Matthew Saunders’ Blog

I was updating the News page on my website, which I hadn’t done in a while, and I realized that there wasn’t all that much to say: the horizon is mostly empty at the moment. While this would be frightening if I were a full-time composer, and honestly isn’t a great feeling for this part-time composer, I’ve accepted over the past couple of decades that composing work and performances of that work both come in fairly cyclical ways, and the storm of managing multiple projects and deadlines occasionally gives way to clear skies. In some ways, I’m reaping what was sown in March 2020: I decided to slow down my work on composing new music in order to make sure that I was focusing on what my family might need during the pandemic, while at the same time, lots of performances were postponed or cancelled. The postponed performances have now mostly been presented, but lots of people still aren’t back in their “normal” groove, and at least a few of my collaborators find themselves in different positions in life than three years ago. I took about two years to really get back into a composing routine, and even so, I haven’t been putting as much time in as I was pre-pandemic. My output has slowed, and I haven’t worked as hard on the “softer” side of the work in building connections and showing my face (we’ll see if my experiment with leaving social media last year will ultimately doom my composition career).

You get energy out of a system when you put energy in, and I truthfully have been putting less energy in over the last couple of years. It isn’t that I’m no longer interested in composition: it’s just that, as for everyone else, life has been in the way. I recently listened back to a podcast interview I gave to Kendall Halman six years ago when I was in a really different kind of place, and I don’t recognize everything about myself (unsurprisingly). I don’t know that I like the guy in the podcast better, exactly, but I was honestly more assured about my place in the music ecosystem.

So, I’ve been trying to do better: submitting to more out-of-town opportunities, for one thing, although outside of the conference circuit, which I haven’t really done since 2020, I’ve never had much luck here. My sense is that most opportunities online are simply deluged by applications, so getting picked for even one is like winning the lottery. A couple of these over the years have gone my way, and it’s always gratifying, even when the only thing you get is the performance and maybe a recording or video, but my sense is that building one-on-one relationships with performers is a better way to go.

So this post: I’m going to put two lists here, and I might even decide to break radio silence on social media and share this post there: I have no idea if anyone ever looks at this blog besides me, and in some ways, I’ve felt for more than a decade that I’ve been shouting into the void with it.

If you’re interested in anything from either of these lists, use the contact form on my website.

List 1 is pieces that are ready to go, but that I think are underplayed, or which have not even had a premiere.

Orchestra: As we all know, getting performances of orchestral music is really darn hard, but if you’re looking for something, I probably have it for you.

1. I happen to think 2015’s …into the suggestive waters… is a really good piece for small orchestra that audiences can really enjoy, if they have the chance to hear it. It’s only had one performance, but if you think you might want to change that, give it a listen.
2. My 2014 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra has had two performances, and if you’re a pianist looking for an exciting 20-minute piece, look no further.
3. If string orchestra is more your style, my three-movement Suite for String Orchestra from 2012 pays homage to three of my favorite compositional influences; it’s had a few performances, but it’s due for a revival, and can be done by as few as nine players.
4. Gamer Troll Loses Control had a good premiere in 2021, and is the same instrumentation as Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. About nine minutes long, it is a tone poem based on an original fairy-tale.

Band/Large Wind Ensemble: Once upon a time, I was actually afraid to be “just” a band composer, and I knew I was wrong to feel that way. Here are a few gems:

1. One of my relatively few works from 2020, Majestic Fanfare is for symphonic brass ensemble. The commissioning group, Ohio Valley Majestic Brass, played it around in 2021-2022, but because of the nature of their gigs, I didn’t get a recording to share.
2. The last work I had premiered pre-pandemic was Mysterious Marvels for concert band (one cancelled performance was never rescheduled). It’s had one performance, and is ripe for more (it’s probably a grade 4.5 or 5).
3. I’ve played the solo part in 2005’s Homo sapiens trombonensis twice, and I’d love to see another trombonist pick it up. The solo part is for an advanced player (but not as hard as the Creston Fantasy), and the band part is probably a grade 5.

Choral and Vocal Music: I have two a cappella choral pieces from the last few years.

1. Christmas Eve from 2021 had a great set of premiere performances by Choral Spectrum that year. It’s about 3 minutes long, for SATB with a few divisi, as you can see in the score-follow video that I’ve linked.
2. A piece that is currently orphaned is my setting of Yeats’ Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven from 2019. Some choirs have expressed interest, but no luck yet. It’s about five minutes, for SSAATTBB.
3. And I Live With the Fiction That I Never Get Mad, for baritone and piano, is a long standalone song that had a premiere in 2019. I’m particularly proud of my approach in this piece, and if a baritone is looking for repertoire that addresses the impact that media can have on our lives, this might be for you.

