Composers

Gerre Hancock, Organist

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 22:46

One advantage of the traveling I do is the opportunity to grab a concert here and there. Last night I enjoyed the last piece on the program of an organ concert given by Dr. Gerre Hancock at Rice University. I was happy to see Rice as I almost went there for my undergraduate studies, but had until yesterday not seen it's campus. Visiting the music school allowed me to fantasize just a tiny bit about what my life may have looked like if I had made the decision to go to Texas back in 1989.

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Robert Ian Winstin - 28 days in February

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 22:41

If I were to compose a piece of music it would be an arduous task involving lots of trial and error, shifting single notes, testing things on the piano, and frustration. Weeks and months would pass before the products of my labor could produce anything at all, and it would probably sound like a bad facsimile of some music you've heard elsewhere when it was done. All that is just to say that I am not Robert Ian Winstin, who has composed, published and recorded an original piece of music every day of the month of February.

The recordings are there for you to listen to ... go ahead, check them out. They're awesome. The music is full of vitality and humor, sometimes lush and beautiful, sometimes jarring, sometimes virtuoso with a vengence. The feat of having composed, published and recorded the works in the said timeframe (28 days) is simply brilliant. Read more »

Shutter Island

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 22:24

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver a powerhouse of tension in their new movie about the mentally insane, Shutter Island. The psychological drama unfolds compellingly in the music, which veritably jabs your soul in utter anguish throughout the entire ordeal. I recognized early in the film what brilliance I was hearing, but thought right until the very end that I was witnessing the newest work of the next brilliant soundtrack composer. By the end of the film, exhausted but exhilarated, I sat through endless credits waiting to meet this young fresh face and was even sketching a blog post in my mind, raving about how Mr. or Ms. X is a true sensation and that we're lucky to be able to witness such creativity in our time.

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Richard Meale

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:00

Richard Meale, Australian composer, has died at age 77.

Meale is credited with helping to define contemporary classical music in Australia through his contributions as a lecturer and as broadcaster on the ABC.

His most well-known works include Very High Kings, Three Miro Pieces and his 1986 opera of Patrick White's Voss.

Zoe Keating: "My music is the fusion of information architecture and classical music"

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 18:16

This is a woman who knows how to get my attention! She approaches composition like a website project plan. She even mentioned making her music scalable - and meta data. That is sooo geeky awesome! How many classical musicians have over 1 million followers on Twitter? Here I go - off to Amazon to check out Zoe Keating.

Jacques Hétu

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 12:49

Jacques Hétu, a prolific Canadian composer, has died at age 71.

Emily Bear - shining bright star

Submitted by Robert Douglass on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 00:02

Some people are bright stars in the night sky. Emily Bear, a young pianist and composer, shines and glimmers, and is simply wonderful to watch. I hope that she finds as much happiness in the world as she gives us with her playing and lovely pieces.

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