The writing on the wall...

To write on the wall, is to leave yourself in a common place, in hopes of someday being found by someone else. - Unknown

This act, although communal in a sense, changes the way we perceive something.  Recently, an old college colleague of mine passed away do to health issues.  She has had these issues for awhile, but you never assume someone is going to be taken away from this Earth while so young.  She was full of energy and talent, and impacted me a lot more than she probably ever knew.

Now that she is gone, her Facebook wall has become a site of remembrance for her friends. In fact, it was because of her Facebook profile, that I knew she had passed.  I knew she was in the hospital, but it was when I started to see all of our common friends write on her wall, I was able to find out what happened.

 This act is, honestly, slightly disturbing.  Although I understand people's need to want to feel like they can still communicate to her, it isn't possible.  The best thing that can come from it is perhaps closure, and a window into her world for family that perhaps they didn't know about. It in a sense, has become a living wall to remember her by, and that is what makes it worthwhile. I am in no way saying that I don't wish for them to post to her wall, but it is a hard reminder that she is gone, and that is what hurts.

Tibby...You will be remembered.  Your fluting, your smiles, and your wit, are all part of the gracious memories of you that I have.  You are missed, and you will remain alive in those of you who you came into contact with and impacted.  Thank you for everything...

 (In memory of Christina Parks 1984-2011)

Too much!

Sometimes admitting that you have too much going on is the best thing for you to do so that you can realize what is most important.

I have been trying to juggle it all...and quite frankly, I can't.  I really love everything I'm doing, but I can't sustain what I am doing...so...as a result, I'm dropping one of my classes for this semester.

I'm dealing with too much. Work issues (getting ready to lose my job), personal health issues, car issues, and time commitment issues.  I am dropping my psychology class right now, because it is the class that I'm suffering in most, and realize that I would rather retake it at another time when I have less on my plate and and can focus more on studying for the class.

I really need to get the movie music done, so that I can have it done and not beating over my head.  I volunteered myself for the project, and I'm committed to making it work, so I'm not going to let go of it. I care too much about Camden, the project, and completing it that it is better to focus on that right now, as well as my math class.

I think this is the best course of action, and so what? I lose a few dollars. So what..I get a W on my transcript. I would MUCH rather have than and know that I can handle everything I have going on and do it well when I take the class again in the future. 

//end rant

Transformation and Awakening is getting performed!!!!

So it begins!!! My composition, Transformation and Awakening, written in 2010 is getting performed in Athens, GA in April.  Ihbflute (Lisa) and I have had a twitter connection now for about a year, possibly longer, and as soon as I announced this piece was complete, she was more than willing to work with me to get it performed. She is teaching it to four of her students and they seem very excited to be working on a piece composed by a composer that is alive.  It has been about 5 years since I have had a piece performed by live performers, and I'm VERY excited about working with Lisa on this and hearing about the progress as the piece gets worked on.  

As the performance updates become available, I will be posting the information here.  Lisa has been very supportive of me and my music, and has become a great contact to have when talking music and the power it has in the world we live in today. If the students are interested, I will be posting information about them here with their majors and goals. I'd like to highlight them as much as I can, to thank them for working on my piece!

A quick update!

A quick overview of what's going on:

School:

Registered, classes paid for, and classes start Jan 5th. I'm very excited!

Job:

I'm being laid off in April, due to outsourcing. I'm happy about getting ready to take the next step in my life, although I have no idea where my income will be coming from, and how much I'll be making to pay my bills while in school.

Movie:

Picture lock is almost here, and hopefully next week I will have the full film ready to be scored. The deadline is Nov 30th for submission for a film festival, but I will be able to work on it until I start school in January. After that I will be making small finishing touches on it until the 'red carpet' premiere in May.

iPhone game:

I have a list of compositions I need to do, and I'm very excited about this project. It looks like this will be a long term contract, and I'm happy to be working with such a great developer.

That's it for now!

Yes, I am still writing the choral piece and some other chamber music, but as of right now they are on hold for these two big projects. I'm really happy to have a Documentary and an iPhone app to be adding to my overall music resume and experience for my business.

-Kyle

Please check out the documentary at: Abandoned Allies
The iPhone app is being made by: Tantrum Apps

I am composing for Tantrum Apps!!

As of September, I have officially been on the team of Tantrum Apps for development of a new iPhone and iPad game geared towards education for kids. I have started composing for Lawrence, the develop for Tantrum Apps and also TriOut, and we hope that this partnership will remain strong as we work on this application together and hopefully others in the future.

Here is a small sample of the app that I'm composing for:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqK43hmrZxk]

You can check out more of my works at kyleowen.com and you can find Lawrence's work at TriOut and Tantrum Apps.

I'm very excited about this new venture for my composition and to have the opportunity to work with Lawrence on this and hopefully future apps!

-Kyle