#but being able to compose THAT long a piece for a whole orchestra and choir

[sgtpeppers]

That was... wonderful... to just hear it done for real, after... what? Four years of thinking about it? Wondering whether it would work, wondering if I'd written bits too fast, or too slow, or... to actually sort of... hear it done by real, professional people and the singers. It's... there isn't a word for it, actually.

Standing Stone, by Paul McCartney

Royal Albert Hall Performance (x)

Making Of Documentary (x)

Standing Stone is a 74 minute long classical piece of music, which Paul worked on for four years. It premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 14 October 1997 with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Chorus, conducted by Lawrence Foster.

After his success with his first classical piece, The Liverpool Oratorio, Paul was commissioned to create some music to celebrate EMI's centenary. He came up with the idea of exploring "the way a Celtic man might have wondered about the origins of life and the mystery of human existence" and tied this in the with standing stones which to him symbolised something mystical and long lasting.

Photos by Linda McCartney, included on the album.

Paul wrote a poem to assist in getting the story he was trying to convey straight in his head, and it was printed in the booklet of the album. However, Paul wanted the music to work without the listener necessarily knowing the story, for the music to speak for itself, and so wanted to create a piece that "relies entirely on colours and effects drawn from orchestral and choral forces".

He also created two paintings to go alongside it:

I really recommend watching the documentary, Paul is absolutely delightful throughout the whole thing. It's the first time he'd used a computer and software to help him compose and he seems so excited to talk about it (and he has a Wallace & Gromit mouse mat!).

What's also interesting is how the rest of the team spoke about him. They all make a point that this was Paul's creation, and although David Matthews, John Harle, and Richard Rodney Bennet were brought in to assist with the composition, they all talk about Paul's talent, hard work, and the freshness of approach he brought. (The words 'benevolent dictator' may get used at some point, but they also speak of his kindness and generosity.)

It amazes me that someone with no formal music training could make a leap for pop/rock to classical. Composing for an entire 80 piece orchestra and 120 member choir is a completely different skillset to writing a song for the radio (and I'm not saying that's a lesser thing to be able to do, just different). The fact Paul was not only willing to take on the challenge and push himself, but created something so magical speaks to the sheer creative force that he is.

[thecomposerthatwaspromised]

Were you familiar with His Dark Materials franchise before you signed onto the project? Had you read the books before, or was the whole thing just kind of new?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It was deeply in my life. It's kind of one of those jobs that when you hear about it, I had to be involved, and whether I bribed somebody to get me the job or turned up at their office, I knew I had to do it. It was with Mission Impossible. I was a massive fan and with Mission, it had been in my life for 20 years. I'd been basically subconsciously writing Fallout out in my head. Just that famous Lalo Schifrin theme, I had been trying to write it for 20-odd years. With Dark Materials, I think... When was the first one? It was in the '90s. '95, gosh, how old was I then? I'm 42 now... Oh well, I'll figure that one out and text you. However old I was, it was a long time ago.

But yes, it was the same heritage and folklore of the likes of Harry Potter and Star Wars to me. Basically, I found out about it and I just knew I had to be part of the team. It's always very intimidating, especially with literature, because the thing is that everybody has created their own soundtracks in their head when reading these books, and you don't want to mess it up.

What kind of inspiration and influences did you take into consideration when you were crafting the His Dark Materials score? Since it's the kind of source material that everyone interprets in a different way, what was kind of important for you in creating your take on it?

I always treat these books as steampunk. I was very aware of the different worlds and the fact that you weren't too sure of what the technology was, and if it's present or past. Musically, I knew right from day one I wanted it to be a mixture of organicness and electronic-ness, and have it so that the organicness was being manipulated, so sonically you don't know what you're hearing and you're not too sure if this is real or if it's not.

I also kind of wanted to always make sure that with Lyra --I'd never worked on a show where it has such a strong young female lead, and I just wanted to make sure that I wrote it so it wasn't patronizing to her age. She is the future and she's just strong. I think that I wanted to make sure that she dramatically was as strong and powerful as if it was Princess Leia, for example.

And also what I wanted to do was very clearly set out each character's themes. Before we even started, I really spent a long time just creating everybody's dramatical world. With Mrs. Coulter, it's powerful but also slightly sexy. I'm not too sure if I can say the word "sexy" for Mrs. Coulter, but the thing is that her character, the way Ruth [Wilson] plays her especially, it's very imposing.

There are so many sides to it. I just wanted to start off composing and just making sure all of our characters have very clear dramatical worlds, and also their own instrumentation. I think that color-wise, I wanted to make sure that they have their own performances. In the same way, I started thinking about who was going to perform the music. And ironically with Mrs. Coulter, I got Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the drummer, to come and play on it. Because it was like "This is serious now, and this is powerful." For some reason, I just kept thinking of Chad.

On other themes, with the Egyptian theme, I was lucky to get [violinist] Lindsey Stirling involved to come and play. Everybody's theme, I wanted to get musicians that I could work with, that would also be that character sound.

I'm just remembering now, the same with [cellist] Tina Guo's playing on the soundtrack. She's the main cellist for Wonder Woman. I'm probably forgetting names. I should have practiced. KT Tunstall, the singer, is on the score. Sarah Willis is a French horn player with the Berlin Philharmonic. I was calling her a month ago in Cuba, in Havana, because she's on tour. And then Rich Harvey, one of the top recordists... Recorder players? Is that a recordist? I'm not too sure. So yeah, I wanted to get that high cast of musicians as well as the show, the cast, their actors.

What's your favorite thing about the score for His Dark Materials? Is there a certain theme or a certain sequence that you're just like, "I can't believe I was able to pull this off"?

