Chris Rutkowski, Composer/Pianist

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Here are all three movements of the Sax Concerto gathered together in one place.
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble
The Indiana University Wind Ensemble, Stephen Pratt, conductor
Thomas Walsh, alto saxophone
1. Rage
2. La Luna d’Oro
3. NOLA

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Step 5: Attempt to remove the boominess of the bass drum in the original audio.
The challenge: The audio was mixed down to stereo, and thus has all the instruments on it, not just the drums. Therefore, removing the frequencies where the boom occurs in [...]

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Step 4: To add virtual instrument tracks to the pure audio in movements 2 and 3.
The Challenges:
Importing another Standard MIDI File from the score in Finale brings along with it the midi tempo commands from the Finale playback, thus nullifying all the hard work done [...]

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Step 3: To add a virtual (synthesized) trombone part to the pure audio file.
So far, I’ve striped the audio file with a bar and beat timeline, that was not present in the original recording. As there is rubato and natural fluctuation of the beat [...]

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Step 1: Assembling the best takes of the Concerto recording into the best compilation possible. Basically, this involves cutting the takes up into the best performances of any given passage, then gluing them together into a seamless whole. The length of the segments varies greatly, [...]

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I’ve been involved in what I’ve called “Artist-Driven Technology” for several years. (Here’s a link to the earliest post, and here’s one to the whole category.) I’ve begun a project that is a perfect example of the technological process merging seamlessly with the artistic one, so I thought I’d document some [...]

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From the NY Times, this video profile of the new musician. No Boundaries. For that matter, an object lesson for those studying at a high-performing liberal arts school like the College of Wooster.

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This week’s Composers Forum at the College of Wooster will be equally divided between a presentation of JC’s Etude Fantasy for Piano and a general discussion of questions that students will have for him at the teleconference on Oct. 29.
Here are two youtubes of a fine performance of the piece:

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This week the College of Wooster’s Composers Forum will concentrate on John Corigliano’s orchestral work, Fantasia on an Ostinato.
This piece is an adaptation of the only ostinato that Beethoven wrote, the second movement of the Seventh Symphony. While the original ostinato only appears at the end of the piece, it’s structure is projected over the [...]

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This week’s Composers Forum at the College of Wooster concentrates on the music of the great Polish composer, Witold Lutoslawski, specifically the Concerto for Orchestra and the Livre pour Orchestre.  Use the comments section as an open thread to continue the discussion.
Here’s a nice performance of the Paganini Variations for Two Pianos

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