Stagnant but different

Work and school continue on and the double-life persists, but unlike before, I can be a student for an entire day, and a web developer for an entire day, alternating days. And I also have Fridays off. I the word "off" loosely, as it usually implies I spend the time on whatever needs to be done, be it homework, freelance work, music composition, or collaborating with other artists.

Speaking of which. There have been a sudden influx of wedding gigs for Solaris Piano Trio all summer this year. Either it is a good year to get married, or we suddenly promoted ourselves really well. A couple of months ago, I designed some business cards for each member of the trio and we've been handing them out sporadically at gigs. People have responded positively to the business cards, so I guess I did a pretty good job then.

We played through the Overture and Gavotte I of my latest composition, Orchestral Suite No. 1, yesterday night and it was pretty smooth-sailing, with very few rhythm issues. Some of the rhythms were a bit troublesome, but in all, I'd say I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out. So far I've been approached by 4 people showing interest for the solo parts. Can't wait to hear the whole thing! As usual, our fall semester concert will take place in December. We are still deciding on the exact date, which will either be on the first or the second of the month. So stay tuned!

Vincent Lo - Orchestral Suite No. 1

Some time over the summer, I started sketching out what would eventually become the Overture of an orchestral suite. The fugue was originally going to be a keyboard work, but by the time I had something substantial, the fall semester was creeping closer, so I figured I would incorporate it into a work for the SFU Chamber Orchestra. And then the other movements sort of fell in place. And also I listened to lots of Bach to try to avoid accidentally copying him.

Comments welcome. Enjoy.

i. Overture
ii. Air
iii. Gavotte I - Gavotte II - Gavotte I da Capo
iv. Gigue

PREFACE

Orchestral Suite No. 1 has been composed for the Simon Fraser University Chamber Orchestra. I started the project in the middle of 2011 and worked on it on and off throughout the summer. Inspired by the orchestral suites of Johann Sebastian Bach, this work features a solo trio on flute, clarinet, and cello, with ripieno strings, continuo, and harpsichord.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Connor Bartol (clarinet), Adrienne Marino (flute), Steven Su (violin), and Jaewon Yon (cello) for participating in the reading session and advising for this work. I would also like to thank the entire Simon Fraser University Chamber Orchestra for inspiring me to take on this project.

Vincent Wayne--Ted Lo Saturday, October 15, 2011