Name: Neptune's Reef by Billy Crook
Duration: 7 min 10 s
Description: "Neptune's Reef" is an original piece of music, composed as the main theme to a video game of the same name created by students at the University of Bristol. This piece is a suite of themes and ideas demonstrating thematic development and orchestration.

"Odd Occurrences" is an original composition written as a library piece. With quirky melodies and accompaniment, this piece is ideal for light comedy or other surreal productions.

Odd Occurrences

Performed by Samuel Kail-Dyke (trumpet), Kristina Hutchinson (alto saxophone) and Billy Crook (trombone). Arranged by Thomas H. Gent, transcribed by Billy Crook.

Summertime

Performed by Jasmine Law.

This piece is based on A.S.J.Tessimond's poem, "Music." When I encountered this poem, I was struck by its verbal illustrations of the art of music. It encouraged me to interrogate precisely what music means, how we experience it, and how I write it. I was subsequently attracted to the concept of defamiliarization, coined by Viktor Shklovsky. This concept argues the purpose of art is to ‘make strange’ the world around us. This piece, therefore, attempts to defamiliarise much of what we perceive music to be; it should be nearly recognisable, yet not quite, thus feeling incredibly strange and unnatural, falling into an auditory uncanny valley.

Tessimond

Performed by members of the Bristol Ensemble. Conducted by Billy Crook.
Violin - Roger Huckle
Clarinet in A - Roger Armstrong
Violoncello - Harriet Wiltshire
Piano - Jeremy Little

Introduction
The life not lived.
Part 1: Wondering
What could have been? Have I done enough?
Part 2: Lamenting
Why are things this way? Why haven’t I done enough?
Part 3: Accepting
This is the way things are. This is what I have.

It is incredibly common to think about the life one could have lived. If circumstances, knowledge or decisions had been different, how one's story could have pivoted, for better or worse. This can result in feelings of wonder and relief, but also dread and regret. Things could have been worse, but they also could have been better. Ultimately, one can never know for sure what may have happened under any different past circumstances. All they know is the lift they have lived. Those experiences give life beauty and meaning, and should ultimately be what one thinks of to conclude these thought experiments: this is the life I have lived, and I accept it.

This piece explores these conundrums. It begins with an Introduction consisting unison melody, a hint of another life that could have been, but nevertheless is not real. The melody is then fragmentally explored in the subsequent three parts. Part 1 examines the feelings of wondering, and questioning how life could have been different. Developing from this, Part 2 is more angry and sorrowful, lamenting the experiences which could have been, perhaps seeing life as a failure, or at the very least expressing exasperation at missed opportunities. Part 3 is the acceptance of the life one has lived, understanding that it cannot be changed and that their experiences are all one is.

Reflections Of A Life Not Lived

"Neptune's Reef" is an original piece of music, composed as the main theme to a video game of the same name created by students at the University of Bristol. This piece is a suite of themes and ideas demonstrating thematic development and orchestration.

Neptune's Reef

"Treevolution" is an augmented-reality tabletop tower-defence game developed by computer science students at the University of Bristol. The music presented is a loop which plays throughout the battle phases of the game. Utilising a full orchestra, the score immerses the player in the action with its driving rhythms and dramatic melodies. Musical themes developed with Hadi Rahmani, arranged and orchestrated by Billy Crook. See the gameplay on my YouTube channel.

Treevolution - Battle

Art Comes Alive - Self Love

The Queen of Herts main theme

Broken Lines Theme

Ships in the night

Billy Crook is a media composer, music educator and sound technician based in West Sussex. He has achieved a BA in Music at Durham University and an MA in Composition for Film and TV at the University of Bristol. He has worked in short film, documentary, animation and video games, with his portfolio continuously expanding through collaboration with exciting up-and-coming filmmakers. He has written for a variety of ensembles and scoring styles including chamber, orchestral, hybrid and electronic. With all his music, Billy seeks to tell stories, believing this to be music's central purpose.

Neptune's Reef

Billy Crook

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