Euphonium and Electronics

ALIEN LOOP DE LOOPS for solo instrument and electronic recording by Howard J. Buss is a playful and capricious fantasy piece designed to appeal to a wide range of audiences. The title refers to both programmatic and technical elements in the composition. The composer envisioned a performer outside in an open area during an air show by an alien craft. During the opening section he/she is playing unaccompanied, but then is joined by the recording which contains sounds generated by traditional instruments as well as an "alien" voice, the spacecraft, and various electronic effects. Technically, the title refers to how the recording was made. It consists of numerous sound loops combined to form an imaginative and picturesque sonic tapestry. The publication includes the sheet music and a CD (attached to the inside of the back cover) that contains a performance track and the accompaniment track. Learn More

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Benoit Mandelbrot was a mathematician known for his ideas about "the art of roughness," or chaos in nature. He is more widely known today for his fractal images, which have gone on to inspire many amazing works of math-art. I've personally been drawn to fractal imagery for a number of years, and as I listened to this nameless piece during the writing process, my inner-eye kept being drawn back to shifting, flowing fractals. Mandelbrot’s Dream is written in three continuous sections:

1. Catch You On The Flip Side

2. And Goodbye

3. Fractus Metallum

The first section is a chilled-out stroll through an urban, fractal cityscape, displaying the euphonium’s agility. The second section uses elements of jazz and rock in a slightly cinematic style, inspired by the works of composer Marty O’Donnell. In the final section (translating from Latin to ‘Fractal Metal’) features rhythmic and melodic elements of metal. In keeping with the celebration of Mandelbrot's work in chaos, the piece climaxes into aural chaos, the bass trailing off like the final spiraling wisp of some kaleidoscopic dream…

Commissioned By X Gail Robertson, Jesse Orth, Preston Light, Irving Ray, Anthony Achille, AJ Miller, James Green, Ian Lester, Pat Stuckemeyer, Micah Everett, Adam Frey, David Salomon Galan Jr., Erik Lundquist, Will Hess, Bo Atlas, Richard Concepcion, Bente Illevold, Jason Gilliam, Zach Eberle, Amanda Cardwell, Seth Fletcher, Chasse Duplantis, Fernando Zuniga, Phil Beatty, Aaron Tindall, Danny Helseth, Bryan Cole, Chris Buckley.

 

 

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For Euphonium and Fixed Media (electronics), “Necroterror” was inspired by the synth-heavy soundtracks of 1980's zombie movies. I have always been a fan of horror movies and the soundtracks that help bring them to life. The first one to grab my attention was George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (1985). This is my homage to horror movies along with George A. Romero, who passed away in 2017. Learn More

With Fixed Media: Written In 2019 for SSG Irving Ray of the United States “Pershing’s Own” Army Band and premiered at Sam Houston State University in February of 2020, Neon Dream is a work for solo euphonium and Fixed Media/CD. It draws inspiration from laser tag arenas and attempts to convey the excitement and adventure that comes with them, as well as the nostalgia experienced by adults who grew up going to these establishments. The piece is divided into six parts, each dealing with a particular aspect of laser tag or term associated with the activity. Learn More

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