Usually, I first record a lot of ideas on my computer, into Logic. Piano is my instrument, so my composition process starts with improvising on the piano or a keyboard. I think he’s the greatest improviser of all time and his tone is incredible. In the past ten years or so, a lot of my music has been influenced by film score, and some of the greatest composers today are writing music for film, such as Dario Marianelli, Alexandre Desplat, James Newton Howard, and Howard Shore.
As a pianist, Keith Jarrett is definitely my greatest influence. I’m especially inspired by the improvisational artists, such as film composer Thomas Newman, jazz musicians Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, glass artist Dale Chihuly and architect Frank Gehry. The combination of choir and orchestra or string orchestra is one of my absolute favorite sound worlds. It’s also a great starting point as a composer because it teaches good voice leading and other foundational aspects of composition.
My first composition teacher, Wolfgang Plagge, is an excellent choral composer, and choral music is such a natural and organic place to begin as a composer because you’re writing for the human voice. When I was growing up, my parents were always listening to a variety of music in the house, including choral music, so it’s always been a part of my life. I never had a moment in which I decided to become a composer though it was something I had been so passionate about from a young age, and I never thought of doing anything else. I didn’t read music until later on because I just wanted to do keep improvising and creating things. As a child, I had a pretty good ear and was fairly quickly able to hear which notes worked together and which ones didn’t. I started playing piano and improvising when I was about five years old. His wind band works are published by Boosey & Hawkes.įor more information, please visit or find Ola on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His choral and piano works are published by Walton Music and include titles such as the Sunrise Mass, Northern Lights, Ubi Caritas, Tundra, and Ave Generosa. Ola’s recordings include the Decca Classics albums Ola Gjeilo (2016) and Winter Songs (2017), featuring Tenebrae, Voces8, and the Choir of Royal Holloway. Please visit or for more information and links to purchase tickets.Composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo was born in Norway in 1978 and moved to the United States in 2001 to begin his composition studies at the Juilliard School in New York City, where he currently resides. Tickets for the concert are $20 for general admission and $50 for reserved seating and can be purchased at:
Other works to be performed include, Festive Overture for Wind Symphony, by Dmitri Shostakovich Meridian by Ola Gjeilo for Chorus and Wind Symphony, and Hallelujah (from Christ on the Mount of Olives) by Ludwing von Beethoven. Syler also teaches composition at the University of the Incarnate Word and is on the music faculty of San Antonio College. Syler has been on the adjunct faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio since 2001 and teaches private composition lessons and Orchestration. Paul, MN the 1993 National Band Association Composition Award two grants from the American Music Center in New York the 1993 Arnald Gabriel Composition Award and more than 20 commissions to date. He has studied privately with composers Alfred Reed, Karl Korte and Pulitzer prizewinner Michael Colgrass.Īwards include a 2002 commission from the American Composers Forum in New York to compose String Quartet No. Syler received a Bachelor of Music degree from Northern Illinois University in 1983 and a Master of Music degree from the University of Miami in 1988. In 1991 he continued his studies at the University of Texas at Austin. We will be featuring three works by acclaimed composer, James Syler, The Temptation of St Anthony (For Wind Symphony and Chorus), Dear Sarah (for Chorus) and Hocus Pocus (for Wind Symphony). John Silantien, to be held in the sanctuary at Trinity Baptist Church on 319 E. We are very pleased to announce our next concert will be a collaborative endeavor with the San Antonio Mastersingers, directed by Dr. This season, the San Antonio Wind Symphony will present music with ties to the diverse culture of San Antonio, and celebrating our city's 300th Anniversary!