I wish I could have more faith in my own music. Unfortunately, I don't. What we're doing with the soundtrack is that when the show starts, we're going to release two albums. The first album is going to be a musical anthology to our world, and it's all of the character's themes and the show's themes. And then the second album will be actual cues from the actual show. I'm still writing at the moment, so I want to say that the best is yet to come because I'm still at episode eight. But I think everything has been a challenge, because I think with Lyra, I think very, very aware of thinking about the fans.

To me, it's a hard job. It's very like working on games, because there's such a heritage and loyal fan base, that you can't please everybody. It's just impossible. But you've got to be loyal. I tried to do some research to see what fans would be listening to, and I found some references to the music of Algar, so I took some inspiration from that. To me, I've tried to just do my best to what people might feel with these characters. And also everybody working on the show are fans of the books -- whether it's the costume department or the makeup department or the camera department, everybody's wanted to be involved with this because of their love of the books. It's apparently a team effort.

And I think that the opening sequence has been one of the hardest jobs I think I've ever had because you're trying to write a theme and a piece of music that represents this story, which is mammoth. I think [it's like] being asked, "Who's your favorite child?" It's impossible, but I think that the journeys through it is all fun. We're recording all over the world, musically. We've been recording in Los Angeles and Cuba and Vienna, and we've been recording an amazing female choir in Bulgaria. We're recording the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra in Wales. Just the recording of the music alone is mammoth. I'd say there is no favorite, but I hope the main theme of the show gets people excited.

I'm really excited about the two different albums. I always love it when shows or movies really let people experience the music of the show, outside of them actually watching it in the moment.

I think there's a lot on the first album that's not necessarily a written picture, but it's a listening experience. And because I wanted to try to, maybe for two and a half, three minutes, be able to clearly represent who these characters are without being interrupted by people talking on top of it, selfishly. I think that's been a fun part of this journey.

[...] And then just to wrap it up, what can you tease about your future projects beyond His Dark Materials? What do you have coming up that we can look forward to?

[...] That's the plan, but also I'll start the second season of Dark Materials, probably after Christmas. There won't be much of a gap. I'm on the last episode at the moment, so there'll be a few months, and then I'll start on the next season, which I'm very, very excited about.

[you-turn-it-into-light]

Wakana - magic moment (2020) Album Review

My girl releases another album less than a year after her first. What a hardworking woman! First, let’s do some overall thoughts:

I really love the title of this album, it’s a happy title for a mostly happy sounding album

I also love the cover, maybe even more than the ‘Wakana’ Album

Are those shoes the same ones from the Aki no Sakura EP?

I really love the diversity of sound in this album. One of my complaints of the first album was the lack of variety. I love me some ballads (70% of my playlist of all the music I listen to are sad songs) but it felt a bit stale after a while.

My complaints with Wakana’s singing is always going to be the same thing since her vocal delivery has not really changed technically that much. Her vibrato is actually quite nice as opposed to what some people would say as ‘Goat Wakana’ (great criticism I must say), especially at the end of 442, her lower register is gorgeous but has no support (as expected of a soprano) and her higher notes in her chest voice are quite nasally. Her falsetto however is quite grating on the ears (I’ll elaborate later)

Why is Orange on the album? To fill up space, that’s why (I get it, making an album is hard, but why not just leave it out? There’d still be 10 songs) And Wakana wrote the lyrics, I guess?

I’m really interested to see how some songs will be performed live with some overlapping vocals (in 442) and strings being in many of the songs (without a violinist for the upcoming live)

I listened to the album first when I was in a bit of a bad mood so everything seemed super average. I’m feeling a bit better about most of the songs. Also after reading the self-liner notes for the album and listening to the lyrics, I was able to appreciate some of the songs more.

Okay, now for the individual songs:

breathing 

(Lyrics: Wakana | Arrangement/Composition: Yumemi Kujira)

The orchestra sound is so gorgeous. At first it was weird hearing the japanese lyrics though lol. I like how they added different instruments for variety’s sake. The choir in the background was more hit or miss for me. During the first chorus is was really distracting but it was great for the rest of the song. My main problem is not the song itself but Wakana’s delivery of the falsetto; it’s very disconnected and screechy. It’s very hard to listen to and since the same chorus is repeated 4 times? It makes it a bit of a hard song to listen to overall. Wakana needs to develop better placement, breathing techniques and support when hitting notes in her head voice.

揺れる春 (Yureru Haru) 

Lyrics: Wakana |  Arrangement/Composition: Miki Sakurai

I don’t really like this song? The lyrics are quite nice, but it just feels like a plain upbeat song about being happy and reaching for goals and all that fun generic stuff. But what Wakana said in the self liner notes made me feel a bit better about the song:

“The hook’s 駆け出した (run off) and 君の叫び (your scream) are connected, right?”

“The urge to run off and shout. It’s exhilarating, and the canvas that you have now is white so you can draw freely and go with the urge. And the second verse’s 睫毛に触れたのは 昨日の自分の欠片 (What touched my eyelashes was the pieces of yesterday’s me) are about tears. The tears hit my eyelashes and one part stops there. The fragments that came out of itself include those that you pick up yourself (I had a hard time translating that sentence so I used google translate hehe). 

where 

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Akihito Takashi

I LOVE Wakana’s low register in this song and the verses. I also really like the acoustic guitar, it provides a really contrast to the more dance-centric feeling of the song. The first chorus still lacks the appropriate punch, but the key change for the second half of the song makes up for it. Also those ‘wooah’s’ are really awesome. Wakana’s voice during the 3rd verse (after the key change) is just gorgeous. 

442 

Lyrics: Wakana, Airi Okamoto | Arrangement/Composition: Koichi Ikekubo

I really wanted to know the meaning of the title, and apparently it’s the hertz sound of a baby crying for the first time!

