Double the Saxes = Double the Fun?

Before you ask--yes, I am playing two saxophones at once (and it's not overdubbed).

There are three recordings floating around of my new piece Laplace Transformers, a duet for saxophone and percussion. The links above are for the full recording (14 Mb, mp3) and a short portion of the score. If this file-size is too big, there is a shorter clip on the compositions page. This particular recording features Ben Rose on percussion and myself on saxophone.

One thing I really like about this piece is that every time it's performed, it sounds different. Music (at least my music) shouldn't be played the same way twice; I want to allow the performers a hand in crafting their own unique interpretation. The piece itself is a time capsule that draws its diverse styles from the rich history of the saxophone. More than that, it is an opportunity for two people to get together and have a great time making music.

One final note: I feel obligated to warn curious saxophonists that it is quite risky to play two horns at once. After seeing the premiere of this piece, a saxophone student from Baldwin Wallace managed to put a large dent in his Selmer Paris Soprano...

New Mouthpiece

The private screening of the new line of mouthpieces (designed by Jacob Crandall and myself) took place today. Though this is an engineering project, it is music-related, so I thought it would be appropriate to mention. I can't speak about the specific design elements on this website, as it could jeopardize the international patent; however, I can say that the project was well received. There was even time for a live demonstration of one new model!! If this designed is published in the Case magazine, or anywhere else, I will post a link. If not, this is probably the final word.

New Projects

Due to the success and popularity of the solo bassoon project Key Buxom Kamikaze @ H.Q., I have decided to debut the "User Interface" for the second piece in that series. For those of you who weren't following Key Buxom Kamikaze @ H.Q., the premise was that people purchased notes (through this website) and the proceeds went to charity. You chose the pitch, duration, and measure number, and I chose the octave and ordering in the measure. For that project, the user interface was setup like an online retail store. For this (second) project, the user interface is setup like a flash introduction. There are 100+ boxes displayed on the screen--you pick one, and the corresponding note becomes the next note in the piece.

The third new project in this series is a computer generated string quintet entitled Cantilène & Caprice. This piece is in the early stages of development, but the idea for the user interface comes from online forms. You fill out the form, and a randomly generated piece is sent to you (pdf and midi) via email. I plan to upload C++ snippets as they become available (and hopefully get some good feedback from computer engineers or CompSci people).

Fred Hale Vose

I've been asked to share some information about the Case Alumni Association (CAA) award I recently won:

The Fred Hale Vose Prize and Scholarship Fund was originally established as the Fred Hale Vose Prize in 1945 by a Case alumnus. The prize is presented annually to the graduating mechanical engineer demonstrating the greatest promise for professional leadership and is named to honor Dr. Vose.

Local Concerts of Note

Please note the upcoming master-class / concert featuring saxophone guru Alan Durst. The name of the event is "Saxophones on Saturday", on Nov. 11th, at 12:00pm, in Harkness Chapel (here at Case). I will be playing solo and quartet / quintet pieces, and my newest piece Laplace Transformers will be premiered. The first recording session for Laplace Transformers is Nov. 8th, so I will try to upload a clip soon after that. Also, I heard a rumor that someone else is performing one of my soprano solos...

Also, Maggie Kiehl will be performing my saxophone solo, Alone Again as part of her prize-winning Terr Ronis recital on Sunday, Oct. 29th, at 3:00pm, in Harkness Chapel. I'll be there in the front row, so come out and support her beautiful playing.

Honors!

Today I learned that the music faculty had unanimously voted to award me departmental honors status. This is especially cool because I didn't know this even existed until last month. I know several recent graduates who had the necessary requirements, but did not apply for departmental honors because they did not know about it. In fact, I don't remember anyone ever graduating with departmental honors in music. Perhaps this will be the impetus for the music department to reevaluate how they advertise this honor.

Free Screen-Savers for Everyone!

So I was on the Apple download page, looking at their free screen-savers, and it struck me that a lot of them stink. After fooling around with Quartz Composer for the better part of half an hour, I discovered that making a screen-saver on a Mac is sort of like working with Reason. You end up working with a series of signal controllers that can be rerouted to other controllers, with near-limitless flexibility. Please enjoy this set of three quartz screen-savers. FlameSaver and WebCamSaver both show my RSS feed, and FairySaver is a cute little yellow light that flies around the screen (on top of a photo I took at the botanical gardens). Why doesn't Apple publicize this little program better to non-developers? Surprisingly, it IS quite user friendly. What other cool things are lurking deep within my PowerMac? Anyway, please enjoy these (Mac OS X-only) screen-savers!

It's done!

With much gratitude, I'm announcing that the new experimental piece is finished. This project generated a lot of interest in both the music and the Hope Center. Thank you to everyone who was involved (or followed along) with the project. The last incomplete feature of the piece was the title. I had been complaining last week about a lack of vowels, and just this afternoon, a group from Haralson County High School, in Tallapoosa, Georgia, purchased an A, E, I, O, U, and Y! Using the letters you purchased, I have decided to name the piece: Key Buxom Kamikaze @ H.Q. Some other considerations for titles included Squeakky Zombie-X Ham K and Q, Kabuki Homemaker XYZ.

The piece is now available to download online, and is free and open for public performance and recording. I will also upload a free recording, as soon as one becomes available. There is no fee to use the music; however, all proceeds generated must go to the Hope Center in Lexington, KY.

