Archive for the ‘Guided Improvisation’ Category

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Open Ended: Mark Alburger Variation

Saturday, November 4th, 2023

Open Ended is a dynamic performance crafted live for the audience. Inspired by Rova’s Radar techniques, Open Ended is more of a vibrant palette than a fixed composition. It’s an expanding set of guidelines and games for the musicians, directed by the conductor’s hand signals. Rather than following a predetermined script, the conductor composes on the spot, responding to the present moment and guiding the performers with these signals. This concept mirrors the “Soundpainting” language, a pioneering creation by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York, 1974. The beauty of Open Ended lies in its adaptability. With no fixed instrumentation, any number of musicians can partake. The duration is equally fluid, ranging from a brisk 5 minutes to a marathon 24 hours. Though it has been showcased several times, with memorable renditions in 2005, 2009, and 2018 by the SFCCO, each performance is a unique, unrepeatable world première. This rendition of Open Ended includes a special homage to SFCCO founder, Mark Alburger. I have crafted two variations of three phrases, each inspired by the Morse code sequence for ‘Mark George Alburger.’

– – .- .-. -.- / – -. . – – – .-. – -. . / .- .-.. -… ..- – -. . .-.

Rhythm is created by assigning the dashes, or long signals in Morse code, twice the note value of the dots, which represent the short signals. The audience was then given the opportunity to choose which version they wanted to hear incorporated into this performance of Open Ended.

Open Ended: Mark Alburger Variation

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10 Circles

Saturday, October 22nd, 2022

10 Circles

While most are familiar with abstract art and dance, how does that translate to music? Imagine if music were not bound by a linear sequence but played in a random order, resulting in a unique experience every time. Or consider music performed in multiple tempos simultaneously, embracing Albert Einstein’s theory that time is relative and varies based on your perspective.

10 Circles delves into these fascinating ideas through the lens of circle-music, a form I discovered through my composition teacher Dr. Cindy McTee. McTee’s own circle-music composition for my bassoon teacher, Sue Schrier, inspired this exploration. This piece is composed of ten distinct sections, each containing musical phrases that can be played in any sequence at any time. This fluid approach to composition requires a novel style of conducting. Here, the conductor is more than a timekeeper; they sculpt the piece in real-time, influencing its orchestration.

The musicians navigate their own routes through the sections, guided by the surrounding sonic landscape. While themes may reappear, their occurrence and interpreter are entirely unpredictable. 10 Circles employs quartal chords and octatonic scales, creating a sense of tonality that is tangible yet abstract. The result is a work that challenges and redefines our understanding of musical time and structure.

10 Circles

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No. 95

Saturday, September 24th, 2022

No. 95


Recently, I’ve been developing a solo bassoon piece, experimenting with several motifs that ultimately inspired the improvisation you can hear above. This improvisation showcases my approach to composition, where I explore and expand upon themes through improvisation. The central theme of this work is rooted in an octatonic scale, enriched with microtones to add depth and texture.

The recording is from a live performance at the September 24th Opus Project concert, held at the Center for New Music in San Francisco. It’s a vivid example of how spontaneous creation can lead to the discovery and refinement of musical ideas.

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Impromptu M/M

Sunday, June 2nd, 2019

Impromptu M/M


The art of multiphonics on the bassoon has always captivated me. This technique allows for the simultaneous production of multiple pitches, creating an array of sounds from harmonious chords to dissonant echoes. Achieving such a rich auditory landscape requires unconventional fingerings and precise control over the embouchure, significantly broadening the expressive capabilities of the bassoon in avant-garde music.
This fascination led to an unexpected opportunity with the SFCCO. In May 2019, when a performer unexpectedly dropped out of a concert, I seized the chance to step in. The original piece was set for oboe and electronics, and I envisioned replacing it with a piece centered on bassoon multiphonics, believing it explore new sonic territories.
I approached another “Michael” in the orchestra, Michael Cox — a fellow Texas school alumnus known for his adventurous spirit in music — to see if he was interested in a duet. We quickly formulated a plan where, initially, I would create a foundational layer of multiphonic textures for Michael to play over. This collaborative effort evolved into what we now know as Impromptu M/M, a testament to the creative synergy and spontaneity that defines improvised music.

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Open Ended (5/5/2018)

Saturday, May 19th, 2018

Open Ended

 
Open Ended is a very versatile work that is composed live before your eyes and ears. Based on Rova‘s Radar techniques, Open Ended is less of a composition and more of a color or tool palette. It is an ever-growing collection of rules and games for the performers that are triggered by hand signals by the conductor/composer. The conductor/composer then composes the piece live using these hand signals to guide the performers. The ability to compose with what happens in the moment, in real time, is what is required to produce this piece. This similar to the “Soundpainting” language was created by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York in 1974. This work has no set instrumentation and can be played by any number of performers. It also has no set length; the piece could last 5 minutes or 24 hours. Open Ended has been performed several times, including performances in 2005 and 2009 by the

   SFCCO, but every time it is a world première and unique performance that can never be repeated.

