... and band

I presented the same piece this week as I had the last two weeks, "Brutus" for cello and piano. I felt as though it was near completion, and the class agreed. Most of the comments that I received were in regards to some final polishing that would be needed before showing the piece to a performer, such as spacing of glissandi, placement of dynamics, and consistent use of articulations. There were some specific notes in measure 70 that were suggested as an alternative for one of the chords that I was using, and I very much liked them, so I will change them to the suggested ones!
Another helpful suggestion was to do a structural analysis of the work to see if I unknowingly followed any formal structures that I could then use in my favour to make the piece flow better. This was suggested in part due to an issue that has still yet to be resolved pertaining to the abrupt loss of energy towards the end of the piece. The middle, development section flows nicely, but the beginning and end seem somewhat disjunct.

I chose to not address these comments right away, but to let the piece sit for a bit as I had been plugging away at it for three weeks consistently. This week I began to sketch out a short score for a wind band composition. I wasn't initially interested in composing for band, but after discussing it with Dr. Ross it seemed like the perfect challenge to get me out of my comfort zone. The piece will be submitted to the Gower community band competition in April, so I got started right away to make sure I had lots of time to deal with this unfamiliar venture. Since the band is an amateur ensemble it requires me to write something playable, and enjoyable, that is still me and not just another band piece. This is everything I don't know how to do, and for a whole band of instruments I don't know how to write for... so I guess we'll see how it goes. I am presenting the first few systems of material to the class tomorrow, so I'm hoping I'll get lots of feedback that will set me on the right path.