May I Write Music for You?

I've always wanted to be a composer. You can get the idea of my style from the links below. Can I help you with your requirements in any way?

Click here for more information about me.

Projects I would enjoy to do

ONE. Writing music for amateur drama groups, whether for live performance, or off a recording. For example, the Brookwood Children's Drama group wanted music for a new version of Wind in the Willows for young children. This Opening music was designed to grab the audience's attention quickly, create an atmosphere and quieten them down all in one, and this song for When The Toad Came Home needed to have the simplest possible vocal line. (N.B. MIDI files demonstrate style not sound quality, unless you have quality equipment. Please set volume to around two thirds.) Another year, their pantomime was Aladdin, and opening chinese music was needed to set the scene. This Music for the Dorothy Sayers Society was entered for a competition requiring around 60 seconds of music for four instruments or less, to act as an Introduction to public readings of the play cycle The Man Born to be King. The clip lasts exactly 60 seconds! I was entry number 76 in the contest, and heard nothing. Perhaps they wanted something in another style. I was trying to create something that would serve as introductory music as if for a TV rendering of the plays, and which would work in a variety of contexts.

TWO. Writing for amateur musicians with limited skills. This Excerpt from my Piano Sonata (full version below) was designed for me to be able to play, and so avoids big stretches, and is designed to be learnable. I am used to teaching young people, so I can gear what I write to different standards. This Fiddles May Safely Embark (with apologies to J.S. Bach), was written for a group of young beginner violinists, and two advanced violinists. The beginners play the tune. An instruction in the music reads "No attempt should be made to synchronise bowing"! The better players should find their part demanding but playable. Similarly, this March for Piano Duet is technically easy. These three songs - Nightingale - Wind - Morning, turned out to be very difficult to sing, but they work well with the voice replaced by an instrument. I wrote this Trumpet Tune for Nick who likes big band music.

THREE. I would like to write for amateur music groups. This excerpt from Waves on the Shore by Moonlight was written for the Woking Flute Choir of up to 40 young flautists (full version below). Again it has been kept technically straightforward. I would like to write music for young people in wind bands which in practice have many flutes and clarinets, but seldom an oboe and hardly a bassoon. I would like to produce something which does not sound like an adaptation, ie write with those forces in mind. This version of Jingle Bells arranged for the Woking Flute Choir, included parts for the less common alto and bass flutes as they had some of those to hand, as well as piccolos. My Orchestral Sketch for small orchestra is intended to be not too difficult to play. Although it may sound difficult to an untrained ear, this Opening of the slow movement of my String Trio (full version below) is also not hard to play.

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Responses to my website

An 11 year old asked for flute music, so I sent this. More recently, I was asked to write some pop-songs for an emerging group of three girls. Here are three very brief excerpts to give the flavour but not steal their thunder, the opening of Tucson Boulevard, which is the name of the group, the middle of Rollercoaster, and the ending of Let Me Be Me. I responded to a request from Seventh Chapter of Fine Brass, a brass group in Brisbane. I had this idea for playing just before the interval - most people can spot the two tunes running together in the horn and tuba, but I challenge anyone to pick out and identify the trombone melody (7 notes near the end; it's from a film - can you keep a secret?). Then I wrote this, hoping it might fit into their repertiore (see the website). Following a request for a punk song for keyboard for another eleven year old, I sent this.

Longer Examples

Piano Sonata First movement (fast), Second movement (slow) Third movement (fast).

Nocturne for Flute Choir in three movements: Stars glimpsed through a break in the clouds, Fairground at Night, Waves on the Shore by Moonlight.

String Trio First movement (fast) Second movement (slow) Third movement (fast).

Thankyou for listening. David Pennant.

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