A stream of foreboding anticipation, Preparation accompanies our team of professional bank robbers as they ready for their next big heist. A dynamic, constantly evolving atmosphere leading from their preparation of equipment to their arrival at the bank's door is created using a variety of synths and electronic sounds, stepped up to the next level of impact by the addition of strings and orchestral percussion. Rescoring of scene from the film The Town. 

Preparation

Relying is a collaborative effort pairing music and choreography as equal partners in the depiction of the varying emotional states and responses one experiences at the loss of someone or something one has relied on. Created through a back and forth process between composer Andrea Vancura and choreographer Alexsa Durrans,  the piece started as a dance to which music was created, and then the music was extended and dance was developed to join it; finally, the dance was further lengthened to complete the piece and the ending music was composed to the dance. This collaborative approach weaves both art forms together to communicate a complex personal journey starting from the initial realization of loss through an increasingly numb introspective reflection, calling up old memories and attempting to reconcile logic with emotions.

Musically, the piece explores the juxtaposition of the sounds of traditional acoustic instruments with electronic instruments; as the individual continues their inward journey and becomes increasingly separated from the day-to-day events around them, the electronics gain prominence and take over the piece from its acoustic beginnings.

Premiere Performance: UCLA Graduate Composers' Recital, February 26, 2014, Jan Popper Theater: watch at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETqChH0oiWk

Relying [short intro]

This piece depicts the feeling of inertia or being “stuck”--the feeling that one should be achieving certain things in life but instead is just sitting in the status quo, watching events and opportunities go by. This effect was accomplished through experimentation in creating a variety of sounds of different characters using both granular synthesis and other audio processing effects, such as reverb, EQ, and pitch shift, all applied to audio files of me playing (and buzzing) a simple 4 note phrase on my trombone (E♭-D♭-A♭-B♭). Against this background of shifting, layered manipulated sound, the piece also includes a variety of hits, sounds, and rhythms from a drum machine, juxtaposing these sounds against the manipulated pitch material of the trombone tracks.

The interplay between the various layers—some drawn out, some percussive, some of definite pitch and some more nebulous—creates a feeling of general movement and expectation, but we never actually go anywhere. Stylistically, this piece is in the form of a built up improvisation, as once the foundational trombone audio was recorded, almost all moving parts were played “live” by myself into the synthesizer and samplers in real time with very little editing of the notes and rhythms after the fact—I chose to work with the set parts I created this way and manipulate their processing to create the textures in the final piece. Layers fade in and out from each other, giving glimpses of possibilities and ideas, but ultimately never take off emphatically in any one particular direction; in the end, the music fades back to the slow drone of the beginning.

Inertia

The LA Winds February 21st, 2016 premiere of the second movement of Vancura's wind band work Pravda Vítĕzí. Greatest thanks to LA Winds director Prof. Steve Piazza, recording engineer Caryn Rasmussen, and my 104 fellow members of the LA Winds for two great performances of the piece!

About Pravda Vítĕzí:
The first piece, “Pravda Vítĕzí: Truth Prevails”, takes its inspiration and title from the Czech motto inscribed on the base of the memorial statue in Prague's Staroměstské náměstí honoring Czech reformer Jan Hus, who was executed for refusing to recant his teachings that attempted to rectify the corruption he saw in the church doctrine of the time. The piece delves into the struggle of trying to live holding onto a higher truth in a world that is actively hostile to it, and depicts widely contrasting moods—glimpses of finding refuge in one's belief, juxtaposed between experiences of almost overwhelming attacks from all sides that attempt to sway one away. The piece concludes in a chorale that starts simply but builds into a grand gesture of assurance in the triumph of truth.
The second piece, “I have found my peace”, explores the experience of "enlightenment" or finding transcendent peace and release from living a life consumed by the worries of this world; the unique colors and timbres of the winds and brass take the forefront in dynamic, provocative textures as overlapping motives, layers, segments, and ideas give way to one another in a thankful celebration that ranges from quietly meditative, to pulsing with urgency, to overflowing with exuberant joy.
The two parts may be performed together as a whole, or each can stand alone as a self-contained piece.
© 2015 Andrea Vancura; recording © 2016 || www.andreavancura.com/contact.html

Pravda Vítĕzí - II. I have found my peace (LA Winds Premiere)

All Is Lost Rescoring: A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Music at UCLA by Andrea Vancura, 2015. Committee members: David S. Lefkowitz; Michael E. Dean; Peter R. Golub; Ian Krouse, committee chair.

