Senior Composition Recital
An Honors Thesis (HONORS 499)
by
Brian R. Calvert
Thesis Advisor
Dr. Michael Pounds
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
May 2009
Expected Date of Graduation
May 9,2009
i/
. I,
Abstract
The senior composition recital is a way to display the musical achievements
of composition and music technology students. Through my years as a music
technology undergraduate student, I have developed a knowledge and
understanding of music theory, music history, music performance, music recording,
acoustic composition, electronic composition, orchestration, and live sound
reinforcement. Through my senior composition recital on Friday, December 12,
2008, I was able to share the development of my knowledge, skills. and creations
with my family. friends, faculty, and feHow students.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Michael Pounds for advising me through this project.
I would also like to thank my professors: Dr. Keith Kothman, Dr. Michael
Pounds, Valentina Trubow, Dr. Joseph Harchanko, Dr. Jody Nagel, Garrett
Byrnes, and Dr. Derek Johnson for instilling in me the knowledge and
understanding of music creation and composition.
I would like to specifically thank Dr. Derek Johnson for assisting with
arrangements and rehearsals for this recital. His input and direction was
very helpful in bringing the final performance together.
I would also like to thank my performers: Yuka Nakayama (piano). Nathan
Thompson (vibraphone), and Curtis Green (cello)
BRIAN R. CALVERT
SENIOR COMPOSITION RECITAL
Future History (2006)
digital audio
....................................................... Brian R. Calvert
(b. 1986)
Bits and Pieces (2005)
digital audio
The Visit (2005)
digital audio
Darkness (2005)
digital audio
Piano & Vibraphone I (2007)
Piano & Vibraphone II (2007)
Yuka Nakayama, piano
Nathan Thompson, vibraphone
The us in US (2006)
digital audio
Sway (2006)
digital audio
Wonder (2008)
Yuka Nakayama, piano
Curtis Green, cello
Eclipse (2007)
digital audio
Consequences (2008)
digital audio
Brian R. Calvert is a student of Michael Pounds, Keith Kothman,
Derek Johnson, Jody Nagel, Garrett Byrnes, and Jeff Seitz.
This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree Bachelor of Music with a major in Music Technology
and for the thesis requirements of the Honors College.
Program Notes
Future History (2006)
digital audio
Future History is an excerpt from the opening theme of a short film by the same
title. The title has since been changed to "Journal". The movie was written, directed,
and produced by Alex Donkle. Alex is a friend from high school who is attending
college at Purdue University. I have been contacted by Alex to do music for a
number of his short films. The plot for Future History follows a journal with the
power to control the future. When the journal is discovered by the owner's
roommate and its powers are revealed, the roommate comes to realize the
newfound powers are more trouble than they're worth. The music was written on
my computer to Alex's specifications using the program Reason by Propellerhead.
This short excerpt shows one of my earliest experimentations with a piano cello
combination. I explore this instrumentation more in later works.
Bits and Pieces (2005)
digital audio
Bits and Pieces is the first of three pieces on the program that was born out of my
computer music classes. In these classes, we learned about the history of computer
audio as art and studied various early composers and composition methods. Our
compositions were created through a study of computer-based audio manipulation
and associated programs. The majority of the sounds used in this piece were
created by manipulation audio from Ball State's sound library with programs such
as Kontakt by Native Instruments, Tassman by Applied Acoustics Systems, Peak by
BIAS, Inc., and the shareware program SoundHack. These sounds were layered and
arranged into their final form using the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) program
Digital Performer by MOTU. The name from Bits and Pieces came after listening to
the completed piece. The name was inspired by the sporadic entrances of the
sounds combined with the pace of the piece.
The Visit (2005)
digital audio
The Visit is the second piece on the program that was created in my computer music
classes. This piece was created in a very similar fashion as Bits and Pieces. In fact, a
number of the sounds are of the same origin. Like Bits and Pieces, the name for this
piece came after composition was complete. In this case, the sounds bring to mind a
kind of extraterrestrial exploration, or other worldly visit.
