Composition and Arranging

There are times when words fail me and I can find expression only through the language of music. Liberated from the constraints of words, sound alone can describe aspects of human experience that language can only suggest. Recording technology has evolved to a point where an individual composer can manipulate sound much like a painter working with color and line on canvas. It’s a process that is continually inspiring to me, whether working on my own compositions or helping to bring a new dimension to someone else’s. As I mentioned in my Full Bio, I was early on attracted to the work of arrangers “behind the scenes” like Paul Buckmaster and George Martin and I enjoy working in that capacity whenever I get the chance.

Here below is a listing of some pieces I’ve written and arrangements I’ve done. A few of these (as denoted by asterisks) can be found on the Audio page and I’ll be adding more soon.

Instrumental Compositions

Acceptance - For String Quartet, Guitar & Percussion

Gamelan Concerto – commissioned for and performed by Gamelan Si Berkley

Ego Ballet – Samples, Begging Bowls, Guitar, Fretless Bass

Endless Gift – for Gamelan

Fumiko’s Passage – Samples, Begging Bowls, Trumpet, Clarinet, Upright Bass

Empathy* – Samples, Trumpet, Guitar & Fretless Bass

Dinner Music – for Electric Bass and Plumbing Fixtures

Conniving Bastards – Samples and Electric Bass

Ketawang Lou – for Gamelan

Gai-jin – Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keys, Flute

Arranging and Music Direction

Client: Rob Lamothe

   “Brave Enough”* for 20 piece String Orchestra

   “Stay”* for String Quartet

Client: Gene Wang – 3 pieces by Ennio Morricone:
   “First Youth” for String Quartet, Flute & Piano
   “Tornare e come morire” for String Quartet, Flute & Harpsichord
   “Legami” for String Quartet, Flute & Piano
Client: William Russ
   “A Song For You”* band arr. for album Force of Will
Client: Paul Lizewski/Pure Music
   “I Wanna Be Where You Are” for String Quartet w Piano accompaniment
   “On This Day” for String Quartet w Piano accompaniment
Client: Hopkins Productions
   Numerous arrangements of popular songs for 10 piece band w horn section.

Client: CreativityUSA/KidDesigns

Transcription, Arranging & Music Direction for the interactive videogame, “American Idol Talent Challenge”.

Client: Clint Eastwood/ATT Celebrity Pro Am
   In my capacity as MD for the Bill Hopkins Band, from 2001 to the present I    have been Music Director and Arranger for the Celebrity Charity Concerts    featuring Huey Lewis, Glen Frey and many other celebrities who participate in    the event each year.

Transcription/Music Copyist

Phantom Roc Publishing

Creativity USA

KidDesigns

Pure Music

Hopkins Productions

Bruce Kaphan

Victor Krumenacher

Chris Miller

STUDIO TOOLS

My studio/workstation has expanded and contracted over time. At this point it’s pretty lean - I’ve trimmed it down to the basics and arrived at a system that allows me to work fairly efficiently, keeping my focus on the creative end of things while keeping technical challenges to a minimum. The bulk of my arranging/recording work is done using a software combination of Pro Tools, Reason and Finale. In my modest studio space I generally track no more than two or three audio tracks at a time.

When I get to the point in a project where I’m ready to go to the next level (more simultaneous tracks. live drums, a bigger space, an objective pair of ears…) I’ll book time in Bruce Kaphan’s Niagara Studios in Fremont. Bruce is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist and recordist, a genuinely nice guy with a set of “golden ears”… and he makes a mean cup of coffee too!

My current Studio setup: