A New Commission?

Greetings,

So, I heard back from C.L. Barnhouse last week and they will not be publishing “When the Great Owl Sings” this time around. It is disappointing, but I’ve got to continue composing music. After recieving feedback from Barnhouse, I sent the piece to the FJH Music Company and I’m waiting for a response from them. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed. Haha. In other news, I’ve started a new piece that I’m hoping my former high school will be able to play. I’m awaiting confirmation from the band director. You may see the title of the piece on my “Concert Band” page. In regards to the content of the piece, I have a lot of ideas that I would like to incorporate but I don’t want to place something in the piece that would be too difficult for them to play. Be sure to stay tuned here to see how the piece progresses as well as the status of “When the Great Owl Sings”.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

A Finished Piece?

Greetings,

I think the title says it all. That’s right folks, I’ve finally finished my first concert band work. Granted, the score still needs a little tweaking, but it is finished. The piece is not one of the two I mentioned in the post before this. This piece is “When the Great Owl Sings”. If you’ve been following my posts, you know this was a piece I was trying to compose earlier this year, but I just couldn’t find the inspiration. Well, now I have everything ready. I’ve already sent the piece to C.L. Barnhouse and The FJH Music Company for review. I should be hearing back from them in a few months; it would be awesome if I heard from them sooner. The anticipation is killing me. Haha. Anyway, I’ve placed a link at the bottom of this post for you guys to hear the Finale rendition of the piece. Mind you, this piece will sound a hell of a lot better when it is played by a live band. So, let’s hope I get this piece published. In order to make time go by faster, I’ll try to compose another piece in my spare time. Stay tuned here to hear the latest news on “When the Great Owl Sings”.

Link: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=857543&content=music

Peace,

C.L. Winston

August Update

Greetings,

My apologies for not updating for a long while. I’ve just been really busy with school related things that make things very stressful. At the moment, I’ll be working on two pieces. I want to try to focus on these two pieces at the moment because I really need to get something published. In other news: I’m also creating an audio drama called “Chimerium”. You can check out information about the audio drama HERE. I plan on posting a link to the site once we have everything set in stone. Lately, my musical interest have been skipping all over the place. So, it’s going to be a while until I give you guys any more information about the two pieces I am writing. Hopefully, I can keep my mind focused on these two pieces. I feel that updating on every aspect of the piece seems to distract me from completing it. So, the next time I update will probably be about the completion of one of the pieces. Here’s to hoping for a completed work.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

First July Update

Greetings,

I hope you all had a great Freedom Day. The past few weeks have been very crazy for a lot of people. The world seemed to have stopped when news of Michael Jackson’s demise surfaced. There will never be another like him and my heart goes out to the Jackson Family. In other news, I’ve been really working hard on “Battle of the Epic”. This is a piece that I’ve been meaning to write for two years, but could never come up with something worthy…until now. To your delight, I’ve posted the program notes to the piece on the Wind Band page. No more will you have to wait for the piece to be complete in order to get the program notes. So, be sure to stay tuned here in order to get more information about “Battle of the Epic”.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

Busy Summer?

Greetings,

I know I haven’t really been updating that much, but it is because I’ve been really busy with school and family related things. The past few months, I’ve been hard at work with “When the Great Owl Sings” but it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. So, I’ve decided to put that piece on the back-burner and save it for a later date. In better news, I will be working on several pieces this Summer in order to keep myself busy (musically) and I hope to submit them to C.L. Barnhouse for next year. Including “When the Great Owl Sings”, there are three other wind band pieces that I’m trying to work on. One of them is a fanfare and the other two are symphonic poems. At the moment, I will be starting the symphonic poem entitled “Dragon Emperor”. It is a piece about Genghis Kahn and I already have a good idea of how I want the piece structured; I’m also reusing a melody from an unfinished piece I started last December. I’m really excited to start this piece because it is the first work in a series of piece I’m calling “Historical Figures”. So, be sure to stay tuned here for more information about the pieces to come.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

