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To Boldly Go (Star Trek reference)

Paul T McGraw

Senior Member
It has been about 9 or 10 months since I started work on "A Summer Symphony." Finally, the composition and an acceptable (to me) midi-performance are finished. So now here is the final movement, which is all about the end of boyhood and embarking on the adventure that is adulthood!

"A Summer Symphony" – Fond memories of summer days of youth and coming of age in the 1960s.

Mvt. IV – To Boldly Go– "Star Trek"
captured our imagination in 1966, the year I turned 13. It was a year of transition from boyhood toward becoming a young adult. The summer of my childhood ended, which seems sad in retrospect; but it also marked the beginning of new adventures and new personal frontiers to explore and experience. It was a time “to boldly go” where every man has gone before.​

Hopefully, you will like this, but please comment, even if negative.

VIs used:
  • Woodwinds - VSL (using MIR Pro Teldex)
  • Brass - Berlin Brass
  • Percussion - VSL (using MIR Pro Teldex)
  • Strings - VSL Synchron Strings and Spitfire Symphonic Strings mixed 50/50

 

Attachments

  • To Boldly Go (score) - Full Score.pdf
    473.1 KB · Views: 9
Hi Paul, as a fellow Star Trek fan, I appreciated your take on this very much.

The entire piece felt like one large 'end credits' type sequence - with Star Trek vibe across the board. I particularly liked the adagio / cello moment around 2:20. Definitely reminded me of the Goldsmith / Horner vibe.

I think a piece like this would be really nice performed live. Maybe one day you will have that opportunity. If so, I hope you get a good recording. :)

Cheers
 
Paul, I'd like, first of all, to congratulate you for finishing your "Summer Symphony". It seems to me that this was a labour of love and a very personal statement from you and this honesty cannot but move me and take me along for the journey. I'm planning to listen to all four movements consecutively one of these days to appreciate more the flow and the structure but for this movement in particular, I have to say that it stands in the tradition of grand final movements i.e. epic, emotional, bold(;)) and dynamic and I really enjoyed it. The climax in 6:12 was pure goosebumbs!! One small thing I noticed are some peaks in the violins like those in 0:51 and 0:55 which seem to me like the staccato articulation had a very strong attack louder than the sustain articulation that follows. Maybe some volume automation could be applied? Congatulations again and I hope that there will be more symphonies from you.:)
 
Hi Paul, as a fellow Star Trek fan, I appreciated your take on this very much.

The entire piece felt like one large 'end credits' type sequence - with Star Trek vibe across the board. I particularly liked the adagio / cello moment around 2:20. Definitely reminded me of the Goldsmith / Horner vibe.

I think a piece like this would be really nice performed live. Maybe one day you will have that opportunity. If so, I hope you get a good recording. :)

Cheers

A very BIG thank you! I would love so much to hear a live performance! You nailed it that I was trying to do homage to both Goldsmith and Horner, without EXACTLY quoting either, except in the very beginning.
 
Paul, I'd like, first of all, to congratulate you for finishing your "Summer Symphony". It seems to me that this was a labour of love and a very personal statement from you and this honesty cannot but move me and take me along for the journey. I'm planning to listen to all four movements consecutively one of these days to appreciate more the flow and the structure but for this movement in particular, I have to say that it stands in the tradition of grand final movements i.e. epic, emotional, bold(;)) and dynamic and I really enjoyed it. The climax in 6:12 was pure goosebumbs!! One small thing I noticed are some peaks in the violins like those in 0:51 and 0:55 which seem to me like the staccato articulation had a very strong attack louder than the sustain articulation that follows. Maybe some volume automation could be applied? Congatulations again and I hope that there will be more symphonies from you.:)

It is so wonderful to get feedback like this. It is so hard to describe how much intelligent feedback can mean to a composer. I worked and worked and worked on the final climax at 6:12. How could I make it even bigger, even more dramatic, when I felt that I had already pulled out all the stops? I had even used a dramatic V/V to I6/4 to V7 to I perfect authentic cadence in the previous little segment, so what was left to be said? But of course, there was just a little bit more to be squeezed out of the material, leading to the final climax at 6:12.

I struggled with whether I should end the piece at that point but finally decided that a bit of cautious optimism mixed with a little sadness, was a more accurate picture of coming of age for most of us than a bombastic triumph.

Thank you for the alerts about the violins. After so many, many hours into a project, it is difficult to hear with fresh ears. I will see if I can fix both of those places.

Blessings to you, you made my day!
 
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