“Epic Duo” by Arlo Smith and Bruce Creason
SoundTrap piece
James Stewart: This is a piece called “Epic Duel” by Arlo Smith and Bruce Creason. The pair created this music last year as fifth graders at Champlain Elementary School in Burlington, Vermont.
I’m James Stewart and this is the student composer showcase. This month we’re featuring multiple works by this composing duo. Arlo and Bruce are now in sixth grade at Edmunds Middle School. They both play the alto saxophone, and both really enjoy listening to and creating music together.
So much of Bruce and Arlo’s love for composition is due to their elementary school music teacher, Betsy Greene. Greene teaches at Champlain Elementary School and runs a weekly “composers club” that encourages students to explore their creativity and to participate in Music-COMP. Music-COMP is Vermont’s premiere music composition mentoring program that pairs student composers with professional mentors to help them realize their musical ideas. Betsy Greene encouraged Arlo and Bruce last year, when they were in fifth grade to participate in the program.
Bruce Creason: We didn't know what we were gonna do coming into this. We started just by putting notes there, seeing if we like it, seeing this and that. But slowly, more and more we thought it sounded like skipping rocks, skipping over the lake or river.
James Stewart: After months of writing, meeting and reworking with their mentor Justin Rito, Bruce and Arlo’s piece was selected for Music-COMP’s Opus 38 concert. Back in April of 2024, the ensemble TURNmusic came to the Elley Long Music Center in Colchester to bring dozens of new works to life written by student composers from all across Vermont. TURNmusic is a professional performing arts organization dedicated to the creation and performance of new music. Let’s hear them perform the work that Arlo and Bruce prepared for the concert. Here are the composers to introduce their piece.
Arlo Smith: Hi, I'm Arlo and this is Bruce. We first named our piece “Opus 38.” But then we created our piece and we changed its name to “Skipping Rocks” because we thought the music sounded like skipping rocks over the water.
Bruce Creason: Arlo took the lead on this project because he did Music-COMP last year. In the beginning, I really didn't know much about Noteflight or any of the music materials we used to make it. And responding to our mentors. But as we composed our piece, I learned a lot from Arlo and our mentor, Justin. I have to thank him. And together Arlo and I grew as composers. Thank you to Music-COMP for this opportunity and special thanks to Ms Green for being a great music teacher and helping us on our piece. We hope you enjoy the peace.
"Skipping Rocks” by Arlo Smith and Bruce Creason
TURN music
Violins: Brooke Quiggins, Jane Kittredge
Viola: Elizabeth Reid
Cello: John Dunlop
Performed at Music-COMP’s Opus 38 concert, April 30, 2024 at The Elley Long Music Center, Colchester, Vermont.
Performance audio recorded by Tank Recording Studio.
The Student Composer Showcase is produced in collaboration with Music-COMP, the music composition mentoring program and Lake Champlain Access Television. The Music Composition Mentoring Program (Music-COMP) is a Vermont non-profit started in 1995 that teaches students in grades 3-12 how to compose original music. Students are paired with professional composers as mentors, and over 50 works are premiered each year with professional musicians.
Production support for the Student Composer Showcase is provided by Lake Champlain Access Television, a community media center serving eight towns in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties, providing a free forum for expression, and a link to local government and training. More at lcatv.org.
