Aurora Musis amica
for Treefalls New Music
2017 Ryan J Williams (ASCAP)
Aurora Musis amica for Treefalls New Music Duration: ca. 5’30” Program Note Aurora Musis amica. Dawn is the friend of the muse. I have found that, as I get older, I have been amenable to mornings. On those days when I’m not obligated to be somewhere first thing, I don’t mind still setting an alarm, getting up, having a cup of coffee, and setting off on a productive morning. I truly do enjoy mornings. As I began to explore the sonic world of this piece, I found that it was conveying my mornings, or perhaps the general morning ritual of most of us. We slowly arise form sleep, get out of bed, get our bodies and minds moving, then we’re off on the day. Likewise, this piece accelerates as it unfolds through three main formal sections. The opening section, entitled “First Light,” is the very start of morning. The sun peeking over the horizon. Or perhaps the first chirps of your bedside alarm, bringing you out of slumber. Continuing, the second section, “Awakening,” is that moment when the sun starts to warm up the chill of the night. Or maybe more appropriately, when you reluctantly open your eyes and throw the covers off. Finally, the piece ends with “Day Break.” The sun is fully up. Life has hit its stride for the day. You’ve had your coffee and you’re ready to tackle your daily to-do list.
Mr. Ryan Williams first began composing music as a freshman in high school in Mechanicsburg, PA. Following this passion for more than 20 years, Williams has written many works for a variety of forces, both large and small, with a notable focus being on the wind band. To flesh out his craft, Williams attended West Chester University where he earned his Master of Music Theory and Composition in 2014 and his Bachelor of Music in 2003. While studying at West Chester University, he had the opportunity to work with renowned composers and scholars such as Dr. Robert Maggio, Dr. Adam Silverman, Dr. Lex Rozin, Dr. Mark Rimple, Dr. Andrew Yozviak, and Dr. Larry Nelson. It was during this time that he was selected for the 2014 Charlotte New Music Festival and won the 2014 West Chester University NOW Music Society Speedwriting Competition for an accompanied clarinet piece “Chicken with No Stones, Baby with No Bones.” Building off this success, his master’s thesis, “Pasíon y Fuego,” was a four-movement tour de force for Wind Ensemble, highlighting a different section of the band through Latin dance styles before culminating in a passionate tango. Now, Williams receives commissions for all levels of music, ranging from beginning students and middle school band and to professional musicians. His works have been performed across the Eastern United States and have been described as “a cut above the rest” and “sophisticated” by American composer Mark Camphouse. He is a member of the composer’s collective at CWJ Music House, publishing through that group on the JW Pepper website, and has a set of Bassoon Duets titled “Six Greeting Cards” published through TrevCo Music Publishing. Most of his works, however, are self-published and can be previewed at www.RyanJWilliams.net. In addition to composition, Williams is a performer and technician. As a performer, Williams has 5 years’ experience marching with DCA and DCI drum and bugle corps, earning the 1996 DCA World Championship with the Harrisburg Westshoremen and being a 2000 DCI Finalist with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2002, he enlisted into the Army Reserve where he served as an instrumentalist, arranger, and composer for 14 years. Since earning a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from York College in 2005, Williams has worked with 32+ competitive and noncompetitive high school bands, college bands, and drum corps over the last 17 years. Currently, Williams serves as the tuba technician and brass instructor for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. Presently, Williams lives in Columbia, SC where he is pursuing is DMA in Music Composition as the University of South Carolina.
Aurora Musis amica I. First Light
37
II. Awakening = 124
= 144
III. Daybreak 104
128