Rita Veneziale
Welcome to My Recital
I'm so glad you're here. Below is the concert order and program notes.
If you're joining us through live stream, click here.
*premiere
Musicbox
The musicbox is a small trinket. For some, they sit on a shelf and collect dust. For others, they hold items and..well more dust. But for me, this musicbox collects memories. An item full of nostalgia and peace. My musicbox sings a tune of love and stories.
I'd like to dedicate this piece to my parents; for giving me my box to collect memories and write my music.
*Floating Through Space
Originally, Floating Through Space started as a solo piano piece. Well, more of an exercise. I was trying to push my boundaries with harmony. With further development (and by that, I mean a melody), I had this John Williams-inspired, cinematic saxophone solo.
String Quartet No. 1
I. Wandering
II. Dance of the Woodland Creatures*
My String Quartet No. 1 is a milestone for my compositional development. I had made it a point to challenge myself in a different way for each movement. The first, Wandering, was an exploration of harmony that turned into a slow, emotional, mono-thematic piece. The motive moves in and out of different keys while weaving between the voices of the quartet, portraying a winding trail through a dimly lit forest. The second movement is more lighthearted. A vision of animals in a spirited dance that moves seamlessly through different meters.
Epic
This scene is taken from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier directed by William Shatner. I completed this score as a part of the application materials for a graduate program. Though semi-stressful task, I liked how this soundtrack came out and enjoyed the process. Since the film is atmospheric in its visuals, I got to create a more lively piece of music without stepping on the toes of the scene.
Outdrawn
This summer I entered the Indie Film Music Contest for the first time. I loved having the experience in this competition. It provided great quality films that were fun to work on and gave decent feedback after the judging concluded. Outdrawn was one of the animated film options for the young composers' division. Created by Eric Cruzio, this short shows a drawing mannequin taking over the artist's work and creating his own portrait. I accompanied this film with some silly and eccentric music to convey the tiny drawer's personality.
Bridgerton - Scene Rescore
As a part of one of the many Spitfire Scoring Competitions, this scene from Bridgerton was a blast to work on. I completed 2 scores for this film. The first was aimed at creating music appropriate for the time period. I finished that version rather early in the competition. So instead of submitting it, I decided to take a second shot at it and vary my stylistic approach. That is the version I entered into the competition. I think it captured the emotional content of the scene and supported the conversation better than my initial idea.
Stargirl - Scene Rescore
Stargirl was my first entry into a Spitfire Scoring Competition. I love writing for action films and this was my first real exposure to this genre. I tried to create distinct themes for the characters as if I were scoring the entire series.
This score is a few years old now, but I still consider it one of my best. It made me fall in love with film scoring and decide this was the career for me.
Snowman
Snowman is an animated super short film (no really, that's what it's called) by Diane Catsburrow Linnet. This cute and humorous story shows a little girl and her brother building a snowman, only the proportions are not quite right. The snowman takes matters into his own hands to adjust the size of his head and well...you'll see.
To match the simplicity of the story, I used a piano quintet instrumentation. I wanted to keep the score light and innocent to match the childlike film. We got to perform this score live for the film in 2022, a first for Nazareth's campus. It was an amazing learning experience for us performers and a new, enjoyable experience for the audience. I hope to do many more of these kind of performances in the future.
February
February is the first piece I wrote for Big Bang, and also my first jazz composition. It was premiered last Spring in a composition recital. Some of the performers from that concert joined me tonight to play it again. The piece is entitled February because...well, that's the month I started writing it. And I have the iPhone footage to prove it!
*Without You
Without You was written in my contemporary commercial music class. I working on it while simultaneously writing February (you can say I'm a pretty good multitasker). I was in the zone for writing jazz. And the instrumental came along easily. But I had no experience writing original lyrics. Thankfully I had the support of the other songwriters in that room; Nate DeRado, Logan Beerman, Dylan Johnson, Andy Latona, and Prof. Dave Drago.
*Rolling Highway
Our final piece for you is one of my favorites. I started it initially to work in a film, but it ended up not fitting the scene. But I didn't abandon it because I loved how it had I wrote this piece specifically to end the recital, so I knew it had to be a loud and fun crowd-pleaser. I wanted to take a simple idea and make it engaging with different accents and accompaniment.
To all my performers...
Thank you. This would not have been at all possible without the support and dedication of each of you. I am eternally grateful that I was able to spend the last four years surrounded by such talented and hard-working musicians. And I feel so loved sharing this stage with you tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you. ❤️
Thank you
Dr. Octavio Vazquez
Prof. Harry Stafylakis
Dr. Diana Rosenblum
Dr. Gary Fisher
Prof. Brad Batz
Dr. William Hudson
Bernadette Rall
Spencer King
Kyan Cheung (audio)
Paul H. Gaston (video)
Andrey Lubimtsev
Mom & Dad
Jake Coburn
Upcoming Events
I invite you all to my senior piano recital next week. It will be in Wilmot Recital Hall on Friday, April 19 at 5:30 pm. I will be playing works by Bach, Schubert, Poulenc, Bartok, Ligeti, and of course, myself. I hope you can join me for another recital.
At the end of the month, the Nazareth University composition studio will be giving two studio recitals. Our first will be in Wilmot Recital Hall on Friday, April 26 at 4 pm, and our second will be in Beston Hall on Saturday, April 27 at 4 pm. Saturday's performance will feature the Larsen-Choi duo. I'd like to invite you to see me and my classmates showcase new works in a combined concert. (receptions to follow)
