MIDI Etude No. 1 - “Uplifted”

MIDI Etude No. 1 - “Uplifted” was originally conceived as an electroacoustic work for piano and fixed media with the intention that I would be the performer. Once I began to compose the work, I felt that I was limiting the possibilities of the music with my own limitations as a piano player. This inspired me to write an etude for an electronic medium that has much fewer limitations. The work exclusively features synthesized sounds triggered by MIDI information generated in Finale where the piece was initially composed. Once moved into Logic Pro, the second stage of composition took place. My aim was for the work to sound contrapuntally virtuosic, while still keeping the lines of music tame enough to create an aesthetically pleasing, albeit nerve-wracking, piece. One of my visions for the work was for the listener to view the unprocessed lines of music as part of the work’s performance. For this reason, a performance including the score-follower version of this piece is most appropriate.