Chamber and Solo Music: The most orphans live here, I suppose, along with a few pieces that need a second hearing.

1. Child’s Play from 2020 for bass clarinet duo needs a premiere. It’s about 10 minutes long, uses a few multiphonics, and is inspired by the short story of the same name by Alice Munro. I’d be up to rework this piece for another instrumentation if there’s interest.
2. Gamer Troll Loses Control (also listed in Orchestra) had a good premiere in 2021, and is the same instrumentation as Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. About nine minutes long, it’s a tone poem based on an original fairy-tale, itself based on children’s artwork.
3. Duo Capriccio is a set of variations on *that* theme by Paganini for flute and clarinet, if you need something to give variety to your recital. It had a premiere in South Dakota in 2018, and I think it should go out there again.
4. Autumn Fantasy from 2016, eight minutes in one movement for alto clarinet and piano, is another orphan of the collaborative process that has never had a premiere as far as I know. I’d be up for reworking this for bass clarinet, or English horn, or some other woodwind.
5. Meditation for cello and piano is a ten-minute, one movement piece from 2015 that had a great premiere, but needs to get out there more: it’s one of my favorites from the 2010s, and is inspired by the writings of Marcus Aurelius.
6. One more orphan is my 2009 Piano Trio, which had a reading session, so I have a good recording, but never a public premiere, and I think the piece deserves one. It’s about 8 minutes in one movement.

I have many more pieces for solo piano and other solo instruments with and without piano, ranging in difficulty from fairly short and simple to college-recital or professional level. Why not go check out my Works List and see what might be there for you!

List 2 is pieces that I’ve been thinking about or dreaming about, often for decades… if you’ve ever been interested in playing my music, but wondered when I’d get around to writing for your instrument or ensemble, now is probably a great time to reach out.

1. Music for worship. My faith is an important part of my life, but I don’t always get the chance to combine it with my compositional work. I’m not talking about contemporary Christian music here: that stuff is fine, but it’s not my bag. Let me write for your choir, organist, brass ensemble, soloists, or some combination. Anything from an offertory to a full cantata is something I’d be up to discuss.
2. String quartet. I wrote a student piece string quartet based on some favorite children’s books back in 2006, but I’d love the chance to do something more serious and extended for the ensemble.
3. Choral and vocal music. Yes, please! If you have poetry that you want set, or if you are a poet, or you just want a new piece for you or your chorus, reach out. I haven’t had enough chances to write for voices, but I love to do it when I can.
4. Trombone ensemble. How have I not written for trombone quartet or octet or choir before?
5. Band or orchestra music. Definitely something that I won’t write (usually) without a guarantee of a performance, even though I love to do it: it’s just too much work otherwise. It would be cool to take another crack at creating a silent film score like I did in 2013 for Georges Melies’ Voyage Dans La Lune. Really big bucket list piece: I have half of a forty-minute symphony written based on the chorale tune Old Hundredth (the Doxology in many churches).
6. Similar vein: fanfares! So much fun to write, and so exciting to put together, and I love pushing the idea of what a festive, bright, piece can be. Let me write your concert opener!
7. Percussion music. I’m tired of being intimidated by the cool kids in the back of the room. I want to tackle percussion ensemble, but I want to do it as a collaboration with players who will guide me through the process.
8. I’d love to collaborate on more dance projects. I’ve conducted for ballet, and had one of my works, Martian Dances, form the basis for some beautiful choreography. I’m a terrible dancer, but I can provide a good beat.
9. I’m often inspired by science, especially space. Let’s write a cool piece about the Universe, or nature, or the human brain, or DNA. What are you into?
10. I’m always game to write more piano music. Piano was my first instrument, although never my best. I’d love to write a second piano sonata, or a suite of pieces based on Lake Erie and its shoreline here in Northeast Ohio, or something inspired by whatever inspires you!
11. Solo instrument with piano. There are a few standard instruments in this combination that I’ve never tackled, and I’d be up for that, plus I’d be happy to return to any that I’ve already done. What about: viola, euphonium, double-bass, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, English horn?
12. Any sort of ongoing project that results in multiple pieces and performances. I don’t know–hit me up! Multimedia isn’t really my thing, but I’m happy to collaborate with non-musicians.
13. Whatever chamber ensemble you’re a part of, no matter how weird. I’m always happy to help build someone’s repertoire!

So… this took longer than I expected, but maybe something will come of it, and if you don’t work with me for whatever reason, find another living composer and work with them! It’s good for our art form!