“The lyrics are co-authored. First we talked about the subject (of the lyrics), we said “When we plan the song, let’s make the theme the reason why you started singing”. So when looking at the lyrics given to me, words came out from inside of me. In particular, the phrase 愛の���が聴こえた (I heard the voice of love) that Okamoto-san produced for us for the hook. [...] I thought that I was born to listen to the “voice of love”. And so, that singing voice is echoing throughout my whole body. It’s strange to cry with the same sound of when we were born. I wonder why? I thought about it, I was born to do something and I thought that your first cry was a singing voice that expressed it.”

I love the melody and instrumentation of this song, especially the chorus. The chorus holds an incredible amount of weight. Apart from her nasality, Wakana’s singing is quite solid throughout this song. I love Wakana’s ‘ai no’ at the last chorus. So much power! I also really like the violin and am disappointed that there won’t be any in the live... Also I love the last line 響き渡る歌声 (resounding singing voice) and the music stops when Wakana sings ‘singing voice’. I don’t have anything objective to say about it, I just adore that part.

ひらり ひらり (Hirari Hirari) 

Lyrics/Composition: Silence! | Arrangement: Mamoru Kuge

Bland... It might take me a few listens but I don’t know if I’ll like this song. Wakana’s singing during the verses is gorgeous, very clear and the melody of the verses and pre-choruses are lovely, but the chorus is really bland and forgettable. I like what Wakana said about the song though.

“It's a song for people who want to meet but can't meet, whether it’s because you can't meet because you're away or because you don't have the courage.”   

I’m in a long-distance relationship, so this song hits home a little bit. The lyrics are actually quite sad. If the whole song was like the verses I’d like it a lot more but the chorus is so uplifting...

アキノサクラ (Aki no Sakura) (Acoustic ver.)

Lyrics: Kei Saito, Yoshitaka Taira | Composition: Kei Saito | Arrangement: Toshio Uchida

I love the combo of bongos and accordion! There isn’t much to say about this song apart from the new instrumentation and the tempo. I really like the former but not really the latter. I don’t think I like it more than the original, but it’s a very nice song. The vocalisations during the bridge is also a pretty touch, especially when Wakana sings along with the music. and that ‘naite’ at the end was so emotional

myself

Lyrics/Composition: AlbatoLuce | Arrangement: Yoshifumi Ise

When I first heard this song, I thought it was BORING. On the second listen, I really liked it. Wakana’s voice is so gorgeous on this song. I love the melody of the line 壊れぬように抱きしめてた (I embraced it so it wouldn’t break). Her vibrato is a bit shaky with the delivery and her low register is not as clear as other tracks (but maybe that’s because of the mixing). Some of the strings sound synth, especially during the bridge but I’m not very sure. The parts with just the one violin instead of the quartet are my favourite bits of the instrumentation; it sounds really lonely. There’s nothing much else to say about it, a very solid song.

君だけのステージ

Lyrics: Wakana | Composition/Arrangement: Satoshi Takebe

I was disappointed. I really like this song and in my review of the live version I mentioned that her high register suits a song like this. But the way Wakana’s singing in the recorded version sounds different to me. The vowels are shaped in a way that sounds like a sadder song. Maybe this me being picky, but it took away from the happier experience. The nasality in her voice is the worst in this song, it literally sounds like she needs to sneeze and drink some water. Also the added noises (synth bells?) during the pre-chorus is very distracting. My review sounds very negative, but I really like this song and the lyrics are gorgeous. 

Happy Hello Day

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: Akihiro Kasuga | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

At this point, the strings are really nice, even if they’re getting a bit old. But the piano during the verses is very cool... I really like the strings in the chorus and the melody of it too. The message of the song is quite sweet and easily applicable to anyone in every day life. These lyrics in particular:

手を叩き軽やかに Clap your hands lightly, 口笛吹いて whistling. ありふれた幸せで僕��はできてる We are made of ordinary happiness.

君が空を仰いで涙流し You look up at the sky, shedding tears. 息を詰まらせて動けなくなったら If you get short of breath and can't move, 此処に僕が居る I'm here.

These lyrics (for like the first 2 lines) are about a performer and the audience. Creating the atmosphere of a happy and chill live (clapping lightly, still listening to the music) and everyone being the same, even the performer. The second section reflects the way some people view performers and music to be an escape from their life. But it can also be interpreted as just an everyday person being happy to have met someone they like. I love how it’s so interchangeable and up for interpretation. 

magic moment

Lyrics: Wakana | Composer: SIRA | Arrangement: Shu Kanematsu

The strings are gorgeous (why no strings for the live????!!!!) and so are the verses. I particularly love the pre-chorus. The chorus however is quite bland and boring and the changing rhythm is a bit hard to grasp. The lyrics are lovely as well. I mean, I’m biased because Wakana wrote them. But I love these ones:

いつから夢も見ない大人になったの？ Since when did I become an adult that never dreamed? 最後の場所は決めたよ　さあ行こう I've decided on the last place. So, let's go!

The song is actually quite growing on me. I’m sure I’ll keep liking it but the chorus is still weighing it down. 

OVERALL:

I really like this album. An unimpressive first impression followed by a very nice second and third one. I’m impressed with the amount of variety in the songs and her singing is mostly solid. I just wish she would improve on different places and I’ll probably keep complaining about them. I think Wakana is liking the independence when it comes to helping the creation of these songs and I’m very happy for me. 

[trakloading257]

Dsk Overture Vst Free Download

Dsk Vsts

Dsk Overture Free Download

Dsk Overture Vst Free Download Windows 7

DSK Overture, Free Synth plugin, Download DSK Overture plugin, Free DSK Music vst plugins. DSK Overture - Classic Orchestra Vst Plugin: Price: Free: Classic orchestra instruments - 4 layer (40 instruments, 1 drum kit, 10 internal combos) - Amp. Envelope - Midi channel selector - Panorama control - Level, gain and mute control - Advanced multimode filter (HP, LP, BP1, BP2, notch) - Filter amp. Envelope - Fx (Reverb, Delay & Chorus. DSK Overture Free VST Plugin Download. Posted by by Shryansh Bisen 1 Min Read. DSK Overture Free VST Plugin Download siachenstudios.com.