Relaxation CD

Well, it's finally out. As part of orientation, new students were given a coupon to come pick up my relaxation CD "Centered in the Circle" from ESS. I've already seen several people who have them, which is pretty cool! The bad news is that it's not available online yet, but hopefully it will be soon.

Bozza Aria on a Plane

I just heard the unedited, unmastered recording of Greg Banaszak playing my Bozza Aria arrangement with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra in Krakow, Poland. It sounds fantastic! I can't wait to get a copy of the CD when it comes out. I also heard that Banaszak and Centaur records signed a deal with LOT Polish Airlines to use the Aria as part of their in-flight music presentation. I suppose stranger things have happened, but this is certainly up there.

MEA KKMB HKXQZ Update

Thank you to everyone who participated in my most recent experiment. The music is completed, but I am still selling letters for the title. The shopping cart has been disabled, so please contact me with how many letters you would like. Keep the following possibilities in mind: an "R" yields "embark" or "hammer", a "Y" yields "mayhem", two "I"s yield "maximize", "NCR" yields "benchmark", and "YTR" yields "myth-maker".

New Homepage

So after being home all summer, I learned that maintaining my home-page was too much of a pain. I have therefore decided to switch to a popular blogging interface, rather than my own. What does this mean? I will be able to update this page from any computer with an internet connection, even my PDA! Previous articles are all reposted and can be found in the September 2006 archives. With almost 13,000 hits since January, it seems a little wrong to go 3 months without updating anything. I also have a nifty little RSS feed, you can find the subscription link at the bottom of this page. Hope you enjoy!

Back to School

For the last few months I was at home--and unable to update this website. Now that I'm back at school, be on the lookout for more updates.

A.W. Smith Award

After opening my bill for this semeter's tuition, I was surprised to learn that I had received the A.W. Smith award, which pays full tuition for my last year at Case! Many thanks to anyone involved. I'm not sure who was responsible, so if you were, please let me know.

Purchase a Note in my Next Piece

I am starting a new series of pieces that explore connections between music and the global communications network. The resulting piece will be made entirely from the notes purchased by members of the community, and if you buy a note, you will be listed as a "co-composer" for the project (note that no musical skills are necessary to be involved).

Hamelin Poster Competition

With special thanks to Dr. Gary Ciepluch, my faculty sponsor for the Intersections SOURCE Poster Symposium, we would like to announce that the "Hamelin, After the Rats" poster won 1st place in the "Arts" category of the competition.

Micro Air Vehicles

I know this isn't strictly related to music, but sometimes my science page can go unnoticed. Please enjoy this cool new video compilation of a series of Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) test flights that were made over the course of this semester. Enjoy!

Hamelin Poster

Look for me at the "Intersections SOURCE Poster Symposium". I will have a booth with a poster for the Hamelin piece. The Alizarin video game is also being presented there, so look out for that too!

01001101

There is now a brief clip from the first movement of my new multimedia composition "01001101". Feel free to download or browse other clips. The recording was made on April 4th, 2006, by the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra.

Alumni Award

Today I learned that the CSE Alumni Association will present a very generous award which will help cover my tuition next year. My thanks go out to everyone on the selection committee and the alumni association for honoring me with this award.

Forgotton Press

After the Hamelin premiere, I was approached by an administrator who noted my website was missing several links to websites that mention my name. Also, there is a new article in the February 9th issue of the Winchester Sun newspaper. Feel free to check it out too (if you can find a copy). Below are a few other references:

Case Magazine Article (vol. 18 #2)
Case Engineering Magazine, Alizarin Article (vol. 4 #2, p. 4)
Case Engineering Magazine Reference (v. 4, #1, p. 15)
Rock for Doc Article
SOURCE Recognition
Random Reprint of an Old Article
Results of a 1999 Dogsled Race

Hamelin, After The Rats: World Premiere

On Sunday, March 5th, the Case Western Reserve University Symphonic Winds (under the direction of Gary Ciepluch) will be premiering my "Hamelin, After the Rats". The concert is at 6:00, in Kulas hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Senior Recital

My senior composition recital will be Saturday, March 4th, at 3:00. It will be held at Harkness Chapel at Case Western Reserve University. Admission is free and there will be free food after the concert. This concert features Marlon Cox, Jacob Crandall, Ted Demas, Raphaela Ghodsizadeh, Maggie Kiehl, Minna, Krejci, Joy Liou, Alanna Mazarik, Colin Milne, David Ojala, Marc Plotkin, Jon Po, Sal Russo, and JT Tan.

Website Traffic

After two months of uptime, hunterewen.com has already received well over 3,000 hits. Thank you for making this website such a success!

Alizarin's World by Numbers

The video game project is completed and the final product is online ready to be downloaded. The game is called "Alizarin's World by Numbers". The guest panel from Electronic Arts had this to say:
"The best submission of the night. A solid idea that shares a lot with Kirby's Canvas Curse in terms of movement and Black & White in terms of a gesture system. The really strong part, however, was the brilliant art and music. More of an experiential game than a traditional puzzler, this was a fantastic effort ... [T]he Alizarin team should go to GDC this year and get their game in front of Nintendo. It's that good."

Download the game Here
Visit the Official "Alizarin's World by Numbers" Homepage Here
Read the Case Western Reserve University P.R. Article about Alizarin Here