New Piece – “When the Great Owl Sings”

Greetings,

I’ve begun writing my newest composition for concert band. It is a tone poem in sonata allegro form that is descriptive of the Mayan god of death known as Ah Puch. Of course, I am writing the first draft on manuscript paper just to have the form and things set in stone. Everything will then be tweeked when I put the music into Finale. So far, I have music finished up until the closing section of the “Exposition”. So far, there are three themes that are meant to be recognized by listeners. The piece opens with what can be described as an ominous enviornment in which Ah Puch presents himself; represented by a seductive Alto Saxophone solo. From there, themes are presented that represents the destructive and haunting nature of this death god. I’m very pleased with what I have thus far and I can’t wait for everyone else to hear the melodies and how this piece is turning out. When I do begin to enter this piece into Finale, I’ll try to have audio renditions of each entry and, hopefully, previews of the score. Stay tuned here to stay up to date on my newest piece entitled “When the Great Owl Sings”.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

P.S. If you are curious as to the form of this piece (as I’ve stated in terms that some individuals may find confusing), you may visit this site. Take care.

The Mind Changes

Greetings,

As you all may or may not know, my mind is constantly changing in regards what musical subject I will be composing. This time, I’m limiting myself to a single-movement tone poem so that I may be able to get it finished for publication next year. I hope to have this new piece finished in the summer and start to work on the suite I’ve been telling you all about. I also want to get to work on my first symphony. Now, I will be trying to compose other pieces on the side. At the moment, I’m also trying to write a ballad for piano for a really good friend. I want to write a Euphonium solo and a Tuba-Euphonium quartet. Those last two were actually dawned upon me by my Euphonium professsor at Ohio University. This new tone poem that I want to work on is still lacking a subject, but I’m sure something will come to me and I will inform you guys. As I’ve said in previous posts, I will update you guys everytime I compose something of the piece. I hope I’ll be able to let you guys have a listen to each snippet and even view the score. We can only hope.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

Must Read Update

Greetings,

I regret to inform you guys that I will not be moving the site. The reasoning being because I don’t feel now is the right time to switch over. Also, I enjoy this layout over the one for the site I had built. So, as many of you guys know, I am starting a four-movement suite based on the biblical story of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Now, at the moment, I am gathering ideas on melodies, motifs, and themes for each movement. Just for you guys, once I get started, I will begin posting the process of creating each movement of the suite. I want you guys to know what goes into composing a piece like this; much like Sy Brandon’s blog. Stay tuned here for more information.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

New Site – I’m Movin’

Greetings,

After months of pondering, I’ve finally established that I am in need of an actual “website”. So, I’ve created one and everything has been loaded onto it. The content now focuses primarily on the various projects that I will be working on in order to expand my creativity. You may visit the new site HERE. This site will be taken down within the month, so, be sure to say your last goodbyes to the site. I hope to hear/see many of you over at the new site.

Peace,

C.L. Winston

An Apocalyptic Suite

Greetings,

As you all know, I’ve been trying to work on some new music lately, but I’ve been coming up dry. I’ve written down ideas for the next two works that I want to try to work on, but we will see how that goes. For now, I’m working on a four-movement suite for band. It could be considered a symphony, but I’m not calling it that because I don’t feel it would be worthy to be considered my first symphony; besides, I already have my first symphony in mind. To let you know, this suite is based on the biblical story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I’m hoping to have this piece finished in the Summertime, but we will see. Haha. One distinctive idea about each movement is that the horsemen are represented by four different saxophones: Alto, Tenor, Soprano, and Baritone. I will have the tentative program notes in my next post as I work on this piece. I would like to have it premiered by a local Community Band, but it is all dependent on time. For the next several months, this suite will be my main focus; also composing less difficult pieces on the side. Stay tuned here to see what is going on.

Peace,

C.L. Winston