Summerborne: A Musical Narrative (Thesis Performance)
During my final year at Brown University, I composed and conducted a chamber piece as my thesis project -- this is the result. Thank you to everyone who could make it to the performance and those of you who have supported me along the way. Enjoy!
(Performed April 10th, 2016)
Pre-Concert Talk (0:22)
Overture: Title Screen (2:47)
Movement I: Home (7:12)
Movement II: Journey (19:22)
Mark Benis, composer and conductor
Devanney Haruta, oboe
Julia Choi, Bb clarinet
Rudy Chen, piano
Patrick Orenstein, percussion
Matthew Slesinski, violin
Brian Gilbert, viola
Julian Gau, cello
Program Notes:
As I jotted down the last few notes of this piece, I found myself questioning what exactly I had written. Is this a symphony? A suite? Maybe a film score without a film? Summerborne lies somewhere between all of those -- what I call a musical narrative. It is a series of themes describing people, places, actions and emotions that are designed to convey an underlying story.
Drawing inspiration from old 8-bit video games that lie close to my heart, I have divided the piece into three sections: a title screen overture ("title screen" referring to the image one would see when loading up a video game), and two movements I call "Home" and "Journey." As you may have imagined from the titles, Summerborne is a coming-of-age tale in which a child leaves home to discover his or her own path. The story takes place in a fantasy world with a never-ending summer, one plagued by forest fires and sinister villains, but also brimming with pastoral villages, mystical spirits and companions.
This background is the only information I will give about the narrative. My hope is that through the music alone, the listener can piece the story together during the performance. By withholding a map to my piece the audience wanders the same path as my protagonist -- one filled with the unknown, the uncanny and the unexpected. I welcome you not to search for the final destination but rather to listen from moment to moment, one adventure to the next.
Website: http://markbenis.com
Soundcloud: / markbenis
Twitter: / mark_benis
Bandcamp: https://markbenis.bandcamp.com/