Last Updated on December 15, 2020.

What better way to add some embellishments to your songs than with an orchestral plugin? Even better if its free, right?

Orchestral samples, and samples in general, have come a long way.

They were practically unusable back in the day, but now, even though you can hear the difference between a sample software and the real deal, they sound astoundingly similar.

I love finding free software that actually works, so in this post I will go into each of the ones I found and tried, this way you won’t have to do any of the research and try the ones that sucked, like I did!

All of the download links are included!

The Best Orchestral Plugins are:

Best Free Full Orchestra VSTs

While every single one on this list is a good plugin overall, there are two which stand out.

Layers by Orchestral Tools

Layers is an ultra realistic orchestral sample library that features a full orchestra, Brass-, Woodwinds-, and Strings sections.

You can choose between a couple different mic positions and it also features different articulations; different chord types, staccato and sustain unison, and more.

In total, the sample pack is about 17GB and runs on Windows 10 and Mac OS.

Lastly, Layers works with Orchestral Tools’ SINE Player.

You can download Layers here.

Total Composure Orchestra (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Total Composure Orchestra is a full orchestral sample library created using only samples in the public domain.

Total Composure is the first to offer such a library exclusively for the Kontakt format; making use of Kontakt’s scripting capabilities to greatly enhance the playability, realism, and functionality of these public domain samples.

This is a fantastic plugin, it comes with a huge array of instruments from pianos, to brass instruments, strings and percussion.

One bad thing about this plugin is that it runs both on Kontakt Player, which is free, and the full version of Kontakt, but on Kontakt player you can only use the samples for about 30 min before it stops working.

If you want to be able to use them to their fullest extent, you will need to purchase Kontakt.

You can download Total Composure Orchestra here.

Related: List of the best Choir VST Plugins available.

Spitfire LABS

I mentioned Spitfire in a couple of my posts simply because they have some of my top recommendations as far as free plugins go.

LABS is basically a collection of free VST and AU plugins that not only sound fantastic, but that is also being updated consistently, with new plugins being added over time.

Here you will find great-sounding samples of any orchestral instrument you can think of.

You can download LABS here.

The Free Orchestra by Project Sam

Project Sam is behind Symphobia, which is one of the best-rated libraries for film scoring, video games and TV, and they created the Free Orchestra library which contains bits and pieces of all of their paid products.

What struck me the most about this free library is how great it sounds as soon as you load it up; there is little to no tweaking required.

Now, it runs on KONTAKT (6.2. or higher), but luckily it works in the free version which can be beneficial to you if you’re interested in using KONTAKT but don’t want to purchase the premium version just yet.

Parameters such as envelope controls, effects, octaver, and reverse make this library very versatile to use.

All in all, if you’re a beginner tipping their toes into the whole orchestral world, this entry level library could just be what you need.

You can download the Free Orchestra here.

DSK Overture Orchestra (Windows)

DSK Overture is a full orchestral sample VST plugin.

It gives you the ability to choose between 40 different instruments and play 4 of those instruments in the same instance, through MIDI.

The included instruments are; Acoustic Piano, Harpsichord, Bassoon, Celesta, Glockenspiel, Vibes, Harp, Flute, Piccolo, English Horns, Oboe, Clarinet, French Horn, Trumpet, Church Organ, Trombone, Tuba, Cello, Contra Bass, Viola, Violin, Orchestra Drum Kit, Full Sections.

Honestly, what makes this plugin great is the variety of instruments, since there is no shortage of them, plus they all sound pretty damn good!

You can download DSK Overture here.

BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover by Spitfire Audio

Here’s another great addition by Spitfire.

The BBC Symphonic Orchestra Discover actually sells for $49, but you can fill out a form and they will send it to you after 14 days for completely free.

This library is clearly aimed at beginners since it is very simple to use and straight-forward, plus it already comes premixed into one mix signal which gives you less control over it, but makes things easier if you’re just starting out.

It features a total of 33 instruments and 47 techniques, and thanks to Spitfire’s new mode switching technology, you can share and collaborate with fellow composers, regardless of which edition they own.

You can download the BBC Symphonic Orchestra here.

If you’re also Interested in finding the best sounding Free Drum Vst Plugins, then read this article I wrote about the ones I think are absolutely fantastic.

One Track Orchestra (Windows)

One Track orchestra is primarily a sketching tool, meant to be used for songwriting and recording demos and aimed mostly at beginners and songwriters who need a simple tool to create and record music.

Therefore, the sound quality and usability aren’t the best ones out there.

Dsk Vsts

The plugin was created using samples from VSCO Community Edition and assembled with Maize Sampler.

It is available as 32-bit & 64-bit VST plugin for Windows.

You can download One Track Orchestra Here.

Related: I love free plugins, so I put together a list of the best Free Synth VST Plugins out there which you can check out here,

Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra (Windows)

The Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra Module contains the full SSO by Mattias Westlund, in one simple VST plugin (32 & 64bit)

The SSO samples are stereo, 16 bit, 44kHz.

While it’s not the most professional Orchestral Sample Plugin out there, it will certainly provide the building blocks for creating some astounding virtual orchestra sounds.

Melodic instruments and chromatic percussion are sampled in minor 3rds and all samples have varying amounts of stage ambience, depending on their front-to-back placement.

SSO is the one plugin on this list that provides the highest number of instruments.

You get loads of String instruments, Brass instruments, Woodwind instruments, Keys and Choirs, Chromatic Percussion and Regular Percussion.