Darkness (2005)
digital audio
Darkness is the third piece that was written for my computer music classes. This
piece was submitted as a final project in my 2005·2006 Fall Semester course, The
source material was similar to the material used in Bits and Pieces and The Visit I
set out to use that material to create an eerie or dark mood. The piece uses a
combination of low frequency rumbles, mechanical whines. spacious reverbs, and
the unnatural manipulation of familiar sounds to achieve its goal.
Piano & Vibraphone I (2007)
Piano & Vibraphone II (2007)
Yuka Nakayama, piano
Nathan Thompson, vibraphone
Piano & Vibraphone I and Piano & Vibraphone II were both written under the
direction of Garrett Byrnes in one of my acoustic composition classes. The pieces
were written in order to develop compositional concepts that I could use in later
compositions. The first piece was written as an exercise in the development of
motivic material. Piano & Vibraphone I is not a conventionally tonal piece, instead
its tonality is based on the trading and development of the various motives. Piano &
Vibraphone II shares the quasi-atonal quality of Piano & Vibraphone l. The second
piece was written as an exploration of my concept of bringing musical themes and
form out of a continuous bed of sound. Throughout the piece, the left hand of the
piano provides a continuous tonal bed off of which the right hand of the piano and
vibraphone play. The wash of consonant sound and slow tempo create a calm,
relaxing environment for the listener.
The us in US (2006)
digital audio
The us in US is another piece of music written for a movie by Alex Donkle. This is
one of the first movie projects on which Alex and I collaborated. Alex's concept for
the movie was to use an American and a Mexican student taking a test together as a
metaphor of many Americans' view on the rising Mexican workforce in the US. My
goal was to create an increasingly unsettling electronic composition to accompany
the escalating tension portrayed in the film. The piece was written using the
program Reason by Propellerhead.
Sway (2006)
digital audio
Sway was written as an experiment in the application of Reason as a composition
tool. My goal was to create a minimalistic, rhythmic piece using a limited number of
instruments. I used a vibraphone sample for the main melodic loop and built on it
using a second vibraphone line, percussion sequencer, and bass synthesizer. I
decided to include this minimalistic piece on the program of my recital as a
counterpoint for the other pieces. I felt that the simplicity and rhythmic qualities of
the piece would successfully break up the abstract and sometimes ambient nature of
the other computer pieces.
Wonder (2008)
Yuka Nakayama, piano
Curtis Green, cello
Wonder is a piece that evolved through different media. The piece began as an idea
about the combination of piano and cello that I first had when writing the score for
Future History. I began to experiment with the combination by writing parts in
Reason. I eventually decided that the material I had developed on the computer
would be a good basis for an acoustic composition. I translated what I had written
in Reason into score form using the program Sibelius. Once I had the notes on a
staff, I developed and expanded the piece to its final form.
Eclipse (2007)
digital audio
Eclipse was written for my electronic composition class using Reason. The concept
for the piece was to convey the fear that some people experience and ultimately
overcome while skydiving. The main audio content for the piece is a synthesized
female vocal playing a set of flowing chords. The music represents the increasing
anxiety of a new skydiver during his or her ascent to altitude. The transitional area
of the piece combines the sound of helicopter rotors with rushing wind to symbolize
standing at the door of the plane and facing the fear head on. After the jumper
overcomes the fear, the quality of the chords played by the female vocal synthesizer
resolve into a much more consonant and calming tone. This piece was later used as
the basis for a video shot as a requirement for an introductory video class in the
Digital Media minor.
Consequences (2008)
digital audio
Consequences was written as the closing credit music for a movie filmed by my
former roommate Jeffrey Laub. Jeff asked me to write the score for his HD movie
during our 4th year at Ball State. The plot follows a college girl who discovers that
choices sometimes have unexpected consequences after she gets involved in a onenight stand. The majority of the score for this film was ambient and minimalistic as
per the instructions from Jeff. The music written for the closing credits is the only
melodically driven content written for the project. I chose to use it at the end of my
program to serve a similar closing role for my recital.
