Synthesis

Abstract

Synthesis is a collection of 8 pieces – “Lost,” “Crystal Forest,” “Pas de Trois,” “Requiem,” “flow 1.,” “Walking by Flowers,” “Mocha,” and “Summer Rain” – composed during my studies at the University of Arizona. One of my primary goals in coming to the University of Arizona for the MM in Music Composition was to develop a greater understanding of how to combine my different styles of music. At the beginning of my time here, my background was in Classical and video game/media music. During my Master’s, I worked to develop more a cohesive voice through the overall lens of what is known as Classical music. Synthesis achieves that goal through a variety of compositions ranging from solo instrument pieces to orchestral ensembles with electronics. When combining these styles over the course of Synthesis, I adopted a variety of approaches by incorporating metric complications, metric freedom, and increased levels of dissonance in what is typically seen as a “simpler” style of music in video games and media. This combining of genres has allowed me to maintain some of the more traditional game-like features, such as certain types of more tonal sonorities, repetition, and grooves, while also allowing the music more freedom to take up the space that, in a game setting, would be occupied by gameplay and visuals to make it more suitable for a concert classical style. While I believe creative exploration and the idea of “finding one’s voice” is part of a lifelong journey, Synthesis represents a major step for me towards that future. Thank you for listening.