You can download it here.

DSK Virtuoso (Windows)

DSK Virtuoso allows you to play a combination of 6 layer instruments, or to play a composition up to 6 different parts, through the MIDI channels selectors.

The included instruments are;

Acoustic Piano, Harpsichord, Church Organ, Celesta, Glockenspiel, Vibes, Harp, Flute, Piccolo, English Horns, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Cello, ContraBass, Viola, Violin, Orchestra Drum Kit, and more.

You can download DKS Virtuoso here.

You may also be interested in trying out some Free Bass Amp VST Plugins which should help you achieve a better sounding mix!

VSCO2 – Chamber Orchestra 2 (Windows, Mac)

The Community Edition, which is the free edition of these samples, comes with a total of 19 instruments, ranging from Woodwinds to Brass, Keys, Mallets, Strings and Percussion.

Decades of work have gone into creating these samples using nothing but the best equipment to capture them.

You can download the VSCO2 library here.

Learn how to Produce music

If you want to learn how to produce music at home the right way and without making too many mistakes, then I’d recommend that you read these posts;

Conclusion

The reason I like these kinds of plugins so much is that you can create complete song just by using virtual instruments.

You will need a good MIDI controller to do this properly and fast, even though you can manually add in every note in your DAW.

I hope this information was useful!

See you on the next one.

Ethnic | Classic | Guitar

chorus, Classic, Delay, Filters, harp, orchestra, Reverb, Woodwind

DSK Overture is free rompler plug-in for Windows featuring classic orchestra instruments.

Dsk Overture Free Download

With DSK Overture you can play full 4 layer sounds, or 4 differents instruments in the same instance (through midi channel selector).

DSK OVERTURE FEATURES

Dsk Overture Vst Free Download Windows 7

DSK Overture is available to download as a freeware VST instrument plug-in for Windows.

Visit: DSK Music

[blog-researchblog]

Inside the Mind of a Musician

 Olivia L

Reflection:

      From the time I was a young girl, I have been surrounded by musical, theatrical, and artistic people. Because of this, music has always had a special place in my heart, which is why I am pursuing a career in this industry. Because the musical world is so multi-faceted, I used an article written by Scott Christ entitled, “7 Powerful Questions To Find Out What You Want To Do With Your Life”, to help me narrow in which direction I am most interested. 

      Through this article and the specific questions that were asked, I feel even more strongly about how passionate I am towards anything musical! Jazz, rock, pop, classical - it doesn’t matter. I’ve been figuring out that I can really appreciate anything once I know a little bit about it. But I am most passionate about playing music. For me, there is something so special about being the vessel through which music can speak to people in a way that words sometimes can’t. I am repeatedly astonished by the power just a couple of sounds can have over a person’s emotions. I often feel that my job as a musician is to tell the story of the composer. Many times, music is created from personal experiences or feelings. And while those people are no longer around to express themselves to others, their emotions are still valued and should be appreciated. As the person playing this music, I need to be able to interpret what emotions the music should evoke, and maybe offer some insight into the life of the composer. 

      In the last 4 or 5 years or so, I feel that I have accomplished a great deal musically. In high school, I was able to secure a job as an accompanist for different choirs, which taught me many useful skills such as learning how to follow a conductor, and keeping a steady tempo, which sometimes proves difficult as a solo performer. During this time I also had the opportunity to work as a church organist. This was also a big help in the development of my technical skills.  I was able to learn a whole new instrument, and also work on developing my improvisational skills. In my senior year of high school, I won my first classical piano competition and was awarded a scholarship to go to college. After being in college, I have had a plethora of opportunities that have helped me become a better musician and performer. Prior to college, I had severe performance anxiety, but now, I have no problem performing whenever I need to. I always get nervous, but I can manage my anxiety in a much healthier way than before. Last semester, I won two different competitions, one of them pop and one of them classical. For the pop competition, I now have the opportunity to fly to LA in the summer and be on the filming of a musical TV show! For the classical competition, I have the opportunity to play a very famous concerto with a seventy-piece orchestra, which I am very excited about. But I would say that overall my biggest accomplishment has been being able to perform through my nerves and not letting that deter me from competing. Even if I could, I wouldn’t choose to do anything differently. I’m currently exploring, learning, performing, and experiencing. 

      Right now, my main goal is to be a successful recording artist both singing and playing the piano. I will try to exhaust every option to get myself there because at least if I don’t, then I can take comfort in knowing that I did my best. To be able to support myself solely on my music would be a total dream come true, and signifies a certain level or success to myself that I would like to attain. So for now, I am taking one step at a time. 

      The main reason why I have such a deep love and desire to pursue a music career is because of my nana, who I admire most in the world. It is because of her that I can play the piano. I admire her so much because she did everything she could to get what she wanted out of her dream, which was to be a singer. She went to Julliard as a voice major and a piano minor, and traveled the world as an entertainer. Later, she made it to Broadway and was in a couple of shows before deciding that life wasn’t actually for her. She is the only person I know that reached her goals and then decided she had different, more important priorities. Many times in the arts, there are people who are bittered by the thought of music and art because they don’t get what they want out of the industry. But to this day, she doesn’t regret ever leaving Broadway, and she still loves music and the piano more than anything. I hope to have this kind of mindset as I get older, even if life doesn’t go exactly the way I’d like it to go now.

      Because of this desire to attain my goals as soon as possible, I tend not to like anything that takes me away from practicing or reaching those goals. It is something I struggle with sometimes, especially as music has become an even more important and time consuming part of my life in college. Ideally, I need about 6 hours of practice a day because of the amount of music I have to learn and master, and because of the caliber of which I’m playing at. 