Additional Material
Scores
Piano & Vibraphone I
Piano & Vibraphone II
Wonder
CDs
Disc 1 - Recital Recording
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Future History
Bits and Pieces
The Visit
Darkness
Piano & Vibraphone I
Piano & Vibraphone II
The us in US
Sway
Wonder
Eclipse
Consequences
0:37
1:44
2:33
4:41
4:23
3:45
2:57
3:05
5:26
3:49
1:48
Disc 2 - Original Digital Audio
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Future History / Bits and Pieces
The Visit
Darkness
The us in US
Sway
Eclipse
Consequences
2:16
2:26
4:10
2:46
2:53
3:41
1:43
Piano and Vibraphone I
J
Brian Calvert
64
~
Vibraphone
Piano
7
~
}cJ~_
. ·--.-=~:_-~·-.---··~~~~o-~~~~~~i~~~~==tEm
"t~~-==~~:
~
14
mf
/
J
J
fl
-f/J-
~
tJ
\~--
·~r-···
T
-~--
n
(.;
n
-#
mf~
.-:::-
y
u
I
""';:;..
I?
I
-e
-0-
-------
:--~-~=~
__ .1
,
I
Copyright © 2008
2
i~
~
-....
j
'\r
J
-----
..
a:
--
-:17-
(;;;
i
-0-
::0
---
-=
I
--~---
'"""
--
I
(;;;
'-J
<-'
_.1
-&'10.
-::::::::
33
---
-~·--~~-Y··-~~. -~
........
.
~
3
39
p
-
fsub.
fsub.
4
5
84
,);
I
~.
fl
~.
;;.;
.JI
I fl
J.~
T..J·
.;...
I
~.
J.
i
..J.
#'
'
~
\'
J.
I
I
I
-.J
I! ~-'
<
~\ ... -~.
'"""-
l
~'
I
!
I
••
!
I
I
----
, '.............
;::
:.;;7
.l~
I
I
I
.....
Ii·
••
I
!
-
.~
---
--
.~.
----
J.
.
...
.
J,.
!
I
I
i
f':J ;0
--"
i
-
7'r.
--
----.
i.
.......
,.,.
!
~
I
j
I
i
""
O~
.......
~
...-
6
99
107
~&~l~~=I.~
. . .~=t=~
__
-.~
.•. . • ~~@~~~I~~
r.njf
I
'
7
-
· fl
17'.
!
-T
~-
~
I
!
<
i
I
J
~
-
~
-.
==
~ ~~
~
Ji-
.
~
1":\
~
~
~--+t
_~_.L..
--
~
:n:
Piano and Vibraphone II
d=69-72
Brian Calvert
IAI
Flowing
Vibraphone
--
~
I~ .
------
..-./
0"":'
-
V
Q....:
f
, tJ ...,.-_ __
V
<
f*
Q--.:,
-i
-
"""
"
-
I
.
_0,-
",
L..9
I
..".--.........
i
.
I
-
-
I
--
r-
I
+
I
.-
,
12
--
fl .
-, ..
I
) ~ S°-'
Y
"<..
II
I
-
l-!'"
..:-''-
-~
--
---
;;;7
'''--...
. .-----1
I
I
-
-:
-
I
-
I
-
Copyright © 2008
-
1-------·- i----r"
.]
I
..
I
.I_..J
2
18
24
()
#
4V
()
---
------
_._,----
"'::_-
0....:..
/
.........~
f~~
4V
---_.
y----..:
--
.;';;;
y
-"'<-
"'"
It
[.)!"
I
:"'-0"'::
I
t
....}------
\~---::::J.!-:
(7---=-
I
-
l="l~·--
. ... -
-
'<.~-
51
:
.~+
t
-
t
3'
!=3
•
1~::~~---'--.&
30
-"
fl
4V <..---___
---.
y
<
-
../
i
I
1
36
--t
--
I
..
I
-
t
v
....--'-',--
......
C(.'
I
!
-
::~::~1
I
I
3
41
fl
fl
-
----<--
.....
"':..51
<
---
#.#~-.....;
"',..,3
-~
V
--
------
v,
l..r4J___
L-S"
~,
.
I L'."
-
I
...
~......
~
...
.
r __
<....
V
~
-
I
51
-
I
[
I
I
~
...
