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“You have no chops!” Those were the illustrious words by my professor, Bright Sheng, during only my second lesson with him. I was speechless. Who was I though to argue with this award-winning composer? I had to be humble and just learn. Then the unthinkable happened. The Composition Department chair, William Albright, had suddenly died. He was key to me being accepted into the program. A great composer, a wonderful person, gone. It was only the third week of school. Amongst the big shuffle of students in the composition department, I was then switched to Prof. James Aikman’s studio. After a debacle of a start, Prof. Aikman would be the professor at the University of Michigan who also had the most profound impact on my technique. This would coincide with him always pushing me to write more chamber music. It wasn’t something that came to me. I generally wrote large works; it’s what I listened to daily. My CD playlist was Beethoven symphonies, Strauss tone poems, Respighi’s trifecta, and John Williams’ scores. I did eventually (per my grade) write a chamber work. I decided on a “flute trio” for my friends: flautist Susan Giroir, clarinetist Monica Berckley (Jacobsen), and cellist Leo Eguchi. Surprisingly, it was well-received. Even Prof. Sheng smiled and only said one word to me. “Chops!” Still, I wasn’t happy with this piece. After that premiere, I wouldn’t listen to it for another 22 years. Over time, I would often listen to the chamber music of Shawn Okpebholo, Jason Woodruff, Blaire Ziegenhagel, George Morrison, and James Grant. Their music would habitually encapsulate my mind. They made such beauty with small groups. Eventually, it brought me to revise ‘The Vivid Dawn.” Coming from the piece’s original source, this composition draws from the sunrise view from Belle Isle overviewing the city of Detroit. The “B” section is watching the view from my home in Russell Woods. As the “A” section returns, the “C” pays more attention to the birds on the beach playing. The “D” section is the traffic trying to get on Belle Isle as the weather warms and all its congestion. The final A is the journey home after an eventful day.

A short orchestra piece from my album

An old piece I had on this forum...Three designs ago....

So after talking about DAWs and how to make a recording, I figured I'd talk about how I came up with this tune. I wrote on an old workstation keyboard. I recorded it into the computer to make a CD. Then, I wrote the chart out in Finale. Went to the studio and recorded the drums. Took a mic and an MBOX around to different houses/schools and recorded the bass, guitars, horns, strings, and vocals on ProTools. Borrowing from Earth, Wind, and Fire and Toto style and concepts, I have two different guitars. On this track, I have an acoustic on the left and wah on the right.

Symphonic Suite No. 1 is a collection of pieces I originally composed during my time at the University of Michigan. I was constantly told by my good friends and Sinfonian fraternity brothers, Jamal Duncan, Armand Hall, and Damien Crutcher, to write for symphonic band. I eventually drew upon my time at my alma mater to compose for this idiom, which gave me my love for playing, my love for classical music, and my desire to compose. Chorale and Prelude was the last piece composed for this suite. It was originally written as my final-exam project in my Baroque counterpoint class with Kevin Korsyn. It was easily made into a piece for saxophone choir. After realizing the suite was incomplete with the later three movements (Marziale, Hymn, and Gigue), I composed additional material (F major) in 2012 to prolong the piece and give it more color. Marziale comes from my tuba-euphonium quartet, Quartet No 1, which was composed for three friends of mine: Kristof Schneider, Tony Halloin, and Todd Shafer. It was inspired by the Hindemith Trombone Sonata, which I first heard performed in 1994 by my brother, Bradford Mallory. Hymn was originally written as “Jesus is Lord.” It was commissioned as a band piece by Frank Perez and Graceland University and premiered December 8, 2011. An alternate version with choir was premiered by Edward P. Quick and the Michigan State University New Horizons Band. Gigue also comes from my tuba-euphonium quartet. I loved Kristof’s sound on euphonium and was thoroughly impressed with Todd’s and Tony’s range on tuba. Their abilities inspired me to compose habitually. This piece was also inspired by the Violoncello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach and Second Suite in F: Fantasia on a Dargason by Gustav Holst.

I decided it was time to put my thoughts out there. I'll be talking my compositions, composition processes, orchestration, how I learned about things, reflections, and genres Much Love to all! Musically Yours, Chad "Sir WIck http://maestrowick.blogspot.com