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maybe, or maybe not, i would say. not sure about your piece specifically. i have never studied music in a university - well, I took some sort of music appreciation class once to fulfill an elective requirement, choosing one in music so that I could fulfill that elective buy studying MUSIC instead of something else, quite the good show by my college for allowing that, some classmates once asking me to take it easy on a test that was to be graded on a curve in view of the fact that I knew more - but not so much more - than the jazzes and pop music aficionados in that class happened to know. One thing that I knew, which I'll bet anyone in this thread also knows, and that I type up to refine my thinking a bit on such mattes as well as assuring myself on my ideas - is that the 'prohibition' of parallel fifths (and octaves) grew out of an early desire (requirement actually) to keep contrapuntal lines separate and not allow then to blend together into undistinguishable lines at any moment of paralell-ness, such knowledge for myself being obtained from study of Fux, Piston, Jeppesen, Mann, Schoenberg. Parallel fifth and octave combos of tones can be quite nice and effective when used in the right way. For instance, when playing through parts of Debussy's "Suite bergamasque" - those parts NOT concerned with the moon - I found paralell fifths that sound wonderful; Menuet I opening bar. the above could be thought of as a long winded into this question: what is the common pathway, if any, that is followed these days in achieving a level of compositional ability needed for obtaining the all important degree. Is Bach always intently studied? what else is?

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Hi Samuel, MP3 player now working... (?!) As always, I enjoyed your piece 🙂 My only critic is that it's somewhat flat on the long term, lacking some variations... until the last 2 minutes which are awesome ! 🙂 Regards

Here is a small set of three pieces inspired by different figures in Seneca mythology/folklore! I hope to improve my harp writing, so any tips/advice on that would be greatly welcomed. The colors were used as a reference for myself while composing (I think of music in terms of color), and they themselves allude to the "triptych" I was attempting to create. (The score is left in concert pitch)

This piece was written in Prague for a friend I made there; it is in five brief movements and the inspiration is from medieval Occitan literature. The organization of the movements depicts a "legend," or some sort of story which one recounts to another, beginning in the morning and ending in the evening. The first movement is an alba ("sunrise"), which is similar to an aubade -- a morning love poem --and the piece serves as an introduction to the set. The second movement is more lively and is a poem celebrating the arrival of spring. The third movement is pensive and reflective, highlighting the harp, and ends with an unadorned quotation of a kyrie. The fourth movement is the most vivacious in the set and is an energetic dance reinforced with numerous repetitions. The final movement is a serenata (or, serenade), which is similar in concept to the opening "alba," though a serenata occurs in the evening, thus demonstrating the course of a day's time; the piece utilizes material from all the previous movements to provide a sense of total synthesis.

I present another sonata, this time for oboe (English horn) and piano. While I have included a program which outlines my thought-process, I find it important to include that this work is one that is important in defining my individual style and voice. It is energetic and narrative, and it progresses in such a manner which it highlights the leader of the duo -- the oboe. Enjoy!

Hey, guys! I just finished work on the first movement of a new sonata, this time for oboe and piano; it was a quick two days. I was first planning a piano sonata, but I shifted my mind over to a duet like this instead, a form in which I enjoy writing the most. The sonata, I plan, will have three movements, and this is only the first. It has several main key areas/significant harmonies, and all of them are in mm. 30- 31. This is a piece with a story-without-words, with many motifs depicting the motions and movements of the eponymous frogs and of flowing and dripping water. While much of the music could have been conceived of in 6/8, the music finally transforms starting in the frog dance at m. 156, wherein first the meter changes into the easiest conceptualization of the original music, then it shifts from duple into triple (i.e. the oboe's introductory line), and finally back into compound duple as its final transformation, all the while taming the bombastic eccentricity of the previous material, as well as the shifting harmonic language and chromaticism. Let me know what you think! P.S. The type-facing is elementary and it will be adjusted in the final drafting process, when the following movements are done.

This is an application of the "Ter sanctus," (thrice holy) often used in the Eastern Orthodox Church; it is also known as the "trisagion." I'm thinking of working out some more sacred motets in the near future. The piece itself is rather simple harmonically and texturally speaking, and this is intentional; I prefer it this way. These pieces could certainly be more complex and thorough, but I enjoy writing small, simple pieces with a sacred text. Anyway, I'd still love some feedback with all that said!