaled 60 scores, including my own. Nearly all of these are included in the archive below. It was terrific receiving so many scores for the start of this challenge. The entrants represented a wide array of interests and experience, from near-beginners to professional orchestrators, but every entry…
Read more…
One of the most frequently asked questions in the Orchestration Online Facebook group is “How should I score horns – 1/2, 3/4; or 1/3, 2/4?” This refers to the placement on the standard two-staff layout of horns in pairs. In other words, should horns be scored like the left sample or right sample below? The…
Read more…
I’m a confirmed optimist. It probably has something to do with my very early years. A true university brat, I actually lived out ages 0-4 on the UCLA campus. Back in the early 1960’s, there was a quiet enclave on the west side of campus called “Married Students Housing,” where my family lived while my father pursued his degree in Language Studies […]
2014 May Orchestration Challenge Our first challenge will be an excerpt from Robert Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, orchestrating the first half of the first Etude-Variation. For an orchestra, we will limit ourselves to the orchestra of Schumann’s own Fourth Symphony: 2222 winds, 4230 brass, timpani, and strings. Brass may be chromatic rather than natural, but timpani…
Read more…
Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets’ is a triumph of orchestration, but many of its features and innovations are taken for granted. Thomas Goss takes us on a tour of the unique architecture and fascinating conception of this 20th-century masterpiece. http://on-demand.radionz.co.nz/appt/appt-20131023-1900-the_planets-064.mp3 © Copyright Radio New Zealand
Tuesday, February 11 8:30 a.m. A huge amount of time has passed since my last journal entry. This delay is pretty typical of the ending stretch in a project: the work starts to pile up as everyone involved realizes that they’re much too close to the kill date for comfort. In my case, I was…
Read more…
Sunday, January 26 Today is a red-letter day in the project. In 7.5 hours I completed song no. 10: “There’ll Be Sad Songs” by Billy Ocean. My tenth song was supposed to be “Mná Na h’Éirann” by Sharon Corr, but I moved up that add-on song I was given a few days ago. I’m sure…
Read more…
