Blog moved

Hello Everybody. I doubt anyone still reads this blog as I haven't posted here in ages. But for those who do, I just wanted to let you know I now maintain a new blog at my main website Audiomuse. Check it out for my latest compositions, arrangements, and writings. Remember to like me on Facebook too!

Audiomuse releases its first album!

Do you like video game music? Me too! My latest album Chronicles of Time is a collection of my latest music compositions in the Japanese RPG style and you can get it for $6.99. Alternatively, you can download singles for $1.00 apiece. Buy it today!

Yakusoku no Basho / 約束の場所 (FFXIII-2) - Original Piano Arrangement

Hello all. Thanks for waiting and sorry for not having posted for so long. I've been sooo swamped lately with school/work/life. A lot of changes are coming soon, so this will be my last video until the new year.

This is the main theme from Final Fantasy XIII-2, sung by Mai Fukui, written by Koichi Tabo, of Superfly.

There were some things I didn't like about the original song so I have made some minor modifications to make it stand better as a solo piece. For instance, I took out one of the repetitions in the final chorus, and also shortened the outro and included my personal coda. The chords in Yakusoku no Basho are less sophisticated than those in Kimi ga Iru Kara, but it is quite an emotional song overall. My reason for writing an alternative ending, was because the original ending sounded inconclusive, as it ends on an imperfect cadence. I don't know the story of Final Fantasy 13 extremely well, but as it is a sequel, I would imagine the story comes to a close. So I thought a traditional perfect cadence ending on the tonic (with signature added second) would work better.

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