Profile:Matthew Becker
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Matthew Becker is a Canadian composer, mostly self-taught, who began to show an interest in writing music during his teenage years. He first composed a piece at the age of sixteen, and since then has dedicated his studies in the field of theory, harmony and composition. He mostly composes for small ensembles, but also contains works for larger settings, such as the full orchestra. Currently, his is completing a Masters degree in composition at the University of Saskatchewan (located in Saskatoon).
Contents
Personal Contact Information
Known as Matthew Becker on the forum, he can be reached here if you wish to contact him via the community. To contact him via email, his email address is contact@matthewbecker.ca. To listen to samples of his compositions, you may visit his website here: Matthew Becker
Compositions
Styles
Works are heavily influenced by Neoromanticism, with long and dramatic melodies, shifting in and out of keys. Enjoyed using big, dramatic chords, and strong cadences. Earlier works contained a lot of upbeat, high-tempo music, whereas more current compositions are slower and deeper. More recent works, while atonal in nature, still contain a romantic influence due to melodic gesturing, and overall flow of the work. They can also be called minimalist and progressive, as these works contain one or two small melodic ideas which are greatly expanded through progression.
The process of composition usually involves sketching out different ideas - in free form - on manuscript paper. The work is then scored in notation software.
Influences
Major influences include, but are not limited to:
- Johannes Brahms;
- Elliot Carter;
- Frédéric François Chopin;
- Michael Cretu;
- Gustav Holst;
- Franz Liszt;
- Igor Stravinsky;
- Anton Weber;
- Ralph Vaughan Williams;
- Hans Zimmer
Large Projects
These projects consist of artistic works to which music has been set:
- Starborne (2010) - A non-thesis work was performed at the Bela Bartók Festival in Szombathely, Hungary in July 2010.
- Glass-stained Forest (2008) - A debut album which consists of digital recordings. The album contains 11 separate tracks, and is just over 40 minutes long. Soon to be distributed through many digital retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and much more.
- Tetra Master (tentative title; 2008) - A computer card game based on the popular mini-game from Final Fantasy IX.
- Aramu (2006) - Web comic project for which three pieces were composed. The project is discontinued.
Individual Pieces
More than 45 individual pieces have been completed since 2000 including:
- Over 30 pieces written for a modest ensemble of six instruments or less (including duets, trios, quartets);
- Nine solo piano pieces, one in multiple movements;
- Six works for moderately large instrumentation, one of which includes a full orchestra
