evanwilliamson-blog

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Recently, I was fortunate enough to go back to Artechouse and check out their latest exhibit, Sakura Yume, or “Cherry Blossom Dream”. The exhibit was breathtaking. This close up is just a taste of the vibrant, surreal display. Something I found particularly enticing about it was that it is an interactive exhibit, in that it changes and reacts based on your movement -- I have hardly seen anything like it. Looking forward to going back soon!

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CPSA250 Learning Agreement

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This is the website I left on display at Arts Fest and the Academic Showcase. It’s amazing how easy it is to set up a free site nowadays.

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THE PERFORMANCE! The UMD Jazz Big Band Finale Concert. Check it out!

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My display at the academic showcase:

-The piece’s original score, alongside the score for my arrangement.

-My tri-fold poster, detailing some of the ways I turned classical music into jazz.

-My laptop + headphones with the website I made, linking to the audio for the original piece and a video of my arrangement’s performance.

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CSPA250: Final Reflection

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My final advising report

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My 2nd Advising Report

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My 1st Advising Report

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This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a production put on by the Maryland Shakespeare Players. This was my second time getting to see one of their performances and it was certainly my favorite. The play, which they chose to set in 1920s America, was quite well done. The acting, costumes, and staging were all superbly executed, and most importantly, the play was hilarious. I look forward to seeing them perform Macbeth in the fall!

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We rehearsed the piece, and I got a decent recording of it. This will help me figure out what I need to rework in the editing stage.

(Recorded on Monday, April 2nd, 2018)

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I finished the first round of editing parts! The piece is ready for Rehearsal.

(Completed on Wednesday, March 28, 2018)

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I finished the first draft of the score!! 

(Completed on Monday, March 26, 2018)

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Last Friday, I saw the horror/thriller movie The Strangers: Prey at Night, the sequel to the original Strangers. I’m generally not a huge fan of horror movies, but I figured I’d try to expand my horizons by going to see this one with some friends. Unfortunately I wasn’t particularly fond of the film, as it was devoid of all plot and had little in the way of character development (there are three psychopaths trying to murder a family in an abandoned trailer park, that’s it). Aside from being sufficiently scary, it has no real redeeming qualities in my view. Although I don’t watch much in the way of horror/thriller films, I think movies like Get Out are far more entertaining, as they pay careful attention to character and plot development, instead of solely trying to scare the audience.

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My Experience with CRP Feedback

I felt that it was surprisingly easy to give feedback to Ryan Synk about his project. He had sent me a few audio files of different parts of his song, and I found that there was a lot of material to work with and started brainstorming some different ways he could go about writing it. I felt comfortable telling him when I thought a certain aspect of his project was lacking and managed to provide alternatives and was happy that I could praise him for a lot of his hard work.

My experience receiving feedback was similarly enjoyable. He gave me some helpful criticism, particularly on things which I myself was feeling so-so about. However, I think it was a bit harder for him to give me advice because my project is only in the form of a musical score, so it’s much more difficult to quickly evaluate certain parts of it, especially the more technical aspects of harmony and voice leading. Overall though, I think it helped me more clearly envision my next steps and how the revision process will go. And conveniently we are roommates, so we plan on looking over one another’s pieces again further down the road!

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I’ve been diving deeper and deeper into this book over the past few weeks. It’s quite dense, and much of it is over my head. Frankly, it has been a struggle to try and understand it, but that’s just a part of the process. I’m certain though that it will be really helpful with tackling a lot of specific aspects of this project, and what I learn from it will be very applicable in further arranging and orchestrating endeavors.

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Last night I went to see bassist Linda May Han Oh perform at Milkboy Arthouse. The album “Alcanza” is one of my favorites of 2017. This beautiful and frankly mad piece was written by one of her friends, Fabian Almazan, and I believe she played bass on this record. This is one of those tunes that really inspires me and makes me reflect on what I value and look for in a composition.