DJ, opera singer, and film composer Brooke deRosa is making a name for herself around LA. She recently sang on Ghostface Killah's 12 Reasons to Die and appeared on Jimmy Fallon with the group. In this episode of Composer Quest, Brooke gives us some practical advice she's learned from scoring over 15 films and TV shows in the past five years. She also shares tips on composing for vocalists.
Student jazz players have likely come across the name Dean Sorenson - his jazz curriculum books have been published by Kjos music and played in schools across the globe. In my Composer Quest interview with Dean, I ask him about how he makes music fun and playable for younger jazz players. We also talk about the differences between improvising and composing.
Guitarist, composer, and podcast producer Anthony Joseph Lanman has racked up over 350,000 followers on Soundcloud – a number most classical musicians can only dream of. In this episode of Composer Quest, Anthony talks with me about his career path, his music, and his answer to the question, “What would Beethoven be writing today?”
The stereotype of African rhythms being complex and fascinating is completely true. I found out firsthand during my nine months in a very remote part of Tanzania, living at Hanga Abbey and teaching English, computers, and music to kids in the village. Since most of these kids don't have access to instruments, they found a way to make totally compelling songs using only their voices.
I set out to create the first episode of Composer Quest Season Two, and ended up with this heavenly look back at my musical history, embarrassing demos and all.
MusicWorks MN Director Tim Cheesebrow (from Episode 19) is the mastermind behind the new Young Composer's Contest here in Minnesota. Two talented White Bear Lake composers were chosen as the winners. It's pretty impressive what these students were able to do with their string quartet pieces. In this special Composer Quest episode, Taylor Isberner and James Farrell share their insights for other young composers thinking about trying out this contest next year.
Join us for the third Composer Quest Quest! Write a classical aria for the Twin Cities Opera on Tap group to perform.
I wrote this original piano piece for the first New Age Salon performance hosted by The Schubert Club. This group of musicians, painters, poets, dancers, and composers was organized by Fidelis Odozi and inspired by the salons of centuries past. We tried to capture that same feeling of artists collaborating and sharing their ideas in a relaxed setting.
Composer and Princeton professor Dmitri Tymoczko shares some excellent composing advice in this season finale episode of Composer Quest. Dmitri says that working on music theory as a composer is like lifting weights as a football player - it helps improve your intuitive composing. We also ponder the morality of exposing babies to only atonal music for experimental reasons.
Your composing quest, should you choose to accept it: co-write and co-record an original piece of music with a random Composer Quest listener, based on the theme "Conversation." Your finished track will be part of the first ever Composer Quest album, a free-to-download online release. The Boffo Yux Dudes, a music comedy duo who work together exclusively over the internet, share some collaboration advice in this special Quest #2 announcement episode.