John Galt CareyComposer / Pianistwww.johncareycomposer.comwww.youtube.com/johncareycomposerIntroduction:Hello everyone!
It has been roughly six years since I virtually disappeared from this forum (for reasons that will become apparent in the rest of this post), but the time I left was well-spent, as these have been undoubtedly the most productive and transformative years of my life.
Whereas I mainly composed as a hobby before my absence, I have now chosen composition as my career path. Having now studied composition formally at The Hartt School of Music, my compositional abilities have progressed at a level I never imagined possible (as has my speed of output -- I've composed about nine new "major" works in the past four years, about 3 hours of music total).
Now that I've returned to the forum, I'd like to share what I've done since my departure, and hopefully receive some feedback from both those that are already familiar with my music, and of course, new listeners!
Background:My name is John Galt Carey; I'm a pianist, composer, and avid listener to practically every type of music I have come across.
I grew up in a very artistically oriented household; my mother was a professional opera singer for about 20 years. After performing extensively in Europe, particularly Germany, she returned to the United States and started vocal coaching with the man who (in two years) would be my father. My mother was still very focused on her performing career when I was conceived, so I was exposed to a massive amount of wonderful music even prior to my birth! For the first five years of my life, I traveled across the country with my mother and had the opportunity to see her perform in a large variety of different operas. However, she put an end to her career as a singer when I got terribly sick on one particular trip. As a result, my family decided to move from California to New Hampshire in order to establish a vocal studio and settle down for the sake of my upbringing.
Certainly, my exposure to opera in my early childhood benefitted me greatly when I finally discovered my own love for music, which ironically didn't happen until I was about twelve years old. It was the piano sonatas of Beethoven that inspired me to become a pianist, which quickly sparked my interest in composing my own music. I decided that I wanted to start taking piano lessons, but I was entirely self taught as a composer for quite a few years thereafter. Ever since I began my musical journey, I've gone through a multitude of musical obsessions, devouring the works of a variety of different composers (Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Mahler, Sorabji...), and then eventually moving on to other genres, such as jazz (which I specialized in for a good deal of time), rock, metal, electronic music, and whatever else sparked my interest.
After progressing about as far as I could without formal training (my last piece written without having ever taken a composition lesson is my Rhapsody for Orchestra from 2009), I decided to pursue a degree in composition, and attended the Hartt School of Music. Though my musical knowledge was already at such a level that the head of the department once remarked, "we should hand him a PHD on the spot!" after our first conversation, the experience of being constantly immersed in the world of composing caused me to become quite prolific and allowed my music to develop to an entirely different level.
Style:My music combines a lot of different elements found in the music of composers and musicians that have inspired me (not limited to classical music), and my ultimate goal has been to utilize these influences in ways that are in no way cliché or derivative. Thankfully, I believe I've managed to accomplish that goal, as I feel I've developed a style that is fairly unique. At the root of my style are a few basic elements: "obsessive" motivic development, tonal ambiguity, harmonic language based primarily on polytonality, frequent rhythmic shifts, and generally free formal structures. From a less technical standpoint, my style is intended to evoke a fantastical, dream-like atmosphere, inspired primarily by my own interest in altered states of consciousness that can achieved through methods such as meditation, hypnosis, and lucid dreaming.
Recordings:Here I will post the works that I believe are my best compositions and also the most accurate representations of my musical personality. If you're interested in hearing my earlier works, they can be found on my website (
www.johncareycomposer.com/Recordings.html).
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (2012)I. Lento - Maestoso - More Lively - GiocosoII: Theme and VariationsIII. Allegro MoltoVisions for Wind Quintet (2011)Sonata for Cello and Harp (2011)I. RubatoII. Vivace, Like a DanceIII. AdagioIV. PrestoString Quartet "Reflections and Revelations" (2010)I. Adagio - Presto - FugatoII. AgitatoIII. AdagioFantasy for Two Pianos (2010) [Performed by John Carey and Kyle Landry]Sonata for Violin and Piano (2009)I. Slowly and mysteriously - Quickly, with urgency [Performed by Sarah Attwood, Violin, and John Carey, Piano]II. Adagio. Tranquil, with a sense of yearningIII. Presto
Rhapsody for Orchestra (2009)Ballade for Piano and Four Stringed InstrumentsRecordings of the rest of my works (including those in other genres) may be found here:
www.johncareycomposer.com/Recordings.htmlScores can be found
here.Videos (with scores):Prelude in A Minor for piano (2005)Sonata for Violin and Piano, I. Slowly and mysteriously - Quickly, with urgency (2009)Fantasy for Two Pianos (2010)Sonata for Cello and Harp, II. Vivace, like a dance (2011)Many more videos (including those of live performances I've given on piano) can be found on my YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/johncareycomposer________________________________
I do hope you enjoy my music!
P.S. I immensely value ALL feedback! Feel free to be as detailed or as brief as you like -- even the simplest comments are incredibly helpful to me.
Topic: The Compositions of John Carey