Search for Composers

[Toni-Lupin]

Hello,
I'm new to this guild and I was wondering how many of you were composers.
I'm currently in my first year of college and am trying to establish myself as a composer at the college and in the real world. I really want to make a big contribution to the musical world and create music that all the world will listen to for generations.
If you are a composer, what is your style like? Who inspires you? Is there a composer you admire? What is your favorite instrument to write for? Etc, etc.
Thanks!  

[Meeatu]

Hi Toni,
I'm a composer as well.
I'm studying at college, past with some of the best honors one can in high-school (Being selected for 'encore'), and have been writing full songs for about 4 years so far.

Fusion music is my passion, but as to what genres or styles I infuse together, I have no limits.
I love Jazz-metal, the two blend surprisingly well, I think the mentality behind the two genres is very similar, despite drastically different approaches and end-results.
I also love mixing modal or 12-tone serialist jazz ideas into rock structures.
I'm currently trying to write my first full orchestral piece, and I must say, I'm struggling.
I like to have in-depth knowledge about (as well as a basic ability to play) every instrument I compose for, so of course, writing for a full orchestra is a pain (I don't play any woodwind instruments :[).

I'm inspired mainly by noise-rock, mathcore and serialist jazz composers.
I love weird compositional styles. Repetition bores me, and I love subverting expectations. Making almost 'musical jokes' :]

As for specific composers that I admire, it's got to be Schoenberg and Stravinsky when it comes to classical music.

Drums are definitely my favorite instrument to compose for.
I've never been a very melodic person.
Big, sweeping arpeggios do nothing for me.
Rhythm's where it's at.
So, drums came naturally to me as a performance instrument, and subsequently, I learned to love them, to appreciate their power and versatility above most other instruments (another reason for my shying away from orchestral music toll now - my songs are usually drum-centric, and unless I go overboard on timpani, I don't know how I'm going to cope without them laying the foundations).

What kind of stuff do you write?  

[Liber Chronicarum]

Well ,I wouldn t call myself a composer yet since I have still a long way to go but I intend to become a full -fleshed one .
So who inspires me ?
Mmmh ....Bach ( I know ,cliché ,right ? ) ,Chostakovitch , Jean Francaix ,Debussy ,Mahler but also Messian .
Also ,folk music : for example ,kazakh music ,tribal musics ...
My favorite instruments to write for :
Oboe ,clarinet ,
cello ,piano and voice .
My style :
I like writing chamber music ,but it s hard to define my style . I would say that I try to incorporate musical melodies and classical structures with the legacy of modern music . So I don t really have like a favorite tonality or bi- atonality or whatever . Some of my compositions are actually very different from each other .In a way ,I think it s good : it means I m evolving ,you know?
And you what do you prefer writing?  

[DieF1228]

I've only written two major works so far, but I am a composer nonetheless. My first piece was a simple Irish Jig called, "On the Banks of the Loch Ness". And my second piece is called SüßeTräume for Violin and Piano (which almost sounds like a mix between Meditation from Thaïs and a Debussy work). I get much inspiration from Mahler, Shostakovitch, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. If I were to pick a "favorite instrument" I would say violin...partially because I play it. :3 And I don't really have a defined style yet...  

[Kea of doom]

Yay, I'm a composer too!

I guess right now I would describe my style as maximalist and post-tonal. I don't necessarily mean maximalist in terms of walls of sound, but I have a hard time cutting back without sounding sparse, and I don't like rests! My poor performers sad

It's hard to say what my influences are. I feel as if I have two distinct styles, one for instrumental music and one for choral music. In the realm of instrumental, I actually take a lot of inspiration from Beethoven... well, assuming he was post-tonal haha. I mean to say, I sympathize with a lot of Beethoven's struggles of not having a wealth of material to work through, like Mozart and other prodigies did. I think he was a master of using very little material to say so much and to create so many interesting sound textures. I also take some inspiration from Messiaen - I really love the idea of modes of limited transposition and utilizing pitch sets to create interesting color contrasts.

But with choral music, I think my main inspiration is a modern retake on Renaissance polyphony. It's not a new concept - actually one of my good friends is far more successful in the neo-Renaissance style. But I like the workings of counterpoint and especially the melodic nature of text-setting, so I tend to work a lot with manipulating the text. I mean, choral and vocal music has that very unique aspect of lyrics that it only makes sense to stick with the natural contours of the language.

It's hard to say, though. I am very new to composing (I guess it's been about 3 years now?) and I am still really working through my own style. And, unfortunately right at the moment I don't have access to a regular composition teacher, so I am kind of working on my own which is a lot less practical and efficient. But meh. Such is life!  

[miyuki_pudding]

I'm also a composer! Unfortunately, I haven't quite found my own compositional voice yet. I've been writing in a variety of different styles in order to figure that out. All I've got figured out is that I'm definitely post-tonal. I've worked in 12-tone serial styles, set theory, modal styles, and more.

When I started composing, I leaned towards the music of Jennifer Higdon and Arvo Part, and I'm still inspired by Higdon because of her interpretation of tonal gestures and her ability to project color. However, now I find myself inspired by, in terms of style, George Crumb, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Susan Botti. I really love the idea of pushing the boundaries on the sounds we can produce on instruments and using extended techniques in an intelligent, thoughtful way. That's where my passion lies- using these sounds to create a landscape.

My favorite instrument to write for is voice (my instrument!), and I love the realm of art song most of all. I love conveying drama through the use of vocal techniques such as speaking, whispering, growling, glissandi, and sprechstimme. I'm also a poet and I feel most comfortable setting my own texts because I know exactly what I want, though I want to explore handling the texts of others more and more.

My instrumental chamber music also follows similar principles.

I don't consider my music necessarily very good yet, but I always get excited about what could come out of my head when I sit down to write. smile