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Fantasy in D

Thursday, April 21st, 2016

Fantasy in D is a musical composition that embraces the spirit of a fantasy — characterized by its free form and an improvisational style. Tracing its roots to early 16th-century fantasias, this piece evolves the concept by involving short sections driven by one or more musical motifs. True to the fantasy tradition, it uniquely integrates orchestral improvisation. Performers are provided with collections of notes or instructions, and are encouraged to improvise within these guidelines for set durations.

Fantasy in D

Pages from the score

The structure of Fantasy in D is a blend of improvisation and fully notated music. While certain sections are strictly composed, others offer musicians the freedom to explore. A recurring element is a three-note motif, especially pronounced at the piece’s climax. The composition is divided into two primary sections, with the second being an inversion of the first (b+a instead of a+b). This overarching structure is further broken down into 64 smaller sections, following a hierarchical breakdown (2-4-8-16-32), each triggering unique events, textures, chord changes, and instrumentations.

Score Draft Notes

Score Draft laying out the Golden Ratio

The timing of each section is guided by the “Golden ratio“, φ (phi) or 1.6180339887498948482…, celebrated for its prevalence in natural patterns and lending an organic quality to the piece. While the tonal center is D, the piece navigates through various modes and tonalities including D, A, B, G, major and minor, creating a sound that is D-centric yet modally diverse, so it is really in D (ish).

Fantasy in D

The mood of “Fantasy in D” is tinged with somber and melancholic undertones, influenced by personal life events during its creation, including the passing of my father and my mother’s battle with pancreatic cancer. This piece, premièring on May 21st, 2016, by the SFCCO is a reflection of these emotional landscapes, woven into its musical fabric.
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Triangles

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

SFCCO performs Triangles


Triangles is a composition inline with my composition Pollock which the SFCCO premiered 12 years ago. The present work uses guided improvisation and colorist techniques to create it’s sound.  The title of the work comes from the Triangular number sequence that inspired the form of the composition. There are three large sections lasting 4 minutes each. These large section have a fundamental pitch center of  ii-v-I, my jazz roots. These large sections are made up of three sections A (modal runs), B (intervalic movements) and C (chordal sustains). Each of these sections (A,B,C) are also made up of three sections each one lasting a value in the triangular number sequence (ex: 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45). One could also look at Triangles a quasi rondo form: A, B, C, B1, C1, A1, C2, A2, B2 (Rondo Form: A, B, A, C, A, B1, A). While three is the magic number for this composition, the numerics are just the glue for the work. With sound-washes of runs, thick Ruggle-esque chords, and intertwining spontaneous melodies — Triangles aims to paint pictures in the mind.

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Open Ended (redux)

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Open Ended

 
Do to unforeseen circumstances the composition I planed on having performed on the November 7th 2009 SFCCO concert had to be canceled. So I decided to pull out one of my guide improvisation compositions, Open Ended. I conducted/composed this performance as well as played tenor saxophone. It is a very versatile work that is composed live before your eyes and ears. Based on Rova‘s Radar techniques, Open Ended is less of a composition and more of a color or tool palette. It is an ever-growing collection of rules and games for the performers that are triggered by hand signals by the conductor/composer. The conductor/composer then composes the piece live using these hand signals to guide the performers. This work has no set instrumentation and can be played by any number of performers. It also has no set length; the piece could last 5 minutes or 24 hours. Open Ended has been performed several times, including two other performances by the SFCCO, but every time it is a world première and unique performance that can never be repeated.

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String Theory

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

String Theory, was premièred February 28th, 2009 by the SFCCO. String Theory is a guided improvisation composition that uses a graphical score which is inspired by the theoretical physics theory of the same name. String Theory is the revolutionary and shocking branch of theoretical physics that combines quantum mechanics and general relativity into a quantum theory of gravity. According to string theory, absolutely everything in the universe—all of the particles that make up matter and forces—is comprised of tiny vibrating fundamental strings. The Strings of string theory are one-dimensional oscillating lines, but they are no longer considered fundamental to the theory, which can be formulated in terms of points or surfaces too. In this composition, I have used graphical notation representing strings, points and surfaces to guide the orchestra in improvisation. Since String Theory may prove Einstein’s unified field theory at the very end of the composition the orchestra unites. If String Theory proves to be true it creates an elegant universe composed entirely of the music of strings.
One of the exciting things about using guide improvisation as a compositional technic is the fact that music is different during each performance but over all recognizable as the same composition. To help demonstrate this I have a recording of the dress rehearsal of String Theory for a comparison to the concert performance.

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Sun & Moon

Saturday, March 8th, 2008
Score of the Sun movement

Score of the Sun movement

 
March 8th 2008 the SFCCO performed one of my circle-music compositions; Sun & Moon. The Sun & Moon have been center of mythology since the dawn of time. They represent the balance of man and woman, light and dark, the cycle of life. This musical representation of the Sun & Moon consists of two sections, Sun starts from left and moves to the right then moon start from the right and move to the left. These sections are in a form known as circle music. Essentially, circle music uses phrases that can be played at any time and in any order. I first learn about circle music form from Dr. Cindy McTee who wrote a circle music piece for my bassoon teacher.

Sun & Moon

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