Frank and I go wayyyy back. He was my Composition and Form & Analyses teacher in my undergraduate at Butler University. He was a mainstay when I was putting together the Green Dot Journey Composer Competition in 2014 and also one of the judges for the competition. Now he is a part of my newest […]
Author: nationalparkcompositions
Watercolors of Earth & Sky, Jeffrey Hoover
It was in 2015 that I received a phone call from Jeffrey Hoover offering to write me a piece inspired by nature and accompanied by his own artwork. He sent me several of his already composed violin pieces and I fell in love with his style. We settled on a piece to be written for […]
Witch Creek Rhapsody by James Bishop, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
From learning how to swim and surf in the Pacific to taking family road trips down Highway 1, the Golden State’s scenic splendor indelibly marks James Bishop’s work: “This is not only a place of beauty for me, but also a place of creation. I see it in the artistry of the sky… I feel […]
Three Sketches of Unblemished Earth by Jordan Jinosko, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
A native of Rochester, New York, hiking the Appalachian Trail several years ago left indelible impressions on Jordan Jinosko, and the memory of these experiences finds distinctly evocative echoes in this groundbreaking composition. Describing the transformative adventure and the impact that it would have on her creative impulses, Jinosko writes: “It expresses the feelings that […]
Ocean Cycles, by Mark Laroussini, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
Daily walks on the beach during his summer retreats to North Topsail Beach, one of the long string of islands off the coast of North Carolina, provided the serendipitous inspiration for Laroussini’s composition Ocean Cycles. Exploring the relationship between the ocean and moon, this work contains many cycles including a foundational pattern of seventeen notes […]
Dances of Memory by Polina Nazaykinskaya, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
From her years residing in New Haven, Connecticut, Nazaykinskaya draws upon the area’s scenic beauty for musical inspiration: “Connecticut enchanted me with its magical diversity, whether I was meandering along the green alleys in downtown New Haven in the long days of summer, or seeking shelter in the shades of Sleeping Giant Park or watching […]
Three Asterisms by Lucas Oikle, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
In Three Asterisms, Oickle returns to his roots through an exploration of the sonic remembrances of his youth growing up along the Atlantic Coast of Canada: “My composition is centered on my favourite thing about summer in Nova Scotia: singing frogs on a clear evening. Because of the many hours I spent by our pond […]
Night Music by Jules Pegram, Green Dot Journey Competition Winner
Of his composition Night Music, Pegram writes, “Night is the period when my musical ideas are at their most introspective and romantic, yet I also feel the most musically energetic once the sun has set. Thus, Night Music for Violin and Piano is a sonic exploration of nighttime, my favorite part of the day.” Far […]