Moving My Blog. Last Post on Blogger.

Hey everybody,

So, I've decided to move my blog. Blogger has been good to me, but it's starting to get really slow now and it's got it's limitations. I've decided to move to Wordpress where I can blog and have a pseudo webpage on the side to showcase some of my compositions and stuff. It's still under construction but has a lot of possibilities.

I'm excited. See you there.

New Blog is here: http://mattnielsen.wordpress.com/

New Commission

About a week or so ago, a friend from BYU Singers approached me and proposed the idea of writing an art song for her possibly in time for her senior recital this April. I've always been a little hesitant to accept commissions simply because I don't really feel like I have the chops to write a piece with a deadline. This friend, however, is a fantastic singer and a wonderful musician, which is persuasion enough to consider writing something new for her. The real kicker I think was the text that she brought to me as a suggestion. Here they are:


"Lord, open thou mine eyes that I may see thee;
Lord, open thou my lips that I may praise thee;
Lord, open thou my heart that I may love thee,
Serve thee with joy, fear none above thee.

Christ be my sword and shield, my strong defender;
Christ be my light and my Redeemer.
Christ be my guide today, my guide tomorrow;
Christ in my days of joy, my days of sorrow;
Christ in the silent hours when I lie sleeping,
Safe in his holy angels’ keeping.

Christ, when I go to rest, grant me thy blessing.
Lord, keep my soul with thee now and for ever."

- Paraphrase of Lancelot Andrews and St. Patrick


It reminds me very much of ancient, Monastic, Irish poetry, which I always have an affinity towards. It seems to have some sort of luminescence about it that is simply electric. I went back to my apartment and, in about two days time, wrote out the "A" section. On Tuesday I showed her what I had written so far. After her approval, we agreed to the terms of a contract.

So I agreed to this commission. We agreed to have the deadline be February 27th of this year. I've never really worked with a deadline, but I'm pretty confident I can do this. I'm excited about what will come out of this.

A little tip to those of you interested in commissioning your own piece: Get someone else to pay for it. Commissions are more expensive that you think and paying out of your own pocket kinda puts a downer on the whole situation. The one thing you don't want to do is underpay the composer, because composers, monetarily, rely heavily on commissions. There are other options. You can get money from a city art council, some state art council, some local or regional organization with like-minded ideals, even the National Endowment for the Arts is possible. The easiest option is a wealthy relative, but that requires having a wealthy relative.

Anyway, it'll be premiered sometime this April. Speaking of recitals, I have my own to prepare for next week! Yikes!

Still Here

Just started a new semester last week. Lots of new stuff (like a new apartment). Lots to be excited about, including grad school applications. It seems to be moving pretty fast, and pretty soon it'll be over.

I sent off the manuscript for "It Came upon the Midnight Clear," to a publisher. It should get there this week. Now, I wait . . . and wait . . . and wait . . .

In the meantime, I'm working on some other projects. I was approached by a member of BYU Singers who wanted to commission me to write a piece for her (maybe in time for her Senior Recital). We talked about possible texts, her desire for the outcome, and the intricate details of her range. We have yet to come to a firm agreement about the details of the commission, but I'm pretty much on board.

Also, I'm tossing around some ideas for choir pieces in the future. Some really great texts and sounds in my head, but that's all they are right now, in my head. I've tried to get some of these things down, but just had a difficult time. One of these Saturdays.

"Midnight Clear" on Performance Today! Merry Christmas!

My piece was on Performance Today hosted by Fred Child (pictured left) for Christmas Eve! If you didn't catch it live you can go to their archive and find it here. It's part of the second hour and it's the second song on the list. It starts at about 6 minutes in to the show. Never really thought I'd be on the same web site as John Cage.

Yeah, I know they got it wrong, they're calling it an arrangement when it's really a setting. For those who are still confused, here's your guide:

Arrangement - A piece based on a previously existing melody such as a hymn.

Setting - A piece not based on any pre-existing material.

I don't blame Mr. Child. It was probably KBYU. Everyone here in Utah calls everything an "arrangement" when it's not necessarily so. They hear about a new arrangement by Mack Wilberg and then they think everything is an arrangement. Bless their hearts.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everybody! And a Happy New Year! Thank you Mr. Child!

BIG NEWS! "Midnight Clear," to Air Nationally on "Performance Today"

I'm back in California, visiting my brother and his family for Christmas. It's beautiful, like 60 degrees and sunny. I walked outside in shorts and was just fine. Gonna go to the beach tomorrow and get a bagel with smoked salmon with cream cheese. Happy Winter Solstice everybody! Anyway, on to the real stuff.

I just got an email from Dr. Staheli telling me that my piece was submitted by KBYUFM to American Public Media’s Performance Today for their Christmas Eve program. They collect different pieces from university Christmas programs and select a few of them to air on their program. Well, one of the pieces selected to air on their Christmas Eve program was the BYU Singers performance of "It Came upon the Midnight Clear."

Is this really happening? I think my head just exploded! I'm feeling the same way about this as when Dr. Staheli asked me if BYU Singers would perform it for this year's Christmas concert. It doesn't feel real. I have to stop and just make sure that I'm not making things up.

Well, in any case, I've learned that one of the best antidotes/vaccines for an inflated ego/swollen head is work. I've still got a lot of work to do. I'll be giving updates throughout the break. And we'll see if I can take out some time to go surfing down in Santa Cruz.

Currently in Finals Week

It's been a while since I've posted because I'm currently in the middle of finals week here. I've been studying and finishing up projects. I'm taking two finals today (which involves three tests), and got my last one tomorrow. In the meantime, I still need to finish my extra credit project for one class, and I need to pack up everything I own and move it all to my new apartment before I leave for California this Saturday.

But the work is paying off. When talking to a professor about my grade in his class I asked if I could see what my final grade was. He agreed and showed me what I got. I did VERY well. A smile crept across my face because this is a particularly difficult class. He then said, "You don't need to gild the lily any further." Aww yeah. P'wned!

I've been getting some great feedback about "It Came upon the Midnight Clear." Many people told me that it was their favorite piece from the entire night. Others told me they had tears in their eyes while listening to it. Many people said they really felt something uplifting and enlightening. That's exactly what I was going for. I wanted to write something that would lift people up, and strengthen their faith in Christ. I don't just want to entertain, I want to buoy up the spirit. Maybe I can help somebody when nothing else can. That's my hope.

"It Came upon the Midnight Clear" Recording

Wow! What a weekend. I can't believe it's actually happened. This dream of mine has actually become reality. BYU Singers' premiere of my setting of "It Came upon the Midnight Clear," turned out beautifully. They really locked it in and nailed it. I could not have hoped for a better premiere. I'm so humbled that they would all pick up this piece and put as much energy into it as they would any other piece. Dr. Staheli did such a masterful job interpreting and conducting the piece. Wow!

It's kinda funny, a lot of people have told me that it sounds very "Whiticre-esque." I take that as a very high compliment, but for the record, I actually had Gabriel Jackson and Maurice Beesley in my head when I wrote this.

I've started putting the material together to start sending it off to some publishers. Here's page one again, with a quick and dirty recording to accompany it. Hope you enjoy! Tell me what you think.