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Shut Out Release! 5/31/2023

Read on to learn about history behind the piece and its message!

If you want the purchase and listening information already...click HERE...or scroll all the way down...up to you. Your choice, you own it.


Shut Out cover

INTRODUCTION

Today is a special day. A meaningful work of mine, Shut Out, has been released to the public after a 9-month exclusivity period for its 26 commissioners. In that time, the piece had been performed around 9 times by various ensembles such as The Crane Wind Ensemble, Illinois Wind Orchestra, Yale Concert Band, and even University of South Carolina's University Bands! To catch you up if you're not aware- Shut Out is my piece about disability justice. It encompasses three distinct sections, each detailing how disabled people feel on a day-to-day basis when we face ableism and inaccessibility in a world not built for us. Ponderous music starts the piece and this is where I explore the dichotomy between society and disabled people, which leads into a faster section of music about the charades that have to be played in order for us to fit in. Finally a dream of what it would be like to live in an equitable world is ushered in with soaring woodwind lines and harmonies that melt into each other.


THE CONSORTIUM

The Shut Out consortium consisted of twenty-six commissioners with various backgrounds. Some were high school bands, some college, two community bands, and even Alex Shapiro joined in! Most importantly the consortium was led by Stephen Meyer and Amy Bovin, both of whom I cannot thank enough for their support of the piece and my message. They were truly ambassadors helping to get this out there so that the consortium gained so many members. I mentioned a few above but some other members included Arizona State University, Cincinatti Conservatory, Tempe Winds, and even the school I go to- Michigan State University! The folks that I worked with have been absolutely amazing and I would do collaborations with them again. I truly treasure the multiple Zoom visits such as those with Crane Wind Ensemble, Yale Concert Band, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and even the in-person visit I did to Northern Arizona University for Stephen's premiere of the work. All the people I interacted with on this first batch of performances bring wonderful memories to me. I'll treasure them forever.


WHY THIS MESSAGE?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs have been gaining huge ground in the music and band worlds lately. It is so important that people of underrepresented populations are finally gaining a voice and platform to perform and compose music about their own experiences. Women, gender non-conforming folks, people of color, various ethnicities, and disabled people have always existed but it is really nice to see these voices that have always existed get lifted up into a spotlight. We're now learning and hearing different musics as a result such as DOPE, Home Away from Home, Song for Mother Gaia, Come Sunday, among many other new classics in the band repertoire that you should go check out. This, along with initiatives like ...And We Were Heard, is helping A LOT of people realize they have voices and presences. With all of these unique experiences documented, I could not help but notice that disability is missing. I have not seen or heard of band music that talks specifically about disability (correct me if I'm wrong!). So I decided that I would pitch this idea to the world, and Stephen and Amy were the ones that reached out and started this whole thing. More than a year later, I could not be prouder of the fact that this piece has gotten performed nine times this year. The message got out. I'm hoping that it brings forth to the table discussions on disability on the world stage especially when it comes to DEI programs!


 

SO...WHERE CAN I HEAR AND BUY THIS THING?


NOW we're getting to the GOOD STUFF! It's available...NOW!


Here is the recording of the Yale Concert Band playing (other recordings by Crane and Illinois can be found on my YouTube)! They are directed by Thomas C. Duffy, and guest conducted by Brian Coffill in this video.





I hope you enjoyed that!

Now for purchase info...it's available as a score+parts in PDF and Print (through JWPepper), and a study score alone! Click the buttons below to purchase the appropriate thing!










Whew, you made it to the end of this post! Thank you for reading and supporting the music in some way by listening, reading about it, or purchasing it. I hope to hear about more performances of the work now that it's a public work! Conductors/musicians, feel free to contact me...I can do commissions! And residencies! And Zoom visits!


Or you can just start up a conversation with me. I'm totally cool with that too and am always open to creating new relationships in this world!


Best,


TM










Ma-zone of News: 5/22/23


NEW SOLO AND CHAMBER MUSIC




Let me talk a little about each piece...click each title to go purchase it!


Night Games: commissioned by Becca Frederick and premiered by some MSU horns, this is a nice and short fanfare for six horns!


Two Forest Glimpses: a short, cute flute quartet about the woods!


Warm Field Dreams: commissioned by Ashley and Carrie, this is a nice flugelhorn solo with piano about the idyllic vision of a field.


The Island at Grand Ledge: commissioned by Ashley's family, this is a mysterious but beautiful duo for trombone and saxophone.


