For String Quartet

Musicians:
Violin I: Krista Buckland Reisner
Violin II: Rohan Gregory
Viola: Peter Sulski
Violoncello: David Russell

This recording of the piece took place at the Boston Conservatory as part of the final concert for the 2015 High School Composers' Intensive.

Copyright (c) 2015 Blake Dylan Pilger

Love?

Demo recording of a musical theater song for tenor.

Part of the musical theater song cycle entitled Music of Butterflies and Goodbyes. Each song in the cycle depicts different situations people can run into at the beginning and end of romantic relationships and how they should ideally be overcome. Each character uses these songs to contemplate and eventually make huge life-altering decisions, realizing that it is in his or her best interest to do so.

This song is sung by Chris, who is an introverted, awkward, yet lovable sculptor. So lovable, in fact, that Megan asks him out. In this song, he is getting ready for his first date with her and feels conflicted about moving on to the next chapter of his life with this woman.

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

Megan

Demo recording of a musical theater song for alto.

Part of the musical theater song cycle entitled Music of Butterflies and Goodbyes. Each song in the cycle depicts different situations people can run into at the beginning and end of romantic relationships and how they should ideally be overcome. Each character uses these songs to contemplate and eventually make huge life-altering decisions, realizing that it is in his or her best interest to do so.

This song is sung by Molly, a widowed bride, at the moment that she has just put on her bridal gown and is almost ready to walk down the aisle. She is contemplating whether she is ready for her new marriage because she still misses her husband.

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

Mark

Demo of a string quartet

This composition allowed me to win first place in the Thirty-Third District in the 2015-2016 PTA Reflections Competition.

Copyright (c) 2015 Blake Dylan Pilger

The Idea

Demo of a short chamber piece for bassoon, violin, and piano.

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

Farther Away From Natural

For Orchestra (2-2-2-2, 4-2-3-1, timpani, 2 perc, harp, strings)

This piece is inspired by the journey I take every day to trust my intuition and to trust the idea that everything happens for a reason. It starts out with a sort of optimism about the future which quickly turns south. The next section depicts a buildup of anxiety that tries to convince the mind that this optimism is far-fetched and unrealistic. It ends with a loud, quasi-big band section that leads into a repeated motif that fades out, showing an unexpected shift to an inner knowing that life will lead me to the path I'm meant to walk on. I hope that this piece allows people to realize that they can't predict the future, and that constant worrying about it will lead to anxiety, but trusting the future no matter what will bring peace.

Musicians:
Boston Conservatory Composers' Orchestra, conducted by Eric Hewitt

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

Trusting The Unknown

A duet for Flute and Bassoon

I. Self-confidence
II. Inspiration
III. Creation

This piece is about the artist’s emotional rollercoaster that they face while creating a work of art, whether it be a new composition, a sculpture, a play, a painting, or a piece in any other medium. What people often forget is that there is so much more to creating new work than simply relying on a stream of consciousness, and each movement highlights the different layers of the iceberg under the surface. The first movement takes us through the acquisition of the most important ingredient for tapping into a creative mindset, which is self-confidence---the inner certainty that one’s opinions and artistic voice are valid and worth expressing. Movement II shows the ups and down that occur when artists brainstorm the inner workings and message of the piece. The final movement highlights the part of the creative process that occurs when the brainstormed ideas are synthesized and created, which includes the anxiety and excitement associated with showing the piece to the public eye, the frustrating and tedious process of revision, and finally the bittersweet moment when the artist must decide to be satisfied with the final product.

Musicians:
Flute: Alejandra Santillanes
Bassoon: Nathaniel Edison

A Duo Highlighting the Creative Process

A song cycle for countertenor and guitar

I. The Things We Dare Not Tell - Henry Lawson
II. To My Heart, Bidding It Have No Fear - William Butler Yeats
III. Sonnet LXII - William Shakespeare

This song cycle was inspired at first by my struggle to accept myself for who I was, but due to recent world events, it evolved into an anthem dedicated to people who feel that they cannot be who they are due to societal and political restrictions along with various other factors. The singer goes from feeling self-conscious from receiving even the tiniest glare to rejecting others’ hatred and proudly embodying the person he is, and I feel as if I have completed this journey now that I have finished this piece. Hopefully others in the oppressive world we live in will be able to complete this journey as well.

Musicians:
Countertenor: Rudy Giron
Guitar: Jim Dalton

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

An Abridged Journey to Self Acceptance

Music by Blake Dylan Pilger
Text: "Tears" by Walt Whitman, "A Ballad of Suicide" by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Anna Young, soprano
Yukiko Oba, piano

Written for the Boston Conservatory at Berklee 2016-2017 Song Project

Copyright (c) 2016 Blake Dylan Pilger

Tears/Ballad Of Suicide

"If Father Wasn't There" from Strozzi: A New Musical
Music and Lyrics by Blake Dylan Pilger
Book by Georgeta Seserman

"If Father Wasn't There" is a song from my original musical, Strozzi. The musical is about Barbara Strozzi, a 17th century Italian composer and soprano who, despite sharp societal opposition to her working in a male-dominated profession, managed to publish 7 or 8 collections of vocal music during her lifetime. Strozzi's father, Giulio, was a well-known poet and librettist, and started the Accademia degli Unisoni, an academy of scholars that debated topics about music. Barbara moderated the meetings and would sing songs between each part of the meeting. "If Father Wasn't There" takes place directly after one of these meetings, as Barbara reminds herself of the obstacles she will be facing as she prepares to publish her first collection.

Copyright (c) 2017 Blake Dylan Pilger