Instrumentation

Highschool Orchestra

2 Flutes (2nd doubles piccolo)
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in Bb
2 Bassoons

4 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in Bb
2 Trombones
1 Bass Trombone

Percussion 1
^{– clash cymbal
– crash cymbal
– suspended cymbal
– tom-toms (x4 low to high)
– vibraphone (motor off)
– bass drum}
Percussion 2
^{– triangle
– glockenspiel
– snare drum
– tam-tam
– bass drum (same as perc. 1)}
Timpani (Percussion 3)
^{– bass drum (same as perc. 1)
– chimes}

Piano

Strings

Duration: 7m
Year of Composition: 2025

Perusal Score

Program Notes

a bit of personal history

Some of my earliest musical memories come from my parents. The Beatles “White Album” and a “Best of the 70s” mix took turns playing on the car stereo; “Star Wars” on VHS and later “Lord of the Rings” on DVD played on the TV downstairs; a cassette tape of Van Halen’s “1984” lived on my shelf, never listened to for fear of wearing it out or accidentally recording over it.

I was 5 or 6 when I asked my dad what his favourite song was. He put on “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Listening to that song still brings back memories of my childhood home, but now also brings to mind the living room of an AirBnB in Whitehorse, Yukon, where we belted the choruses in an impromptu family sing-along just a few hours after I got married.

about Mixtape

Most times when a composer creates a piece of music, they aim to come up with brand new melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a composer might quote an older piece of music to draw a connection between the past and present, or create a sort of dialogue between themself and the artist of the original song. In the case of Mixtape, I was asked to create something that celebrated the last century of music. Through some combination of music theory and dream-logic, I wound up referencing around fifty different songs.

Mixtape is a collage of musical iconography, a mega-medley compiled in non-chronological order, where rhythms, chord progressions, and melodies that I associate with people and places, and even other songs, exist in community. It is a nostalgic love letter to the music that has served as the soundtrack to my life, and which has shaped me as a musician and human being.

Mixtape was graciously commissioned by Ruth Anderson and Turning Point Ensemble for the occasion of Lord Byng Secondary School’s centenary celebration. Special thanks to Sophia Nicol, Tedrick Sak, and Barry Yu for their feedback and suggestions during the creation process, and to Jan and Pete Marinic for their love, support, and good taste in music.