Spetzomusic.com - The personal and professional page of David Ralston

RECENT UPDATES - 'The Metamorphosis' is done... samples are up in the "samples" section - RECENT UPDATES - Check out my pics in the 'galleries' section...

Contact Info

Address:
David Ralston
c/o Rice University Math Department MS 136
6100 S Main St
Houston, TX 77005

email: spetzo@hotmail.com
(I have an email address from this site, but I do not publicize it; webcrawling bots will find it, and I like to keep my Spetzomusic account as spam-free as I can)

And hey, for all those benevolent, generous do-gooders out there, here's my Amazon Wishlist.

Education

High School Diploma, The Branson School (Ross, CA), 1998
Studied composition and music theory for two years under Bruce Munson
Studied mathematics (through vector calculus) for four years under Ted Courant

Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors, Music, Yale University, 2002
    Studied theory principally under Allen Forte
    Co-winner, John Golden Prize for student written musical, 2002, The Gods Hate Kansas (book and lyrics by Scott Peterman)
    Senior essay traced rising and falling thirds in Schumann's Liederkreis
Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors, Mathematics, Yale University, 2002
    Studied a variety of subjects with no particular focus under a variety of professors

Working towards a PhD in mathematics at Rice University, estimated graduation, 2008
Studying ergodic theory and dynamical systems (developing a theory of 'heaviness') under Professor Michael Boshernitzan

Performance History

March 2006	Cantor David Margules, Congregation Rodef Shalom	Exodus 25:8
Set for cello, viola, piano, flute, and tenor, this setting of the Hebrew was commissioned for the occasion of Congregation Rodef Shalom's (my home congregation, in San Rafael, CA) 50th anniversary. It is one of three or four pieces commissioned, which will be performed throughout 2006, with another performance of all the pieces together in February 2007.
December 2004	JECP	The Life and Works of Jonathan Edwards
This piece, about 25 minutes long, for string orchestra, percussionist, and narrator, sets to music four condensed sermons of Jonathan Edwards, the namesake to my college. Adrian Slywotzky returned to his old group as a guest performer to narrate this piece, and the performance went extremely well. With the retirement and graduation of the last remaining people I personally know that are associated with this group, this will likely be the last piece I write for them. Onward and upwards, from here.
May 2003	The Ambrosia Quartet	String Quartet #1
The Ambrosia Quartet was a student quartet of very high caliber, and they performed my first (second, technically) string quartet in their spring (only?) concert. They did a magnificent job, and this piece remains one of my proudest achievements; it is my best piece of chamber music which has been performed. String Quartet #2, incidentally, remains unperformed...
December 2002	JECP	Symphony #3
Written for string orchestra and two pianos, this piece was performed with guest pianists Jeremy Lajoie and Nachie Kanfer. It certainly has its moments, but I concede this as a relatively weak piece. The orchestra members were fond of the second movement, which is very sweeping and romantic in its minor melodies.
May 2002	JECP	let it be me
The second of the Auden song cycles, let it be me is definitely the most depressing. Originally written for Katie Vagnino, it was in the end sung in part by Vira Slywotzky and in part by Victoria Gardner (who had sung the lead role in The Gods Hate Kansas). The piece included an at times terribly written harp part; it has since been rearranged for piano and voice, though it remains unperformed in this version. The final Auden cycle, I Should Have Told You remains unperformed, though synthesized samples are available.
February 2002	The Gods Hate Kansas Orchestra	The Gods Hate Kansas
Though the show was never completed, I put up a concert version of the songs from the first act, and those instrumental numbers from the rest of the show that I had already written. This is the only time I have ever conducted, and so far the only time I have had a performance with brass or winds. The show, though incomplete, won the John Golden Prize for student written musicals that year; I only wish we had the chance to do the whole thing.
October 2001	Vira Slywotzky, Katie Vagnino, Chip Lockwood, myself	The Path, other songs, Concerto for Solo Banjo
I put together this show, revolving around the cooperation of two of the finest singers I knew. Vira Slywotzky sang The Path, the first of the Auden cycles, with Chip Lockwood on piano. Katie Vagnino sang a few songs for guitar and voice that I had also written, and in between I threw in a partially improvised piece for banjo.
May 2001	Jonathan Edwards Chamber Players	The Earth
Adrian Slywotzky, a friend of mine and the musical director of the Jonathan Edwards Chamber Players (JECP), agreed to let me write a piece that they would perform. The result was The Earth, for string orchestra and pre-recorded drum track, bass, and electric guitar. It was an interesting piece, one that most people enjoyed greatly.