i came here to have a good time and - horn quintet

i'm still sitting on the title... page one is kinda "i came here to have a good time and" and page two is all like "then this happened" so yeah i'll have to figure the title out at some point.

i hope all the instructions make sense and aren't too unrealistic! though obviously i am happy to edit anything that's asking too much of the performer(s).

an open message to andrew london: hello i'm so sorry. also thank you. sincerely, liz


p.s. i'm hoping this isn't too difficult to record as one person since none of the entries need to be super synchronised... but please let me know if it's Too Much Effort!

Etude for Horn

This etude is dedicated to renowned teacher and Horn player Christopher Howes.
This piece was written thinking of his charisma.

Viola piece beginning

Started writing a viola piece today. It's hard to put out of mind the solo viola sonata by Ligeti - the mere mention of him today was enough for me to want to write this piece, so I think I'm sunk either way.

Thanks Andrew and Andrew!

Month of Music Collab 3 - Josh Batty & Jarrod Hawn, Flute & Voice

Hello everyone!

I'm thrilled to introduce the third collab for Month of Music this year, duo Josh Batty & Jarrod Hawn.

I first met Josh when he moved from the UK to assume the position of principal flute in the Sydney Symphony. He brought with him his partner, now fiancé, Jarrod Hawn, who is a multi-talented actor, singer and DJ, and the two of them have become a bit of a fixture in the Sydney scene. They're self-isolating together and it's our luck that they've agreed to take part in this!

Jarrod's voice type is a Baritone, and if you'd like to listen to it, here's a recent performance: https://www.facebook.com/jarrodhawn/videos/10108008638955225/ As mentioned, he's also an actor, and I'm hoping that some works make use of that as well.

Josh has offered concert flute, alto flute and some piccolo, on the easy side. Here's the Martin Ballade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDIZVqJVFPM which features a little of the flashy finger work he's capable of.

Parameters are:

- Happy to try anything, regarding extended techniques, performance practices and so on

- Duration is flexible, but perhaps no chamber operas.

- Flute + Alto Flute + Piccolo are the available flutes, but should you feel the need to get wildly creative with household items, bear in mind we are in lockdown.

- Due Date : mid April. This one is the most flexible. Josh & Jarrod are, as are many of us, still trying to figure out the best way to wait out the virus, so rather than these coming in all at once, the better approach would be to send the works through as they're completed, and produce the videos when time permits. I'll let you know if a more definite 'deadline' arises.

- Also, their boxer Mr G might feature in the works, whether you like it or not. (the price for self isolating with a boxer puppy)


As ever, please leave any questions in the comments down below!

Month of Music Collab 2 - Henry Liang, Shō

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to be posting about two collabs - this is the first!

It comes from one of our composers - Henry Liang. He's a flute & piccolo player in the Royal Australian Navy Band, and has been a freelance shō artist for a number of years. In 2015, Henry was offered by Columbia University in New York to attend a 7-week residency in Japan to learn the shō, which is the focus of this collab. I recommend you check out his website henryliang.com.au to read a bit more about his experiences in studying the instrument, but suffice it to say it was highly immersive.

The shō is an extremely interesting instrument. It's a bamboo instrument with 17 pipes, sounded by free reeds. It's played by breathing in and out through the instrument, and is capable of some pretty incredible dynamic range. Be sure to check your chords against a fingering chart, as notes are assigned per finger and humans have these limitations. Also, it's one of the only instruments I can think of that actually requires periodic heating  (check out videos of traditional players and the charcoal bbq's they sit beside).

It's a pretty ancient instrument and features in prominent place within Japanese culture, and composers including Takemitsu, Maki Ishii, Minoru Miki and Yoshimatsu have brought a contemporary aesthetic to those traditions. The 20th century expansion of Japanese musical culture throughout Europe saw the likes of Cage, Hovhaness and Lachenmann compose for it as well.

There's some good reference material out there on how to write for it, and I'll be popping back in with a good one later today, but please don't feel intimidated by it - this is a judgement free zone to get some experience with a truly unique instrument.

Henry's parameters are:

- duration of up to 2-3 minutes

- you're welcome to use woodwind techniques such as flutter tongue and singing whilst playing.

- Due date: Monday, 30th of March


Please write any questions you might have in the comments below, I'm sure Henry will be happy to answer them or point you towards a resource or two!

three little lines in longhand scribbles

I left my computer downstairs and I am not going to get it, so here is some scribble instead.
I want to combine the first two lines somehow - I got distracted then

the middle is a thought I ended

the last is an already written song in Dharug language  - I wanted to start working on harmonising it for a larger arrangement but didn’t leave any room for harmony writing fbfjgjhk

anyway, stay woke gamers

xx