This project is a complete rescoring of the last reel of the 2013 film All Is Lost (starting at time code 05:08:25:14). The composer has created all new music and sound design (no original sonic elements of the original film release have been used), and created and mixed a recording combining live musicians' performances and programmed sampler instruments that reflects and subtly enriches the audience's experience of and emotional connection to the main character's ordeal stranded on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.

Cue list (total running time: 10:27):
Drifting/The Note: Our shipwrecked protagonist nostalgically reflects on his life, writing his final words to the outside world.
Now What?: The note has been dispatched and our protagonist settles in for the night.
Hope Rises Again: By chance, we spy a light far in the distant night. Our protagonist attempts to build a fire to call the other vessel's attention to himself.
All Is Lost: Our protagonist's best efforts have failed, but he is at peace. After coming to terms with his impending death, he believes he sees a rescue arrive.

Live musicians featured: Dawn Hamilton, Stephen Spies, and Andrea Vancura; samples from Vienna Instruments libraries.

© 2015 Andrea Vancura || www.andreavancura.com/contact.html

All Is Lost

Vancura Family Medley - Merry Christmas 2011
featuring "Forever Young" (Lloyd/Gold/Mertens), "Written In The Stars (Mughal/Okogwu/Turner/Bernardo), "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship (Doerksen), "Vega-Tables" (Wilson/Parks), and "Tribute to Troy" (Broadwell)/"Fight On!" (Sweet/Grant)
Medley arranged for the instruments (and respective skill levels) played by family members at the time.
I don't own any of these pieces; my original arrangement done for personal/educational use only. Arrangement © 2011 Andrea Vancura

#tbt Vancura Medley Christmas 2011 (rough midi audio)

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Luke 23:42
Trombone quartet arrangement of Taizé melody "Jesus, Remember Me" by Jacques Berthier. 
In memory of Love V., innocent victim of violence. Happy Birthday.
Arrangement © 2016 AV. Recording © 2017 AV.
Track image by Iamdogjunkie on Flickr, used under CC 2.0 (no changes made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Jesus, Remember Me - Trombone Quartet Arrangement

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT
Remix of "Jesus, Remember Me" - Trombone Quartet Arrangement
In memory of Love V., innocent victim of violence.
Arrangement © 2016 AV. Recording & Remix © 2017 AV.

Entering the Actual Reality (non-looping mix)

Suspend Your Disbelief | recorded November 22, 2011 at Jeanette MacDonald Recital Hall, USC, Los Angeles, CA
Composer A Vancura | Engineer C Lin | Musicians C Miller, H Mills, K Barr, Y Oh, A Vancura
Copyright © 2011. Remastered recording ℗ 2018 AV.
Track image by rjp on Flickr. Used under CC 2.0 (no changes made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Suspend Your Disbelief

Rough preview recording of the LA Winds premiere of Hypnagogia: Threshold Consciousness [[asleep.awake]] Sunday March 25th, 2018.
.:. Piece starts at the 3:29 mark following discussion by composer .:.
An exploration of mindfulness, meditation, self-awareness, and existential questions of the bigger picture, through non-binary states of consciousness. Connections not usually consciously realized start to emerge as shifting patterns unfold, align, and realign along the stream of freely associating thoughts.
Track image by Dominic Alves (www.flickr.com/photos/dominicspics) (edited) used under CC 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Hypnagogia: Threshold Consciousness [[asleep.awake]] <rough preview recording>

Los Angeles-based music composition, production, performance // all reposts are additional projects and/or collaborations // :: ::
cross-genre engaging, honest resonance // communal rejection of false narratives // :: :: electronic to classical // freely improvised to meticulously structured // 
also check out https://soundcloud.com/sunrisetransparence and https://soundcloud.com/spaceanemone

Andrea V

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