      To ensure that my future self is happy, I am willing to give it my all! I will continue to devote myself to practicing, developing and discovering, and I will always be open to new things. I will most likely be working towards these goals my entire life. I understand what comes with the life of an artist, as I’m already feeling the effects of that. Practicing even just 6 hours a day, as opposed to the normal 8-12 for full time musicians, definitely takes a toll on my social life as well as my family life, as I am not around and can’t be involved in as many things as I’d like. However, my desire to succeed and improve outweighs my desire to be a very social person. I think these feelings won’t change as I grow and may only get stronger. In order to find the most recent information in this field, I consulted the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 The Reality of the Job:

       According to the Bureau’s Occupational Outlook Handbook entry entitled, “Musicians and Singers,” the musical world is ever changing and growing, offering one-of-a-kind opportunities to performing and recording artists who are dedicated and ambitious enough to take on the challenges that come with this field. Typically, recording and performing artists such as musicians and singers play instruments or sing for live audiences and/or in recording studios to make a living. An artist that is on the path to success will audition around, travel, and book as many gigs as possible in order to promote their brands and careers, and ensure some sort of income. To make themselves more marketable, a musician will also commonly become proficient in many instruments or in many styles of singing. In recent years, most musicians not only record and perform music, but also compose and write original music. 

      The path to becoming a performing artist is different for every individual. There are no education requirements in this field. However, most performers of classical music have been trained and at least have a bachelor's degree. While no formal education is needed, many artists put long hours into practicing and rehearsing so that they can interpret and understand the music at a professional level. Because of the nature of the field, many successful artists must have specific qualities including dedication, motivation, talent and promotional skills.  The pay for performing artists is also something that is very specific to each artist, unless that artist has a steady job and source of income. Many musicians and singers find only part-time or intermittent work and may have long periods of unemployment between jobs. In regards to job outlook, in the coming years there will likely be almost no change in the employment numbers of performing artists. However, while the new and improving technology such as digital downloads and streaming will help musicians and singers in terms of publicity and commercial interest, employment is projected to decline in orchestras, opera companies, and other classically rooted organizations that are lacking funding. 

On the Job Interview:

      To get more insight on the nature of this career, I interviewed Dr. Maria Asteriadou, a seasoned musician, performer, and concertizing pianist who currently teaches at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Very few understand better than her how the desire to have a life full of music and performance is both a blessing and a curse. As Maria is someone with great experience who I truly admire, I was curious to hear what her story was as she was entering the musical world. I also hoped, as a young person trying to make a path for herself in this industry, that she could offer me some advice or insight on how to be a successful artist.

      During our interview, Maria recalled the first time that she received attention for her playing abilities. When Maria was just 5 years old, the people around her recognized special and great potential in her. Once she entered conservatory at age 8, she knew that her path was made for her. In a joking matter, she expressed why she stuck with music. “After I made this decision, my parents treated me as their favorite, and my brother hated me for that,” she said. Even as a joke, I related to this immediately as I recently have been understanding how relationships can change in a family when there is one or more artist pursuing a performance career. 

      She then said something which put me at ease in terms of practicing and time management. As a full-time student, and working performer, it is often difficult to find what feels like enough practice time in the day. But Maria’s practice schedule helped put mine into perspective. She explained, “Before I got married and had kids, everything had to be perfect when I had to perform. I had to sleep my 8 to 10 hours, I had to get up, practice, eat well, take my nap, then get ready and everything would go smoothly. And then I got married and pregnant with my first kid and then my friend, a clarinetist, told me that now I had to learn how to play with no sleep, how to play with no food, how to pretty much go up on stage and play any time . I thought I could never do this, and of course then I had the kid and he was right. But what happens? You adjust.” She then went on to explain that even practicing efficiently is time consuming. Sometimes even when Maria is just “microwaving” a piece, or trying to get an old piece back into her fingers, it can take 3 to 5 hours of practicing a day. For a new piece, she would have to put her normal 10 to 12 hours a day! Reminiscing about her days as a solo pianist, she fondly remembered the time that she had a recital in Croatia, and was expected to play with a percussion ensemble a piece that she had previously played. However, right after that performance, she had to rush to Greece to record a piece that she had never even seen before. She spoke in distress, almost as if she was reliving the event, as she explained her almost crippling anxiety as she begged for a piano to practice on in Croatia. She only wished to perform well in Greece. After pleading, she got her hands on a piano and was able to practice for the entire day after her performance with the percussion ensemble.

      After returning to the interview questions, Maria then began to talk about an aspect of this kind of life that could easily be misconstrued as negative. She explained that she often felt growing up a lot of pressure and anxiety, because every free second she had she felt the need to practice. There seems to be a lack of relaxation in this field, which sometimes drives serious performing artists like this to almost be workaholics, with no ability to appreciate anything else if they are feeling under practiced. This was something that I really struggled with last semester, as I was involved in two different competitions, and was having trouble balancing the practice I felt I needed for that, plus my own personal repertoire, chamber groups, and academic school work. It made my life very difficult in some aspects as I couldn’t have a social life or even just one second when I wasn’t thinking about all the practice I needed to do. It was very exhausting. However, something Maria and I agree on, is that after putting in the work needed, it is more rewarding than almost any other type of work.

      Another very rewarding aspect in this job is recognizing the progress in stage presence and the management of anxiety. Maria explained that this is the time to learn, in college, and in conservatory. And every time you perform, you get a little better at handling nerves in front of people. As Maria knows that I’ve always suffered with severe performance anxiety, she excitedly stood up from her chair and moved to the piano. As she played a passage from the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto, which I am preparing to perform in April, she spoke loudly over the music. She encouraged me to embrace my nerves, and channel them in a certain direction of excitement and emotion, so that those feelings would be accurately conveyed to the audience. 

