When second-year student Derrick Spiva had one of his first
compositions performed in his high school band, miscalculated
chords led to an experience so embarrassing that Spiva’s
music still lays tucked away in his bedroom drawer. It was at that
point in his freshmen year of high school that Spiva decided to
give up writing music.
But like his fellow composition students who are having their
pieces performed next Wednesday night at the Undergraduate
Composition Concert, his desire to create new music wouldn’t
let him stay away from composing.
“I was on this search for a certain style of music that I
like to write, and I would hear bits and pieces of it in a lot of
different soundtracks and different pieces in classical music. And,
then I realized that I really couldn’t find the music that I
wanted to hear. So I figured, maybe I’ll just write it
myself,” Spiva said.
Composition gives the musicians the chance to study another side
of music where they have the opportunity to put their own thoughts
on the page for others to play.
“The thing about composition, for me, is it’s just
another way to explore music,” fourth-year music composition
student Julianne Freund said. “I just like creating things,
so that’s why I’ve veered more toward composition (than
music performance).”
As opportunities for musicians to have their pieces played so
early in their career are rare, concerts such as the one next
Wednesday are appreciated by the music composition students, who
are eager to have their pieces heard and critiqued by an audience
and to show off a quarter’s worth of work.
“New music doesn’t get played that much. So, for me
and the other young composition students to get their music played,
it’s really great. It’s a good experience for us, and
it helps to get us on our feet with some composing. After school,
it’s not going to be as easy to get our pieces played,”
Freund said.
Though Spiva and Freund didn’t get serious about composing
until high school, music played a prominent part throughout both
their lives.
“When I was younger, my dad used to take me to church, and
I would sit there as they were playing things on the organ. The
choir would be singing, and I would start making up my own stuff by
singing little melodies on top of what they sang,” Spiva
said.
Freund, on the other hand, had her first experience with
composing when she was asked to write music for a student film in
her high school Advanced Placement music theory class. It was at
that point she realized she wanted to pursue composition,
especially film scoring, as a career.
Looking to pursue a career in film scoring is typical for music
composition majors ““ yet they don’t want to abandon
creating contemporary classical music.
“I can’t just do film and television music because a
lot of times you lose the artistic value when doing scores for set
things. Whereas, if you were doing contemporary classical music,
you are able to express yourself on a greater plane than the
entertainment industry will allow you,” Spiva said.
In their concert pieces, young composers often take the
opportunity to experiment with unconventional styles and
sounds.
“This piece is different from what I’ve done in the
past ““ it’s a little freer. I like the jazzy style that
I had been writing in before, but I felt it was time to move on. I
don’t like the idea of staying in one style for a long
time,” Freund said.
And though the musicians may struggle with unconventional
techniques, they enjoy the much needed break from their classical
repertoire.
“I think they find (the music composition students’
pieces) a challenge, but I think they welcome it,” Freund
said. “Sometimes a lot of what students write here is very
unorthodox compared to Beethoven or Mozart. But it’s a new
experience for them and I think they sometimes get sick of playing
the same composers.”
And at the concert, the composers will have the opportunity to
hear the music with which the other composition students have been
experimenting.
“I’m looking forward to hearing (the other
composers’ pieces) because I already know what mine sounds
like,” Spiva said. “They’re all really good
composers, and my favorite thing is to hear something that
I’ve never heard before.”