|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This blog post follows the story of my piece Antarctica from duet to chamber orchestra..
If you are at all familiar with my scores you may have noticed that there are usually several arrangements of the same piece. Writing chamber music for the general public is very much a hit and miss task because there are so many different combinations of instruments who might want to play together, not to mention variations in ability level.
That's why I took advantage of the opportunities presented to me as a member of the Australian Chamber Music Society - to seek opportunities to compose for players who performed regularly with their own groups, to ensure the scores fit the performers' needs.
When I don't have specfic musicians in mind, I usually make as many arrangements as are fitting with each piece. This habit has given me a great deal of practice in choosing which instruments blend well together, but also means it can be hard to find a fitting arrangement among the many scores I have since published. I’ve even written the odd public domain arrangement (of Clair de Lune for concert band) but couldn’t resist adding some extra countermelodies.
While each piece has it's own reason for being, my piece called Antarctica (for example), started with the callout I made to members of the Australian Amateur Chamber Music Society (of which I was a member), offering to write scores for members (for free). I was pleased to receive a large number of responses and spent the month of October 2022 busily fulfilling many of these requests.
It was a fantastic experience for me that inspired many pieces that I am quite happy to have written. One piece I called Antarctica which begins with a deceptively sedate intro of gentle harmonies and snatches of melody that build gradually to lead into the fast-paced interlaced countermelodies featuring melodes climbing and sliding over one-another to a beat that always gets my toes tapping!
I like to imagine the busy wildlife of Antartica romping around, marine birds and animals alike, swooping around one another as they play or gather food. Happy Feet move over! Set against this is the ever-present threat of the rise in sea levels, casting an ominous shadow over the wildlife.
This piece may have ended up with orchestral scoring but it began as a humble duet, written for a couple of very capable players, a mother (bassoon) and daughter (oboe).
When I was considering what to write for some trios who wanted music for the society’s music camp, rather than start with new pieces, I created two trio versions. Finally, I created the orchestral and contemporary version (which includes some sound effects and percussion loops).
Download the PDF scores below:
Antarctica Challenging Orchestra Score |
|
|
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Acoustic Guitar, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Piano
|
|
Antarctica Challenging Trio Score |
|
|
Flute, Cello, Acoustic Guitar
|
|
Antarctica Challenging Trio Score |
|
|
Flute, Cello, Piano
|
|
Antarctica Challenging Duet Score |
|
|
Oboe, Bassoon
|
Introducing Free Piano Solo BookletsThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 25th May 2026I'm introducing booklets to make my piano music easier to find and use. If you're here for the first time, I'd like to welcome you to my site and my music. During the lockdowns, I wrote a large number of original compositions, many of them for solo piano. My int ... |
Introducing New Trumpet ArrangementsThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 12th May 2026Check out my growing list of new trumpet arrangements The aim of these arrangements is to extend the repertoire for trumpet at a rate of one every week or so (and play my favourite music!). These arrangements are divided between public domain classics an ... |
Leveling the playing field using Musescore and Braille MusicThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 17th Mar 2026See the music world through the eyes of the blind I also introduced direct access to Musescore files of every score. This big change came about after I was asked about providing Musescore files on Reddit to a vision-impaired user.This seemed a f ... |
My debut trumpet EP - what went right, what went wrongThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 29th Jan 2026The adventure of my first cover song EP, from recording to getting them onto the streaming platforms. Today marks a huge milestone in my musical endeavours. I have released my first trumpet recordings. I've also published the backing tracks created for each track on YouTube so other musicians can ... |
Interview with Music Industry ProThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 23rd Oct 2025Find out what it takes to break into and survive in the Australian music industry As a requirement of my TAFE course in music performance I have interviewed industry professional, Michael Chambers to share knowledge of what is important to get right when you're entering or survi ... |
Musescore has been emptying my bank accountThemes:When machines rule the world!
Published 4th Sep 2025Crazy charges from Musescore have cost me a fortune
Musescore is a website built for storing and sharing musical scores created with the free software of the same name. The software makers have no ties to the score-sharing site apart from sharin ... |
Government poised to betray creators in AI copyright grabThemes:When machines rule the world!
Published 30th Aug 2025Tech bros want us to pay for their free lunch The first notion I had that the music industry is about to be hit by a tidal wave with the potential to destroy livelihoods was when I logged into my music distributor dashboard after a long absen ... |
Going viral on TikTok and no idea whyThemes:When machines rule the world!
Published 26th Jul 2025A look at what happens when you go viral on TikTok I've only recently gone back into doing my music. A couple of years into my composing efforts, I'd gotten distracted by other things. A few weeks ago I decided to check back into my distributor's das ... |
The Story Behind Bin Chicken BanterThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 16th Jul 2025The Bin Chicken is as Australian as Bluey. I wrote a piece to honour their place in Australian culture. I recently released an album of brass band/ensemble pieces, including the track titled 'Bin Chicken Banter. Considering much of my audience is from outside Australia, I thought I should explain what a ... |
The difference between mixing and masteringThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 5th Nov 2023An overview of the different roles in making music I haven't blogged for a while so I thought I'd get back into things with a blog post about the difference between music composition, production, mixing and mastering. These terms are closely related b ... |
A look at the benefits and questions raised by composition competitionsThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 30th Jun 2022Composition competitions, are they worth it? As a fledgling composer I have had the joy of experiencing many things for the first time over the past 18 months. One of those things is entering composition competitions. Not long after I beg ... |
How realistic orchestral tracks are madeThemes:Learning new skills: performing, recording, composing, engaging!
Published 10th Aug 2021A basic intro to how composers create realistic orchestral music without an orchestra. Since I published this blog post, I have gone on to write and produce multiple tracks for orchestra as well as several commissions for chamber groups for members of the local Amateur Chamber Music ... |
|
[23] Cheerful
|
[18] Dramatic
|
[96] Gentle
|
[15] Invigorating
|
[16] Sad
|
| 486 views | 548 views | 678 views | 596 views | 574 views |
|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
|