Structures of Composition Documentation

Reflection on the Semester:

This semester has been somewhat challenging.

My other non-composition assessments took up a lot of my time which made it difficult to allocate time to work on writing music. Additionally, the focus this semester was on writing 2 long pieces which I find more challenging than writing lots of short pieces.

I have studied lots of scores in the process of writing my orchestral works and I feel like I'm getting better and better at notation and orchestration. I also produced electronic dance music for the first time in my life, which was met with an encouraging amount of positive feedback from my peers.

The music I wrote this semester and has been extremely satisfying. Between getting to hear my anime piece played live, dipping my toes into EDM production, and writing a big orchestral tone poem, I really like all the music i wrote this semester and I really enjoyed the process of writing it too.

I can't wait to see what third year has in store!

Comp Workshop Reflection:

Perhaps the most valuable comp workshop presentation for me this semester, has been from Bailey Sieracki, a 3rd year comp student.

He talked about preparing for recitals and gave some usefel advice regarding rehearsals.

He said that you're not going to be able to always rehearse with everyone who's going to perform in your recital, so you should choose one or two instruments to be the most important and plan your music and your rehearsals around them. He also encouraged preparation on your part - knowing your music, formatting your score properly, and doing everything you can to not waste time.

Finally he said that you should be firm and assertive with your musicians. Even though they're your friends and they're playing for free, you should still expect a level of professionalism from them.

I think this advice was very helpful and I believe it will prove to be invaluable in the near future when I start working on my own recital.