Ambient Piano Compositions used for television documentary (ITV)

During the Troubles_v2

LifeCycle

Lament

Procession (Underscore Bed)

During the Troubles_v1

Reflection

Place to Rest

Setting Son

Procession

A juxtaposition of two presidential addresses, each speaking to/about the media and basically stating that the press needs to be (more) responsible in regards to what they release. However, one orator speaks in a rather eloquent fashion (basically saying, "I can't force you to do as I wish, but I can ask you") and directly to the news media, whereas the other speaks in a very basic and uncouth manner pandering to his base.

Combined with string quartet and other broadcasts, the piece creates an atmosphere as though the listener is periodically switching between several radio stations during an evening of listening. 

Throughout the piece the strings utilize augmented and diminished chords, arpeggios, and runs while also emphatically stating the following message:  
- .-. ..- -- .--. / .. ... / - .... . / . -. . -- -.-- / --- ..-. / - .... . / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . .-.-.-

MIA: Media Informs America

Winner of the 2022 American Prize in Music Composition - Instrumental Chamber Music (Fragile for Brass Quintet), Winner of the 2021 Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition (Second City Strut), twice the recipient of the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network's Music Award (2013 & 2016), and winner of Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year, Craig Peaslee's music has been described as bold, brash and unapologetic. Coming to the contemporary composing scene as a jazz performer and arranger, Craig’s compositions have a strong foundation in jazz music and continually find him searching for new ways to incorporate jazz into works for the classical concert music stage, as well as classical elements into jazz pieces. 

His works can be traditional, multi-faceted, dissonant, genre-bending and have been known to directly confront social and political issues in order to bring attention to such topics as well as get listeners to critically think and discuss the challenges facing the world we live in.  Craig's recent compositions include the four movement suite for brass quintet Fragile (2021), Second City Strut (2019) for orchestra, and The Death of a Nation (2018) for string quartet and prerecorded media.
 
Recent performances of his works and arrangements have been by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Frost School of Music's Concert Jazz Band, Julius Quartet, Northern Illinois University Graduate Brass Quintet, Boston's Arcadian Winds, the Flight 584 Big Band from Los Angeles, Extra Crispy Brass Band and The Brew City Big Band of Milwaukee, and The Moonlighter's Orchestra. He was included on a recent compilation album Windswept (Navona Records) featuring the Arcadian Winds woodwind quintet.
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As a disabled veteran, Craig enjoys working with veterans organizations to bring music to veterans and exposing veterans to music outside the realm of what can easily be found on commercial radio stations, in movies, and television shows.
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Having been raised in a rural village, Craig is impassioned about being able to present new music to smaller communities and areas that do not normally get the opportunity to attend presentations of new and contemporary music. For these reasons, Craig enjoys writing music that is accessible while also sounding new and invigorating.

Russ Parker is a producer, sound engineer, and sound designer based in Manchester, UK. He began making music in the late 1980s and now produces music for radio, television, and multimedia.
After leaving college, Russ got his first taste of the professional audio industry as a freelance sound engineer in television. Over the years, he has continued to play electric guitar and bass while refining his skills in MIDI programming, sampling, sequencing, and recording. These abilities have led him into composing music for radio and television, where he has secured multiple commissions.
All of Russ’s compositional work and sync music is created using real instruments, recordings, and synthesisers. He primarily works with wavetable and granular synthesis, avoiding sample libraries unless specifically requested. Additionally, he has ventured into mixing audio in Dolby Atmos. Recognising the growing demand for immersive audio, he pursued a Master’s Degree in Sound Engineering with a specialisation in Dolby Atmos.
Russ is a member of the PRS (Performance Rights Society) and the Musicians’ Union.
Hope you enjoy the tracks!

New tracks tagged #string quartet