maestrowick

Think of a suspension bridge. Great compositions you can see some vertical alignment along with the horizontal. It's more than just stacking a chord though. Ravel and Debussy do this sooooo well.

Nice.. Quite catchy actually. There are some things you can add on the vertical to make this even more powerful, but is still works. My gripe: Put your full name on your music. If people want to seek you out and play your music, they don't know how. No need to put "composed by". Just put your name, and ALL ways put contact information in your verso. (that's the stuff on the bottom)

Wow, myself being a Michigan native, I do get the sense of our Great Lakes beauty from this. I would still say try to add a little more counterpoint to bridge your ideas. Still, VERY strong writing in this piece. You study with Bill Ryan? I haven't met him but I certainly know of him.

Great teaching here!! Five drums are becoming more standard, especially with the bands that could play this piece. Make sure you put five drums on this one. Also, You REALLY need to put rehearsal numbers on your pieces. The lack thereof will make band's life a living Hades if you don't. This composition has some straight fire in it. Make sure you put in competitions!

1) Instead of divisi, consider, putting the top part n the viola and divide within the violins. Makes it even thicker with a great depth of sound. 2) Put a double bar break at Measure 11. This will let the musicians subliminally know something is going on there. I would also put "!!" as a rehearsal bar there. Also, instead of doubling, maybe harmonize? counterpoint there? build vertical not just horizontally. 3.) Your divisi beaming should be split to allow for ease of reading. 4.) When the stings enter, don't be afraid to take that harp solo up and octave. The range of the harp is GRAND! use it1. It will cut through even more. 5.) Overall, you have a great sense of melody. I strongly recommend you added more counterpoint here. It was the piece so much stronger and it give the musical edge . My $0.02

Agreed. The opening I think would be more vast if that were in say flute and clarinet with marimba or xylo? But then again, this is really a concertino for piano. It's a great idea. I am sad you forsaken brass. I think it would add even more for this composition. Since it would be for Christmas, the brass is going to be there, USE THEM!! I didn't get the of "Scherzo" being jokingly at all. It's gorgeous, but the Scherzo is a mislabel. I just also saw that @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said the same thing about the Rondo that I'm about to say. Your "Rondo" is more Scherzo in nature and for me, "Lilt" is liltish 😃. I know you picked the title but to me seems more Vivacissimo, Allegro Vivace in nature. Also, the last five minutes of the piece were some very very fine writing. The stretch in some of the harmonic vocabulary was intriguing. I would have love to hear more of that in some of the middle passages. Some of the tradition resolutions could be possibly could be switched with other possibilities and still give a sense of repose. Overall, this was a massive undertaking and continue to take risks in your composition journeys. Two thumbs up!

Score?

I LOVED how @PeterthePapercomPoser explained it!! BRAVO! Hmmm... this makes perfect sense. How about this: Now that the assignment is done, fix it how YOU want it and get it played! I had to do that for several of my pieces to "pass." I then went and did it the way I wanted, and it got played and my personal approval.

RESPECT! You'll be surprised by changing a few things how more accessible this piece can become. It deserves to be played. Not saying you per se, but I have seen egos keep great music from being played. I had to deal with it myself when I was first working with vocalists. Some hard lessons I had to learn. My "ego" kept certain songs from being recorded. Once I humbled out, my music began to flourish. I haven't made those conglomerate of mistakes in years. Last point, in a republic, remember this: he who holds the gold makes the rules. So if orchestras won't spend money on certain things, we as composers have to acquiesce to these things. This piece CAN be a part of the canon. I humbly ask you to make those changes so it be routine. This piece can win a plethora of contests with those adjustments.

Wow. It's obvious you have some serious chops. I'm going to go in my professor mode as I analyze this. This piece is VERY VERY VERY hard, which you already know. It gives me some serious George Crumb vibes (whose scores I can NOT find right now. I really wanted to compare and contrast some of the great things you do to his.) Not only is it written in the hardest way possible, your woodwind parts seem to hang on the extreme and virtuosic tessitura of the horn. For example: Those constant C7s are difficult and will take over. It won't blend AT ALL. It's also taxing. It's the nature of the instrument in that register. At Meas. 155, the piccolo part will be basically inaudible. D is the lowest note on the piccolo and it will not project under no circumstances. Take that up an octave. I can tell you have serious chops on your horn also. I don't know many who love the Eb clarinet: yourself (obviously), Benjamin Adler, and Stuart Bogie are the few that come to mind. That Gb in the Baritone Sax is also extreme (Meas. 30) and also register (Meas. 5) . Of course, Taimar Sullivan can play anything (PRISM Quartet), but remember the baritone sax isn't canon for the orchestra. I wonder (I know it isn't the same) if you would write the parts for Bb clarinet and bassoon instead. That would at least give this piece an attempt at more playability. Have what you want as a substitution. I'm a euphoniumist, I get WHY you want to do it; however, budgets are real for orchestras. Meas 3: Violin II: You can't really slide from Ab3 to G3. A to Ab? YESSIR. Ab -G? Hmmm...I guess the finger could go off the board but it won't be probably what you are looking for. Meas. 150 (piano): fix your enharmonics. The classic rule of thumb is you don't mix sharps and flats (Exc. harp). Since you have C5 in the violin, write the LH as Db-Gb and the RH as Db E F Gb. Meas 18 flute: man....that's hard. Bass Clarinet: I guess we're assuming every orchestra will have a C foot? More common to find a baritone sax with an A foot than Bass clarinet with a C foot. Take all this with a grain of salt. Rehearsal No. 8: Flute: b# is the devil, make those ascending notes Db and C natural and then later Eb. It's really no need for those sharps although Is see why you did it. Most of those notes in that measure are already flat. Violinists in general don't think like we wind players think. They don't like 8va's. They rather see it at pitch. It's so weird. This seems to be the case with all my violin friends. Bassists are ok, but violinist, violists, and cellist? At pitch. I have no idea why, they're just like that. Take all this with a grain of salt. Errata: No bass part? I would still write one. Since this will get play by an orchestra, have a bass part. Trust me, you'll love. Even if you just double the cello. Have it! It seems as though you use intervals as your motif. Nice! I love the way you develop that. I also love your sound spectrum in this piece. My $0.02. Take all this with a grain of salt.

I came with this somewhere are the 3rd grade. It basically became this: Wick's Groove

Can you attach the score?

WELL SAID!

Well thought out. Note: Always put your full name on the score. No one will look for "LH." Make it easier for the people who don't know you and want to know your music!

Fine composition. Check your voicings at times. The clashes with Bnat and B# (and the like) are prevalent throughout this piece. Your performers are going to constantly ask you about things like that because you just told us a half a beat earlier it was one note and now you want me play something else. It's just how are ears are. I read earlier how you want to portray sadness. You can still have it and have harmonic consistency (i.e Transfigured Night, Alberich scene's in the Ring).