Album Notes

BRIAN WILBUR GRUNDSTROM’S compositions for film, orchestra, chorus, piano, quintet and other ensembles demonstrate an innovative use of harmony and melody, which although firmly rooted in the tonal tradition is entirely new. Audiences take to his compositions immediately, finding in his compositions traces of Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill and Samuel Barber.

Classically trained in piano as well as music theory from Gettysburg College, he has continued orchestration and composition studies with John David Earnest. His awards include Encore from American Composers Forum, Composers Assistance Program from the American Music Center and ASCAPLUS from ASCAP. He has twice been a grant recipient from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

A member of ASCAP, Brian attended the prestigious ASCAP/NYU Buddy Baker Film Music Workshop. He has completed music for 15 films. Robert Gaston’s sexy thriller 2 Minutes Later is being released by TLA, and Deconfliction by Edward Tyndall has made it into the Tribeca Film Festival. His studio includes the latest in technologies, including Vienna Symphonic Library, and he is able to render his orchestral compositions at high professional standards.

His music has been performed by SONOS Chamber Orchestra, Shippensburg Festival Orchestra, Trinity Chamber Orchestra, George Washington University Orchestra, NIH Philharmonia, Holyoke Civic Symphony, Colla Voce and The New Jersey Gay Men’s Chorus, as well as on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.

SONOS Chamber Orchestra Director Erik E. Ochsner writes “Many audiences cringe at the thought of new music. We had such positive feedback from audiences on how much they enjoyed Grundstrom's work. It is modern, yet tonal.”

"It was a joy to work with Brian on my last two projects. His dedication to the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the creative process greatly increased the dramatic complexity of my films. Brian has an amazing talent for composing cinematic scores. I look forward to working with him on our next film." -Edward Tyndall Writer-Director, Mobius Films

He is represented by Jeffrey James Arts Consulting, and his compositions can be heard at www.brianwilbur.com.

FUGUE SERIES is a silent movie come to life. The play is an ensemble mime piece set to an original score and takes place in an art museum over the course of a day. The cast creates a quick change soufflé of people and personalities whose interweaving storylines become a visual fugue as they visit a museum gallery to view three interrelated paintings. The aging artist’s model wanting to share her past acclaim with her adult daughter…the snooty critic, the chattering matrons, the uncomprehending tourists, the put-upon docent, the lovers…become their own living pictures at an exhibition, set to the music that only we, the audience, hears.

Written by Robert Barnett and directed by Ed Wierzbicki, the New Zenith Theatre world premiere of "Fugue Series" was part of the New York International Fringe Festival.

APPROACH TO TONALITY
With so much of our collective musical experience being tonal, I believe it is important to use tonality in order to communicate effectively. However, because it is ever present there exists a challenge to maintain interest: as composers we must write within the confines of the possible yet not completely inside of the expected. Being creative with tonality is therefore essential in creating music that is not only understood, but also engaging.