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Fifth Annual
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2010 Archive
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Mind Hurricane

Author(s): Mike Ward

Presentation: performance

Mind Hurricane is a piece of music born from experimentation and research. In my composition efforts I have been exploring different timbres and textures to try to develop new sounds. Additionally, I’ve been striving to combine rock and classical music. In Mind Hurricane I combined an unusual grouping of instruments: violin, alto saxophone, timpani/snare drum, piano, and electric guitar. My basic idea was to take instruments from multiple backgrounds that don’t often play together and bring them together to build a cohesive piece of music. I had to research into how all of these instruments worked to find some way for them to fit together without sounding like separate ensembles. After that, I wrote the music, paying special attention to what role each instrument would play. When everything came together, I was pleased to hear how solid everything sounded. It borrows from many contemporary musical elements: jazz, rock, heavy metal, minimalism, and neoclassical music. The piece itself sounds absolutely amazing and I am hoping for the opportunity to have it performed at the 5th Annual Student Research Conference.

 

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