Arnold Schoenberg.... the mere mention of the name strikes fear into the hearts of the audiences everywhere while conjuring up feelings of admiration among many composers. Though Schoenberg wrote in a variety of styles, he is probably best, if not notoriously, known for the development of the 12-tone system of composing where, in its purest form, each of the twelve chromatic tones are ordered in a specific way and used melodically and harmonically, before the first tone of the twelve is repeated again.

Prior to developing this system, however, Schoenberg continued in and expanded upon the styles of his immediate predecessors in Austria - Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, and Brahms. One of his best-known and most widely performed works is Transfigured Night, an early composition for string sextet/string orchestra, written when Schoenberg was 25.

Transfigured Night is romanticism at its best. Based on a story of love, tragedy and forgiveness, the work includes lush chromaticism; ever increasing waves of harmonic tension and release; and oodles of delicious, soupy violin writing in the extreme upper register.

Interestingly enough, my recording of Transfigured Night is paired with an equally wonderful piece from Schoenberg’s 12-tone period, his Variations for Orchestra. I’ve always been a fan of the Variations, so much so, that even after grad school was over, and no one would have cared, I spent several days one summer analyzing the rows upon which it was constructed.

But earlier this week, I had the good fortune of listening to these pieces back to back and, though they were constructed with completely different methods, I was struck by the similarities between the works. In fact, I heard some nearly identical melodic gestures in the strings that seemed to be imbued with the same romantic underpinnings and yearnings for something beyond this world. It made me begin wonder, was Schoenberg a romantic all along? ShareThis

As many of you know, I have a day job in the insurance business.  I'm officially called a Relationship Manager, which involves quite a bit of gregariousness.   It's important for me to develop good relationships with my customers, so they'll trust me, and honestly share what they really think.  So, often, I'll turn a two minute phone conversation into a fifteen minute one, asking them about their families or other things they may be passionate about.  Over time, we become friends. << MORE >>

One year ago today, I published the first version of www.ralphkendrick.com. I knew that having a website was important in terms of marketing, but I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of traffic and what level of interest the site would generate. I remember thinking at one point, if I receive 2,000 visits to the home page in the first year I’ll consider that a victory.

The first year results are in, and they are beyond my wildest expectations. I thought I’d share them with you as a ... << MORE >>

A few days ago, I had lunch with a family who was interested in having their son take composition lessons with me. His current teacher, who is also a friend of mine, will soon be going off to graduate school in another city.

During the lunch, I took some time to review a few of the young composer’s pieces. It was apparent that he was talented and had received some quality instruction.

“It’s pretty easy to find a piano teacher, but how did you go about finding a composition teacher?” I ... << MORE >>

Today I’m celebrating 13 years of working in the business world. I suppose I’m sort of an oddity, as far as composers go. Many teach at a University, or have day jobs much more closely associated with music or the arts. Me? Well, I work in IT for an insurance company.

While it would certainly be enjoyable to teach at a University, I’m thankful for the perspective and skills I've gained in the business world. Today, I thought I’d provide some off-the-cuff musings on some of the benefits, perspective, and learning experiences my time outside of the music industry has afforded me.
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Each year, the Iowa Choral Directors Association teams up with the Iowa Composers Forum to award a $1,000 commission to a composer for writing a new work for varied levels of choirs. In year 1, for example, the commission is awarded for a work for church choir, year 2 the work might be for a collegiate-level choir, in year 3 the work might be for an elementary-level choir, etc.

I’m very embarrassed to admit this, but I remember asking myself at one point, “Why are we awarding the same commission amount to someone for writing a piece for an elementary-level school choir?"... << MORE >>

One of the things I enjoyed about my composition studies with Martin Jenni, was how openly he shared his music with me and the comments he made as we listened through the various sections of his pieces.  During one of my lessons, as we listened to an early orchestra work of his, he said, "I allowed myself a harp glissando in this section."  I found that to be a very interesting comment, and it was one of those things that stuck with me, and grew in meaning as I became a more 'seasoned composer'. << MORE >>

It's a very exciting time for my professional composing career, as a few weeks ago, I received copies of a new CD featuring a professionally recorded performance of my solo clarinet work, Three Turns of the Wind.  Clarence Padilla, a clarinetist with the Des Moines Symphony and a Professor of Music at Drake College, recorded the work and included it on his CD titled With the Wind.

As I removed the first CD from its wrapper, I enjoyed looking at how professionally it was packaged, with fancy printing on a green insert, and a picture of a ... << MORE >>

When I write grant applications for the Iowa Composers Forum, I spend a lot of time making the argument that arts events greatly enrich a community’s quality of life.

There are studies showing that the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s are greatly diminished in certain nursing home patients for several days after they visit an art exhibit. Research has also shown that positive experiences help reduce stress, our perception of pain, and can even help the body heal. I argue that music concerts provide a temporary, and much needed balm for those suffering from chronic physical ... << MORE >>

My Grandpa Kendrick used to say, "The wishbone is a lot stonger than the backbone." Isn't that a timeless nugget of wisdom? It's so much easier to complain and to wish "things weren't the way they were" then to actually do something to change things for the better.

I was reminded of Grandpa this weekend, reading a blog lamenting the state new music finds itself in. The author was very clear at identifying the problems, and also did a great job "wishing those problems didn't exist." 

Frankly, I've just grown tired of this ... << MORE >>