      After this mini piano lesson, I expressed to her that it seemed to me as though the professions that require the most love, feeling, and emotion, lack general funding and money. She compared the reality of this path to the unrealistic dreams that young performers usually have. She said that the common dream of making a living solely based on performance is not really the case nowadays. Now, regular people working 9 to 5 jobs will have multiple jobs in their lives, and the same goes for musicians. Then, she said something very true to the industry; that one must be the full package, meaning that people can’t just be technically trained. They also have to have social skills so that they can market themselves, and make themselves stand out from their competitors. Again, she remembered a moment from her childhood, recalling the arguments she used to have with her father who always pushed her to be sociable. “I hated talking to people” she said, “I always used to say, ‘I’m not selling anything, you’re selling!’” Chuckling, she looked at me and acknowledged that after all, he was right.

      Coming away from this interview, I feel much more secure about my choice to pursue a music career. I realize now that I can’t expect to have just one job, or my “dream” job immediately after school. This field is constantly changing, and I have to be adaptable. But more than anything, my happiness should not be dependent on what my current definition of success is. I should remember why I decided to pursue this, and why I devote so much time, effort and energy to it. I now have a deeper understanding that it is my responsibility to share my love of music with the world, and my happiness will only come after I fully embrace and chase after this in the future. After interviewing Dr. Asteriadou, and hearing about her success, I decided to do more research specifically on the topic of job opportunities in the performing arts field. To do this, I consulted a New York Times article. 

Career in the News:

      The article, “What Will All These Musicians Do?”, written by Bernard Holland, an American music critic, focuses on the relationship between the technical training of young musicians and the demands of the musical world itself. He explains that music schools in particular have been producing more students with technical skills of a higher caliber than ever before, but the problem that remains is what those students are going to do after they graduate. There is not enough funding , publicity, or room in this field to accommodate all of the skilled musicians flooding in; only a few will be lucky enough to have solo careers. This is because the field is already fully employed. Another point Holland touches upon is how the struggle to find a job in this field affects the art and music being produced. The intense, fierce fight to the top seems to contradict the rather sensitive and emotional subject matter. One solution to this problem would be to have music schools stop producing specialists, and start producing students that have a wide variety of skills. This also includes teaching young musicians to not only play well, but also market themselves in the real world after school. Another suggestion offered is to avoid instilling in the minds of young musicians that playing louder and faster equals being a better musician, and that being emotionally invested in the music that is being created is more valued and appreciated. 

      This is a very interesting topic to me because it is directly related to my major and area of interest. I chose this article because it speaks specifically about the challenges of securing a job in the musical world today, and how an already intense and narrow field is becoming ever more so. It offers some explanation as to why it is so difficult to become successful, and gives some suggestions as to combat these problems which are arising everyday. This is so closely related to what I am studying because it is directly linked to performing artists in a classical and non classical setting. Becoming a successful performing artist with a solo career is something that is constantly on my mind, as I am already half-way through my college career and still have so many things to experience and explore before I graduate. Unfortunately, most of those things that I enjoy do not present me with a variety of musical opportunities for later in life. In addition to this, job stability has been something that I have accepted as virtually unattainable for myself especially coming right out of school. However, at some point it is important to become successful enough where I am able to support myself financially and have a healthy lifestyle. The problem with this is that the older one gets, the less attractive they are to the public, however, job opportunities as a young person are almost nonexistent as those positions are already filled by older, more experienced musicians, or by the very few, rare, exceptionally talented people. 

      I have always known that this was a very difficult and narrow field to pursue, but this article has shed some more light on why exactly it is becoming more and more challenging everyday to secure a job in the music industry as a performer. I have learned that schooling and education play a bigger role in the success of musicians than I anticipated, as schools do not seem to be teaching students how to prepare themselves for the real world. Also, I found it very interesting that the way students are taught can make an impact on the amount and which jobs are available to them. For example, if a student is taught only to be a virtuoso classical pianist and nothing else, then they have almost no other options career wise, and their whole life and living is at stake if they have a lot of competition, which is what is happening now. Something I would still like to learn more about are the roles that funding and economics play in creating job opportunities in this field, as the article mostly talked about how education affected the job outlook for students once they left school.

[rinasitorus]

An Interview with Christoph Prégardien

German lyric tenor Christoph Prégardien talks to Primephonic’s Rina Sitorus about the perfect combination of singing, teaching and conducting, alongside his 40-year career and upcoming project(s) with Challenge Records. Prégardien is praised as one of the most distinguished lyric tenors of our time, with extensive repertoire that includes the great baroque, classical and romantic oratorios and passions.

How do you manage your vast repertoire and how do you choose what to perform?

I had a family very early on so I wanted to have a certain income. So I decided to be a member of an opera company, which is very normal for a young singer. Very soon after it felt like a prison, so I decided in my mid-thirties to take matters into my own hands. It was perfect timing since record labels were starting to record repertoire for CDs, the new medium at that time. So I had plenty of opportunities to record many things, firstly oratorios and later on, lieder.  

From that I learned that it is important to have imagination and fantasy in building up your programme. This is possible in the field of chamber music and song. If you try to plan a lieder programme, you can plan nearly everything as long as you follow some rules in tonality or dramaturgical order of songs or storytelling. That is why I always like to build special programmes.

For example, I’ve done this programme for the first time in 2009, Between Life and Death by the composer Carl Loewe, which I also recorded for Challenge. It started with Bach – going to Mahler, to Schubert, to Schumann, to Leuven – and we even put two opera arias into the programme. There are obvious connections between, for example, Komm, süßer Tod BWV 478 and Symphony no. 2, Movement 4, Urlicht by Mahler. You come from C minor to E-flat major and the text shares the same idea of a beautiful death, so this is a perfect combination even if the composers are separated by more than 200 years.

Would that be possible to achieve by singers without your years of experience?