Reconciliation: my master's thesis showcasing my love for the bass clarinet. Available here and through CAMco!


Triumph and Scherzo: originally commissioned by Keoni, this is a perfect piece for trumpeters to work on C trumpet chops but I have provided B-flat parts as well.

Ma-Zone of News: 4/2023

Large Ensemble Round-up I


It's always good to try something new. Today, I'm trying the "Blog" feature as a way of "rounding up" current happenings for my new works and performances since I am getting real tired of making a new post every single time I release a piece and have to put purchase links. The Facebook algorithm is not friendly to this. At all. Argh. This new music round-up format, if successful, will be semi-regular (not every month) so y'all can stay updated, and will be multi-modal with videos, perusal scores, purchase links, etc. embedded into the post as one neat repository of music in each category: Large Ensemble and Solo/Chamber. This is meant for performers and conductors to be able to stay updated and to thumb through what's new and make decisions about programming much easier.

This initial post will be longer than most of the future posts I will make, so please bear with me. You can scroll through or click the following links to find each piece: Dream Wanderer, Blossom Prelude, To Be Free, Closure, and updates on Shut Out. Subscribe to the blog to get notification of new posts!
 

Dream Wanderer (string orchestra)

First up, is a very special premiere of a piece (dedicated to my partner Christa) I wrote last year that won the Michigan State University Honors Competition; Dream Wanderer. Dream Wanderer is for string orchestra and runs about 9 minutes in duration. It is an advanced piece and runs at $80 for a full set of score and parts. You can read the program note on the piece's dedicated page but essentially it follows the journey of falling asleep, wandering, and flying through nightly dreams. Below is a performance video of Asieh Mahyar conducting the MSU Symphony Orchestra in its premiere in March, and a link to peruse and purchase the work.



 

Blossom Prelude (full orchestra)

Continuing the Orchestra train, here is a short 3-minute prelude for full orchestra employing double winds (with the addition of optional bass clarinet). It features chamber-like moments as well as sweeping tutti textures, and even flute and cello features! If I had to "grade" this, it would be a Grade 3 for strings and 4 for winds, making it perfect for high school, community, and collegiate orchestras. This was originally written for my Orchestration class at Michigan State but I enjoyed it so much that I decided I had to publish the piece outright! View the score-video and purchase in digital or print formats below!





 

To Be Free (wind band)

I know this isn't a new piece but it's been getting attention lately, with it being chosen for the ACB 2023 Reading Sessions! I wrote the piece in 2019-2020 while I had feelings for a dear friend of mine during my undergraduate degree but the piece ended up meaning so much more than that. It's about stepping into and becoming in-tune with your emotions, as well as the representation of the absolute unbridled joy that I could see in that person (and admittedly myself when I had these feelings). To Be Free runs 6 minutes in duration and is a Grade 4 with mixed meter such as 3/4, 6/8, 5/8, and even 7/8. I would love to see this piece get an official premiere, so check out the scrolling score (MSU's Wind Symphony) and purchase in both formats as usual!




 

Closure (wind band)

`I'm going to start this by telling you a secret: this is To Be Free's companion piece. Seriously. Go look at the last chord of To Be Free and compare them to the first notes of Closure. Closure is my best-selling piece at the time this post was written, about the idea of gaining closure from an event or anything like that. It's a Grade 3 and runs 3-4 minutes long with a focus on counterpoint and orchestration. The best part, though, is the availability of a 4-part Flex version! You can view the score-video (Crane Chamber Winds) and purchase both versions in both formats!




 

Shut Out- updates (wind band)

While Shut Out isn't available yet, I still wanted to give an update on performances and the ever-approaching consortium exclusivity period ending on May 31st. If you're not aware, Shut Out is a Grade 4 piece about disability justice and what it's like to live through ableism and play charades every day with an inaccessible society. It was commissioned by a whopping 26-member consortium led by Stephen Meyer and Amy Bovin, and includes high school, community, and collegiate bands of all skill levels. My own school, Michigan State University, even chipped in on the consortium and I am hoping for a performance of the work while I am studying here.

Notable performances of Shut Out have included: The Tempe Winds in January, the Yale Concert Band and the University of South Carolina University Band in April, Northern Arizona University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in November, and the below performance by the Crane Wind Ensemble. Listen to the piece and view the perusal score, then if you are interested in purchasing the work when it comes out May 31st and want to let me know now- contact me and I will be sure to update you when the piece is published.



Purchase available May 31st, 2023. Contact the composer at mazonecompose@gmail.com if you want to be updated when this happens.

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