.
l..r4J___
I
'I
-
I
-
v,
-:;;
'""
.1
I
-
-
---
I
~
...._ . -
-,
J
.1
I
::;::.
---~---
1
-
--
fl
--
'rA
~ : 4V
f
\
--1
-J-'.......
__
.....
-
I
-
v
I
I
ft__
~
I
-
I
-
\-
....-
~~'"
....,I
i
I
..
r-'.
fl
~
.
~
-f~ ,
l -
.....--
fl
~.
~
I
.....--
~
-.II
I
I
I
-
I
I
I
I
-
•
-
411
I
I
,
-
I
I
-
I
..~
I
102
f1
I,..
, xv
-
!-':
-
I
~I
)
\
r
-
_F
[I
•
!
•
I
~~
.(L
I
I
I
-
I
I
I
-
I
-
I
lEI
6 J08
~-€~-:eM~~tr-~~~~I~~- c~
fJ
!
~
..,
-+-
I
!
..-",-J..9'
!
I
I
I
-
-
!
I
I
--
-J~
I
-
1
--
!"""""
--,-
:
I
f------"~
I
i
113
fj-
t7\
--
rtf""EY - - - - - - <i
Si~
---
I
I~• •____
:
:
__1_+
,
-
I
i
!
I
I
I
-
1
~I
--
,--+
~
--~
i
t7\
.
:6 •.
-~T
--~
~
J=54
VVonder
Brian Calvert
molto espressivo con rubato
Piano
Cello
6
r'~;7~~¥ #1!HnjA.~EI'ii11- ~if~all
..
..
#-6-
: ::::tz=!:I
- __~-_I=c c-c-:...
;;;t:-~~~
= =
~
[
~
=--;-
-e-
11
---
---..
~~~
..-
------~--.----
. - - - - -...
~.~.'.fOO.
#
=a~
~.-. - ~.----.----
£g
- ..------~-~."'-". .~~• • ~~-~--~-~
:- -.-. . .
-:~:~---.
..-----
-----~--.------
---.---~
8
iJ-
-':--'-:--::i.f
=
- ~--~-.. -------=jf....
-~.~"
....
-!
~~-~~~~
.. --~-....-.-.----'-.~.--.
=-=~:=~-~~~~---------.
.'."-.~
------------------~--~----
I
==-~ fC--~
. -~~:"'--=:-'-r- Cl~~~.·~
~ ~ :"'L:~
_-L-_=~~
~.----
---
li -
#...
..- - - * - -
8
..
=."'-- ---.--=-_
.•..--_
. . __-.--• .~.-.. . . •. . -.' ..=
---'_'.',==If=::
..
---_.-----
~
rit.
3
, a tempo
~~-~-iJ-~:~'~~-~1. $-~-.~f}lT. f-f;-.··~~-·~-'~~,~--~~,#~-·;el·.:
I
: ~=:.=-~
.
!
mf
I
-.-
I
mp
I ,
Copyright © 2008
i
i
I
•
I
20
3
I
I
--
>
~:~-~-~~~W~d=~=£:~~~~~~>g:~~-~~.,..~
pp
3
p
[Q
3
senza rubato
29
m~g~~~-@·~~--r3m-l~8-~-.·fFb:~=¥~
mp
33
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
~-i&!)P#im==?~~m1gt~¥~~~~1=tm~tta
-t:t._ ; --....:.-~_- t:t=':.. ._j---rt.-:~ _-1=; - ---=.;-~~= - ...::_-_. - -,
1--
L.
3
ffsub.
33
3
3
33
3
3
33
3
43
8
8
mf
ffsub.
· .
...
~
3
3
3
3
lEI
3
5
~\~~~5hf#ffiW~~lE~
·'WLJ- ~ ~·i ·.• ¥ t ~ f -~j~Y--=~f~
3
rit.
6
I
,
I
~
I
1
pp
~~----~
pizzo
67
7
70
fJ
I
rit.
-~
-~
_3
4lJ
<
q
I
iIl_
J
i
.
_.l!
r
r
-:0:
,
C
I
a
~
6
(";\.
~
~
!
II