In the summer of 2013, Lowell
Galindo, lead anchor of LHN, was creating a project attempting to
display the similarities between athletics and art.
He wanted to use athletes and musicians from the University of Texas,
and asked Unlacquered Brass Quintet to be involved. Unlacquered
asked me to write them music for it.
Originally, this was intended to be a 6 minute piece: it then became 12
minutes long, and eventually we were asked to write/perform the music
for all 25 minutes.
At this point in time, we had about 3 weeks until the recording session.
Lowell gave me a 3 minute sample vid
eo showing what he was
going to do, as well as a set of descriptions of what he was looking
for in each segment.
I am including these descriptions above each recording.
Each segment may be programmed (and purchased) individually.
Alternatively, you can buy all 4 movements here:
Pole Vaulter (To Soar) -
"Tension and release": 2 female pole vaulters. They are
petite powerhouses. Fearless and graceful. They sprint with
pole in hand and then launch
themselves skyward. Lot of energy and tension and then a definite
feeling of "release" at the point they literally let go - of both
ground and pole.
Weight Lifting (To Lift) -
"Controlled Power": Bennie Wylie is like a work of art
himself. Man is chiseled. Controlled power is what I see
when Wylie is lifting. Technique is flawless.
But there is explosiveness. Strain. Urgency. You can
literally see his muscles going from a relaxed state to fully flexed.
Baseball (To Throw) -
"Deception and Confidence" - Focusing on Nathan Thornhill who is a
pitcher. The pitcher is very much an isolated man. Really
on an island.
He stands on the mound above everyone for all to see. He is the
only player on the field that has a hand in every play or pitch.
Incredible focus. Repetition is key. If one of his
movements is
slightly off, a pitch can stray way off its target. Deception and
Confidence are key for a pitcher. He tries to outsmart his
opponent and yet there are times when he will simply overpower his
opponent.
*Grand Prize Winner, 2014 PARMA Recordings Student Composer Competition*
Divers (To Dive) - "Ethereal" -
Combination of male and female divers. Ethereal.
Floating. Delicate. Divers are extremely physically strong
and make their bodies contort
in and out of form while falling. Yet they hit the water and the
water hardly moves upon contact. This segment will feature
underwater shots as well. However you can describe
the way water moves is how I would describe the feel for this!