Welcome to my home page. I have a rather eclectic mind that tends to wander in many directions at once. On this page I will post links to things that interest me at the moment. Things on this page may change from time to time, so come back to visit again.
I enjoy composing art music; and when I do I post those pieces on YouTube. Here are links to my compositions. Note: these are posted in reverse chronological order; that is, the newest piece is first.
Dec, 2011. This is a project I completed for a photography class. The photos are all my original work and were processed with Photoshop Elements 9. The music is not my work, but I like it so I chose to use it for this exhibition.
Aug, 2010. This is a fanfare I wrote for a music theory class. It was written for a brass quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, and tuba) and was composed with Sibelius.
June, 2010. This short tone poem describes a walk through the forest where I
crossed a stream on an old wooden bridge. It was composed with Sibelius.
0:00 - Title
0:05 - The main theme is heard in the harp over the strings; it represents the
wind gently blowing in the tops of trees.
0:27 - The wind and trees become more pronounced as I move deeper into the
forest.
0:50 - The birdsongs can be barely heard in the distance as I approach the
stream.
1:10 - The water in the stream can now be heard along with the bird songs.
1:25 - I'm now standing on the bridge listening to the water and bird songs.
2:20 - As I walk on through the forest the sounds of the water and birds begins
to decrease until there is nothing left but the wind in the trees.
April, 2010. Tombstone Overture is a concert overture I wrote as part of a
first-year music class at Cochise College. It is the story of the events of
October 26, 1881: The Gunfight at the OK Corral. This was composed with
Sibelius.
LISTENING GUIDE
0:00 - Introduction. The Overture starts in the predawn morning. The wind blows
across the lonely desert in the sound of a solo tympani. Soon, the clouds part
and the glockenspiel stars pop out. The Sun Theme begins; first in the lowest
orchestral voices, but sequencing through higher voices until...
01:05 - The sun pops over the eastern mountains in a glorious orchestral
celebration. It continues to rise and is soon joined by a bird singing her
morning songs.
02:00 - Exposition. The Earp theme is heard three times in the brass. It is in a
major mode and is strong, bold, and sure. It represents the Earps, who stood for
law and order in Tombstone.
03:10 - The Cow-boy theme is heard two times in the woodwinds. It is in a minor
mode and is weak and wimpy. The Cow-boys were a gang who attempted to control
Tombstone by force and intimidation.
03:50 - Development, Episode 1. The Earp theme is heard but it is frequently
interrupted by the Cow-boy theme, which is trying to take over. After each
interruption the Earp theme returns ever stronger.
05:15 - Development, Episode 2. The Cow-boy theme is heard, but there are brief
moments when the theme changes to a major mode as the Earps attempt to bribe
them into turning on each other.
05:51 - Development, Episode 3: The Gunfight. The gunfight starts with a tremolo
in the strings as the men stare at each other in that brief moment before the
first shot. Quickly, however, the bullets start flying. As shots are fired, both
themes (Earp and Cow-boy) are heard, diced and disorderly.
06:30 - Recapitulation. To start the recapitulation, the death knell tolls three
times, once each for Billy Clanton, Frank Claiborne, and Thomas Claiborne who
died in the gunfight. Next, both themes are presented, but both are in minor
modes and are very thin and beat up from the gunfight. There were no winners in
this gunfight and the recapitulation symbolizes that from the use of a minor
mode along with the brief treatment given to each theme.
07:30 - Coda. The evening bird song is heard, followed by the sun setting. At
the end of the overture, only the stars and lonely night wind remain to tell the
tale of the bloody day.
February, 2010. This is a project I completed for a 1st year music class I took at Cochise College. It is a Theme and Variations string quartet done on "Mary had a Little Lamb." I composed this with Sibelius.
October, 2009. I created this video for a first-year music class at Cochise College. It is designed to illustrate Sir Isaac Newton's theory about the relationship between color and music. I wrote the music, a passacaglia based on "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and then illustrated it with images that use only the colors specified for the notes of the C Major Tonic (Orange, Purple, and Yellow-Green). The images were my own photographs (except the "galaxy" photo, which I found at NASA). You can find the original photos at Flickr ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgeself/ ). I modified the photos using The GIMP and then created the movie with Camtasia Studio. The music was composed with Finale SongWriter.