Name: ruminators by Dr. Stonaker
Duration: 6 min 34 s
Description: Set 1: Everything's fine until it's not. Routine Distractions is an album of microtonal electronic beats and loops for mental health awareness! It's okay to not be okay, but we must remember to take care of ourselves so we can take care of each other. This is part dance and part art... all the feels... positive vibes for reenergizing times. **BONUS TRACKS AVAILABLE WITH PURCHASE @ BANDCAMP**

Symphony for Wind Ensemble
I.   Fractured (Allegro)
II.  Dance Tune (Scherzo)
III. Color Turns (Moderato)
IV. Fray (Gigue)

	Symphony is a composition for Wind Ensemble loosely based on the form of the classical symphony.  The first movement, ‘Fractured’, is a series of sporadic and often teasing gestures; these gestures behave like a series of questions that never arrive at satisfactory conclusions. “Dance Tune” is playful and energetic.  This movement inherits dance characteristics ranging from progressive rock, waltzes, and bebop that are eventually interrupted by a strong brass unison.  “Color Turns” begins to churn instrumental colors around the pitch B natural.  The title “Color Turns” references both the ‘turn’ ornament as well as the rotating of colors on a Rubik’s Cube.  In “Fray”, the harmonies in the previous movements are combined and then rhythmically developed. These rhythms build into a vibrant texture of complex rhythmic layers.
	This materials used to compose this piece arrive from two distinct processes.  The first involved a Rubik’s Cube.  After much experimentation, I created a series of four pitches that was both musically interesting and held the properties necessary to map onto a three-dimensional surface.  This pitch set was then turned into a matrix which I literally pasted onto a Rubik’s Cube and used for manipulating pitch sets, solving the cube as I composed the piece.  The second process is a technique I developed after reading Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, a novel that deals with encryption and information. One of the methods described in the book involves using deck of cards to encrypt messages which I adapted to embed text into musical notation. In no instance does this piece function as only a series of processes but they were important tools in creating the piece. 


Symphony for Wind Ensemble

RITUAL ON MEMORY

written for:
3 FLUTES, QUARTER-TUNED AND 2 TRUMPETS, QUARTER-TUNED

I.	INTROIT
II.	TRIPLUM
III.	DUPLUM
IV.	HAEC DIES
V.	RESERVATA
VI.	POSTLUDE


Introit

Triplum

Duplum

Haec Dies

Reservata

Postlude

Three Expressions in the Jazz Idiom
III.  Caravan

PROGRAM NOTES:
It felt necessary to create Three Expressions of the Jazz Idiom.  I have been enjoying jazz music as a player and listener since I was very young, but only now decided to synthesize my jazz experiences.  I approached these pieces from an expressionist perspective, attempting to summarize internally my knowledge and opinions of various jazz idioms.  Then, I allowed these memories surface and the character of the idiom to be fully interpreted by my voice.   

Although the listener may not initially hear a connection, each of these works is strongly influenced by jazz music. To paraphrase a friend’s impression of the work, “there is more Oldham than jazz”.    

Caravan is the third and final movement in the series.  Although based on Latin-jazz, this movement is not melodic or harmonic interpretation on the tune “Caravan”.   It does, however, have some of the rather rowdy spirit driving the song.    I chose Caravan as the title because of a distinct memory of saxophonist Christopher Barrick.   

He and I were rehearsing a jazz ensemble version of “Caravan” during our undergraduate years; I was playing piano of all things.   When it came time for Christopher’s improvised solo, he started manipulating some very funky modes over top of the rather traditional changes. This included adding a lowered 2nd scale degree (or 9th).   As an interpretation of that added dissonance, there are many leaps of a minor 9th or major 7th in my Caravan.   


Caravan  from Three Expressions in the Jazz Idiom

In Between
- flute solo drama

Performance Notes:

In Between is a theme and variation set that explores many of the grey areas in music performance.  In working with flutist Rebecca Ashe, we discussed several “in between” possibilities.  I focused on the grey areas between musician and actor, and between flutist and vocalist.  In the piece, the flutist is asked to sing, speak, produce vocal sound effects and actively perform silences in addition to playing the flute.   

An additional commitment to stage performance is necessary for this piece to succeed.  The performer may elect to either humorously or soberly interpret the score, provided that the interpretation is consistent throughout. 


In Between

Wanderlust (2003)

Wanderlust is a single movement piece for a combination of woodwind quintet, saxophone quartet, and piano quintet. It is structured loosely on the sonata allegro form.   The “theme”, presented initially by the strings, travels throughout the piece, melodically, harmonically, and rhythmically.  The character of this theme shifts as it gathers contextual information from the surrounding material. 

The first section of the piece is divided into two sections, each presenting the main theme with a unique texture.  Overall, the material is highly energetic and at times anxious. The momentum of this large section gradually dissolves and enters a second section, or development. Here, the early music is presented in a spacious and ethereal context yet holds the previous energy kinetically. There are three interruptions in this section; the last interruption propels the music in to the final section. 

The third section jumps and dances, trading instrumental colors and roles. The materials from the previous sections return simultaneously, along with additional new material. The piece ends in a chorale harmonization of the theme (the coda) colored by flourishes of material continued from the momentum of the third section.


Wanderlust

Set 1: Everything's fine until it's not. Routine Distractions is an album of microtonal electronic beats and loops for mental health awareness! It's okay to not be okay, but we must remember to take care of ourselves so we can take care of each other. This is part dance and part art... all the feels... positive vibes for reenergizing times. **BONUS TRACKS AVAILABLE WITH PURCHASE @ BANDCAMP**

ruminators

email: stonakermusic@outlook.com 
composer and performer / master musician / sonic manipulator

currently making beats to promote plenty of good vibes to unleash into the universe

ruminators

Dr. Stonaker

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