Skyler Finlayson - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Skyler Finlayson

Music 1010Slide2

JENNIFER THOMASSlide3

VIOLINIST PIANIST COMPOSER

BIOGRAPHYSlide4

Jennifer started playing the violin

at the age of five She learned to play the violin by the Suzuki Method

At the age of seven

Jennifer was the only

second grade student in the sixth grade orchestra

VIOLINISTSlide5

The

piano stopped being the instrument she

had

to practice, and became the instrument she

wanted

to practice

.

pianist

Jennifer’s

love of the piano really began to bloom, overshadowing her love of the violin.

Twelve years old, she asked her mother to purchase the sheet music to Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2. Slide6

2003 Christmas season

“Old Movie Romance” “Prelude in F

.”

Dealing

with a baby who wouldn’t sleep for months on

end

The

Lullaby

Album

COMPOSERSlide7

2011

- Gold Medal of Excellence in Original Music in a Short Film Winner in the Park City Film Music

Festival

2012 -

WINNER

- Best Original Score - Hollywood Music in Media Awards

2012 -

WINNER

- Best Original Score - Hollywood Music in Media Awards

2012 -

WINNER

- Top Albums of 2012 - Piano Heaven UK

2012 -

WINNER

- Classical Crossover UK Top Female Artist of the Year

2012 -

WINNER

- Classical Crossover UK The Indie Award

2012 -

WINNER

- Album of the Year 2012 – Michael Debbage’s Top Albums of 20122013

- WINNER - IMC Awards - Album of the Year2013 - WINNER - IMC Awards - Artist of the Year

AWARDSSlide8

Composition history

“Four years in the making, Jennifer Thomas's latest CD, 'Illumination', is a work of art. Clearly a master of her craft, Jennifer has created an album that is simply superb from beginning to end.” Stephen

Cairns, Piano Heaven UK

“Illumination” is all about light, empowerment, and goodness.... The music and art in this album spans the time of one day - beginning with dreams and ending with the fiery sunset and the evening stars

.”

Jennifer ThomasSlide9

The

pair collaborated on all but 3 of Burton’s mastered and released films. Their works would become known as one of the industry's most recognizable partnerships. 

(

filmtracks.com)

Etude for the Dreamer

The inspiration for

this

song came from

Jennifer

looking out over an evergreen forest and the idea of it being covered, saturated with fog, this thought had a definite dream-like quality that she wanted to harness and convey through music. Slide10

The

pair collaborated on all but 3 of Burton’s mastered and released films. Their works would become known as one of the industry's most recognizable partnerships. 

(

filmtracks.com)

illumination

This track had

been created initially as a one-minute “audition” submission for a car-commercial. Because the car manufacturer’s advertisement agency did not select it for their

commercial, Jennifer was

able to retain her ownership of the piece and has expanded it, building it into a living, lively piece of art.Slide11

The

pair collaborated on all but 3 of Burton’s mastered and released films. Their works would become known as one of the industry's most recognizable partnerships. 

(

filmtracks.com)

ACROSS THE starlit sky

This is the only solo-piano piece released on the

Illumination

album. It’s mellower, much more toned down from Jennifer’s usual fiery piano music. The piece gets its name from the deep night sky that she could view out the large window as she sat at the piano.Slide12

LISTENING GUIDESlide13

Etude

for the Dreamer

0:00

The

music starts with the piano setting a pace that grabs attention. The music cycles through several notes, and then ascends briefly, making an arch as it comes back down.

0:07

As

the arch descends below where it started, we get the first beat of percussion which is a queue for the strings to start. The violins maintain a distant humming accompaniment, while the celli make occasional statements.

0:21

Percussion

becomes more involved, over the next

10-15

seconds what sounds like cymbals, or perhaps maracas, begin a slow crescendo reaching their loudest by about 0:35.

0:49

The

percussion cuts out altogether, as do the string, leaving the piano alone for about 7 seconds when the celli return.

0:57

The

celli return along with the rest of the string and percussion instruments.

1:02

The

music returns in earnest at this point, drawing the listener forward.Slide14

1:36

There

is a diminuendo, which feels like the piece is drawing to a close, but it’s a mislead.

2:03

The

mode changes from minor to major and the almost ominous feel of the piece becomes brighter, giving a sense of a new day dawning.

2:50

A

drum-roll signals a return to minor mode and the piece darkens for a while.

3:20

The

pace picks up again and we’re brought back into major mode as the piece approaches its ending.

3:50

All

the other instruments disappear one last time; allowing the piano to close the piece with two final, but strong notes.Slide15

Illumination

0:00 

Much

like Etude, Illumination starts with a few very quick notes on the piano.

0:02-0:10

The

violin(s) enter, hinting at their presence, but then they’re gone briefly, to return again, fully joining in with the piano by 0:10

0:16

Here

, a low chord is struck and allowed to fade before the melody comes back with a vengeance.

0:37

The

strong piano melody takes a break, and the violins take over, imitating the melody introduced at the beginning of the song by the piano.

0:47

A

crescendoing slide of the string instruments brings the strength of the melody back again, part of a pattern throughout the first half of the piece. The beat is now set by the piano, firmly.

1:05-1:07

A

pause in the music followed by the drums taking a turn, rumbling in the introduction to a new movement.

1:07

The

piano takes over the melody while maintaining the beat for about 10 seconds, without other instrument accompaniment.Slide16

1:18

The

violins return, mimicking the initial melody.

1:34-2:17

The

piano introduces a new melody, rich and full, in perfect harmony with the original melody still playing in the background by the strings.

2:17

The

piano and violins return to the original melody/accompaniment.

2:52

At

this point, there is a major key change, and the strings come in with a strong support to the piano’s melody. There is also a hint of brass in this movement.

3:13

Again

the arrangement returns to the original melody.

3:21

The

piano introduces a change back to minor, and it carries us through towards the end.

3:39

The

tempo slows considerably, letting us know we’re near the end.

3:50

The

piano brings us to a conclusion with a quick descent into the final closing statement.Slide17

0:00

This

song opens with a lento ascending form and a gentle progression.

0:16

The

melody changes very slightly for a moment, becoming more involved, before returning to the basic original melody.

0:36

The

evolution of the melody continues here, introducing a lovely upper-register melody that drives the movement.

1:15-1:24

The

upper-register piano takes a momentary break

1:41

A

more mature lower register tone joins the upper pitches bringing a soulfulness to the piece.

2:30

T

he

high notes begin telling the story again, drawing the listener along.

3:12

W

e’re

approaching the end, and the higher notes slow their pace, introducing us to the end.

3:28

T

he

notes start a progressive descent towards the end.

3:50

T

he

entire piece is wrapped up with the final few notes and a closing chord.

Across the Starlit SkySlide18

WORKS CITED

Thomas, Jennifer. Web log post. Musical Meanderings The Official Blog of Pianist and Composer Jennifer Thomas. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013

.

Cairns

, Scott. Rev. of

Illumination

, Jennifer Thomas.

Piano Heaven

August 2012. Web

.

Parsons, Kathy. Rev. of

Illumination

, Jennifer Thomas.

MainlyPiano.com

August 2012. Web.