The market is totally different today, but it was already changing when I started. The singers after the Second World War had good possibilities to make the career they wanted, because the market was not so open. Nobody came from Asia or Central Europe to sing or play instruments in Western Europe, so the whole opera market was only open for the Western Europeans. Today, it is very difficult for young singers to start because the competition is immensely strong. Singers come from all over the world and the quality of music education has also been raised immensely.

What have been the highlights of your career so far?

Difficult to say. I remember singing my first evangelist role in St Matthew's Passion in 1982. I was very nervous beforehand. Or singing my first Tamino in 1987, or Die schöne Muellerin and Winterreise the first time, these are the highlights of my career. If you ask me for personalities, there are encounters with great musicians like Gustav Leonhardt, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, Ton Koopman, John Eliot Gardiner and many others.

And what about challenges?

The biggest challenge is the pressure of maintaining – or even surpassing – your previous performance! This is the pressure you feel when you get older and I don’t mean when you turn sixty, I mean already in your forties. When you are at certain places for the second time and you were great the first time, people just expect you to be better, or at least as good as you’ve been the last time.

For a sustainable career, I think it is important that you meet the expectations of the audience. It is easy to be at that particular place the first time. Looking back I say it’s easy, but it is way more difficult to return after five or six times and people still expect such miraculous performances from you because you had been great three years before.

How far do you let critics influence you?

In the first 15 years, I was very keen on good reviews, because it helped your career. And of course everybody gets bad reviews every now and then, but there was one time when I was so angry at one critic and I just stopped reading reviews altogether. I don’t give reviews too much weight anymore, especially not in this stage of my career. I think my career doesn’t depend anymore on reviews. People who want to listen to me or to give me a contract, should come to a concert or a live recording and listen for themselves to figure out the things I can do and what I can’t do.

Though I should point out that some people might look for a certain thing in my voice since now I’m 61. I’m very positive and so is my audience. My voice has changed a bit, into a more baritonal range with a darker colour, but I’m singing the same repertoire as I did 20 years ago and I think I’m still doing it quite well. I know what I do and I know what I’m able to do, and the biggest critic of me is myself. I listen to my live recordings, radio recordings, and I’m honest with myself. As long as I think my voice is good, I will keep on singing. I also love teaching and conducting. I guess the combination of both makes it perfect.

Singer, turned teacher, turned conductor. Was it intentional? 

I started to give master classes quite early. I found out how much I liked working with young people and I am especially interested in the technical aspect of singing. I was not a natural singer. Somebody who has a great talent in producing great sound since the beginning doesn't necessarily know what he or she is doing. When I was 19 or 20 I had to really build up my voice since it didn’t work well right away. I was a tenor but I didn’t have high notes. I never had this naturalness since my voice is more of a baritonal tenor voice, which suits the works of Schubert or Mahler more. So, for Bach or Mozart I had to work very carefully on my vocal ability to be able to sing the parts. I think this, and experience I had from my four teachers, has given me a technical foundation that I know what I’m doing when I’m singing.

What about conducting?

My wish to conduct came quite late. There were times when I was not happy with some productions, especially with Bach's music. I was not content with what the conductor was doing. Well, not the great ones of course, but some of the not-so-good conductors don’t have a plan for the orchestra, choir or the soloist, whereas, a plan should give unification to the whole performance. Then I met Stephan Schultz of Le Concert Lorrain, a French baroque orchestra. We had had a production of St Matthew’s and St John's Passions where I was singing the Evangelist role. I asked if we could do a production of St John’s with me as conductor. He liked the idea, so 2012 was the first production.  

I prepared myself very carefully. I took conducting lessons, I worked with Fabio Luizi and Marcus Creed. I worked with Marcus because he is a very important choral conductor and with Fabio because he’s a very good orchestral conductor.

I tried to be professional and it was quite a good success. In the first tour we had 13 concerts of St John’s and we did St Matthew's in 2015 where we had 15 concerts. And for the 70th birthday concert of Philippe Herreweghe in Brussels, I was allowed to conduct the Collegium Vocale Gent. We played An die Sonne, Die Geselligkeit by Schubert, next to Warum toben die Heiden by Mendelssohn. To stand in front of this great choir and great people in the audience was great!

I’m going to have a production with the Netherlands Bach Society. I’m also going to conduct a Mozart Requiem with a symphonic orchestra in 2018. I hope it will keep on going… I’m not changing profession, I will go on singing as a tenor with some baritone roles every now and then. The good thing about becoming older is that you can try out things and you mustn’t care.

You’ve got around 150 recordings under your name. What’s cooking at the moment?

There is one album released by Challenge on 6 October with me singing, Michael Gees on piano and Olivier Darbellay on horn. We start with Benjamin Britten’s The Heart of the Matter. We combine it with repertoire from the 19th century like Schubert, Conradin Kreutzer, Franz Lachner, and pair them with the quite unknown like Edgar Mannsfeldt or Carl Kossmaly.  

Any interesting projects for the future?

I’d love to record Schumann’s Dichterliebe again. I recorded it around 20 years ago. I have sung it so often in concerts and my approach to the work has changed and I’d love to re-record it. Maybe in combination with some lesser-known pieces by Schumann and Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder, which I’ll be performing for the first time early next year. It would be great to have those done!

Can you imagine a life without the stage?

I have to imagine a life without the stage, I have to think about it. I don’t want to die onstage or when I’m still an active musician, yet at a certain point as a singer you have to finish (being) on stage. I can probably go on as a conductor, and definitely I’ll go on as a teacher. I have two small children and I love to be at home and enjoy my wine cellar. I’m a great wine enthusiast and I love cooking. There are a lot of great things I do outside the stage. I am just a normal man (chuckles).

Christoph Prégardien in conversation with Primephonic's Rina Sitorus