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“The people at Ravel Virtual Studios simply could not have been nicer... Throughout the process, they kept in touch with me, asking for and responding to my opinions. Every detail, both musical and otherwise... was of the highest quality. I can’t wait to work with them again in the future.”

Alec Schumacker
Composer

Spotlight - The Elements

Conductor and composer Alec Schumacker’s Piano Concerto No. 1: The Elements is an intriguing musical exploration on the theme of the classical elements, which Ravel Virtual Studios had the pleasure of performing. In Alec’s own words:

The division of the power of nature into separate elements is prevalent in many cultures. The ancient Greeks, Indians, and many other cultures all conceived of four basic elements: earth, water, fire, and air.

Piano Concerto No. 1: The Elements is divided into four movements:

  1. Earth - Metal
  2. Water - Ice
  3. Fire - Lightning
  4. Air - Tornado

Each movement of the work seeks to portray an element and one of its “perversions”—a form of that element that has been altered by man or by nature. The same musical motive (a group of three parallel fourths) is used to represent each of the basic elements, and that motive has been altered in different ways to depict the perversions.

Each movement also makes literal use of its element: log drums, timpani coated in metal coins, metal chains, an anvil, crystal glasses filled with water, thunder sheets, breath noises, a siren, and wind chimes all represent their respective elements.

Alec has been kind enough to allow us to offer an excerpt of the Movement IV of The Elements, “Air - Tornado”, for your listening pleasure. Please enjoy!





About Alec Schumacker

Alec SchumackerAlec Schumacker is presently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami, where he studies with Dr. Joshua Habermann and Dr. Donald Oglesby. He also holds a Master’s degree in Choral Conducing from the University of Miami. He graduated Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Music from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he studied with Dr. David Kechley and Dr. Bradley Wells and completed an honors thesis in composition. He has completed conducting classes and workshops with William Weinert, Paul Head, and Ronald Feldman, and has conducted in such venues as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

An active composer, Alec won the Robert G. Barrow Memorial Prize for Composition in 2008 for his orchestral and choral piece, Mass on American Poets. His choral music is published by Alliance Music Publications. He also works as an arranger and editor, and has produced arrangements and performing editions for the New World Symphony, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the University of Miami Frost Chorale, and the Williams College Chamber Choir.

In 2010, Alec began working with the Miami Choral Academy, a non-profit after school choral and music education program. He presently serves as the staff conductor at Lorah Park Elementary School.