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Now Playing... "Valses nobles et sentimentales" (Noble and Sentimental Waltzes) by Maurice Ravel
(requires RealPlayer or Windows Media Player)
Modéré
Assez lent
Modéré
Assez animé
Presque lent
Assez vif
Moins vif
Epilogue
The music will be played by a 'plug-in' launched by your browser)
(For more information Click here)
This is an excellent site for shareware programs.
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The shareware/freeware I have out at the moment falls into two categories:
Note: Midi File Creator (16 bit), Midi Synthi Player, MidiPiano Player, Midi File Analyzer (16 bit), and Conversions will run in Windows 95/98 and higher as well as Windows 3.1
This is another excellent site for shareware programs.Midi Synthi Player can also be found on Shareware Music Machine, the World's Biggest Music Software Site
Music ScoresMost of my music scores, and some tapes are available at the Canadian Music Centre.
Most of my music there was written between 1957 and 1974, and includes orchestral music, band music, chamber music, as well as some piano and vocal music, and an opera. In some instances, both the score and parts are there, and where the parts may be missing, I can probably provide them. Some of the music was intended for performers at the student level, and some of it is quite difficult.
Some of my compositions:
An excellent source for classical Midi files on the Web is the Classical Music Archives. My midi files at this site can be found under Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Handel, Holst, Ravel, Sinding, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, and Sirulnikoff (Inspirations & Aspirations).Other excellent sites for all things Midi are Midiworld and The Classical Midi Connection.
MP3 Files
Click here to hear some of the above files converted to MP3 format. This preserves the intended sound, and is not dependant on the listener's equipment.
The Mechanics of MusicOne of the courses I taught Music Specialists at the Nova Scotia Teachers College was Music Theory (which included Harmony, Arranging etc.). I found that although there was a tremendous amount of talent among my students, they were frequently deficient in music theory. What I tried to do was devise a course that provided the background they needed, but was practical, and not too academic. It was also designed to utilize the musical resources available - voices, recorders, autoharp, wind instruments etc. Eventually, the course evolved into a book The Mechanics of Music. I submitted it to a few publishers, and one large publisher was about to undertake its publication, but then Head Office decided it could not undertake another Music Theory project at that time. However, I did receive some very favourable and useful reviewsClick here for Page 1 Click here for Page 2. Although the book was completed in 1970, I think that it is basically still relevant, and after sorting out some of the technical problems in doing so, I am making it available on the internet. It will take some time to get the whole thing on, but I will be putting it on gradually. It is available to anyone interested in using it, whether for personal study, or for teaching purposes. However, the material is copyrighted, and it is NOT available for any commercial purpose. Click here to read the book.
IndexMy Biography
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on December 11, 1931. I received a Bachelor of Music (composition) degree from McGill University in 1956. After that, I taught privately, and in a private school, I did a little playing (clarinet and saxophone), I managed to sell a little stock music to the National Film Board, I wrote arrangements for a television series out of Winnipeg (for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra), and a few other odds and ends.
In 1958, I was fortunate in being able to acquire a Teaching Fellowship at Bennington College in Vermont. My primary job was to accompany Modern Dance classes by improvising on the piano. It also involved playing the clarinet, copying music etc. This was a two year program that led to a Master of Arts in Music Composition. The atmosphere was very conducive to creative work there, particularly since practically everything one wrote was performed, at least in workshop. I wrote quite a bit of music there, and capped it off with a one-act opera This Evening;. I spent the following year in the Theatre Department of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, where I played for dance classes, wrote some music for theatrical productions, and taught clarinet privately.
I freelanced for a year after Bennington and Smith, and then decided to go into teaching. I taught instrumental music and English in high schools in Ontario for four years, and then taught music theory, music history, instrumental music, and classroom music at the Nova Scotia Teachers College in Truro, Nova Scotia, over a period of eight years. During this period, I wrote some band music, other music for students, and a music theory textbook, The Mechanics of Music (unpublished).
In 1975, I decided to move back to Toronto, and change careers. I took a six month programming course at Control Data, and worked for seventeen years first with Minicomputers, and later with Microcomputers, as a Programmer Analyst writing business systems using Business Basic. I designed and programmed Accounting, Job Costing, Bill of Materials, Rental Management, Distribution, Retail etc. systems, and worked for a number of years developing the system for the Ontario New Home Warranty Program. Eventually, health problems emerged, and I was forced at first to reduce my workload to part-time, and finally to quit work altogether.
I am now retired, but keep busy mainly with computers and music.
Some Travel PhotosOver the years, I've travelled somewhat, not a huge amount by today's standards, but I've taken some photos, that I thought weren't too bad, and which I would like to share here.
(Click on the photos to enlarge them.).