Greg Monks's Discussions

Go Fund Me a possibly new music strategy?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Dave Dexter Mar 18, 2017. 26 Replies 0 Likes

Every so often I toy with the idea of starting a Go Fund Me page for raising money for classical compositions.At the top of the list of reasons I don't is that I haven't the faintest idea how much…Continue

Funny How The Mind Works

Started this discussion. Last reply by Greg Monks Dec 8, 2015. 5 Replies 0 Likes

Since we're all composters here (as in setting ideas aside to ferment), I thought I'd share something that I'm guessing we all do- make up ditties in our heads as we're doing other things.A couple…Continue

Smashwords a "new" place to plug your music.

Started this discussion. Last reply by Greg Monks Sep 21, 2015. 4 Replies 0 Likes

I recently posted four books of my old piano music on Smashwords. I've giving my old music away for free (which I'm hoping is a strategic move), but you can charge money if you like:…Continue

Choral music by Kenji Kawai

Started Apr 18, 2015 0 Replies 0 Likes

Anyone know where I can find the choral score by Kenji Kawai for the following piece of music?…Continue

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Greg Monks's Page

Profile Information

What have you composed for? Or what medium do you work around?: Film, Television, Web, Multimedia, Small Ensemble, Songs, Contemporary Ensembles

What is your favorite genre or style of music?: classical

Is music your main income source?: No - Not Yet

Where do you live?: Spalding, Saskatchewan, Canada

About Me (Must include at least one paragraph of biographical information about you as a composer) - blank or minimal answers on this line will cause your request to be rejected. Include a link to your website if you have one.: The above question "Is music your main income source?" is insulting to people who write classical music. Nobody does it for a living. Few ever have.

I've been writing classical music since the age of three. I was a child prodigy as both a musician and composer, and played in the Delta Youth Orchestra as a young musician.

I wrote and performed music for documentaries for many years. Unfortunately, the documentaries in question are all very much dated and were shot on film. They have never been copied onto digital media, and I'm not sure if any of them still exist.

I was part-owner of Audio-Logo Productions in British Columbia, Canada, for a number of years, and was also the musical director. As you can probably imagine, I wrote execrable music whose sole purpose was to sell everything from used cars to plants to electronics.

I studied music at Douglas College in New Westminster, British Columbia, back in the early 1970's. Once I got a good idea what was in store in my future, I quit and studied music composition privately.

As any of my former educators (still living) can tell you, I'm unteachable. I'm the consummate autodidact, and only seek assistance when I've run into a brick wall. Therefore, those that helped me along the way were consultants, not teachers. Among their numbers are (were) Richard Kitson (Douglas College), Cortland Hultberg (UBC- Cortland vetted my first compositions when I was still in high school), Judith Specht (sp? sorry Judith), and many others.

I belonged for a short while to one of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan's two composer's groups, back in the late 90's, early 2000's, but bickering between the two groups and with the symphony society turned me off. Who needs soap operas when you have symphonies and symphony societies?

I write piano music to keep myself amused, and have written four books of pieces including modern ragtime, songs, novelty pieces, classical music in various 19th century styles.

I wrote a number of pieces that were a fusion of ragtime and 19th century classical musical devices. These pieces were a response to efforts by Debussy and Stravinsky in conjunction with remarks made by Joplin and James Reese Europe, the latter two of whom had wished to further explore the possibilities inherent in their music. For their part, I found Debussy's take on Ragtime too cutesy for my taste, and Stravinsky's a bit over-the-top esoteric.

As a classical composer, public performances have been few and hard-fought-for. It's a pursuit that has cost me far more than I've ever made, which is why I rankled at the above mention of income.

I'm currently working on a piece for strings, which has brought me here.

Website:: http//:www.gsmonks.webs.com

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At 6:02pm on January 5, 2015, Olmnilnlolm said…: Funny. I was just going to send you the same "friend" request.

At 12:11am on January 4, 2015, michael diemer said…: Thanks Greg for your kind words about Skating!

At 8:42pm on January 3, 2015, michael diemer said…: Welcome Greg,

We’d like to hear your music! The main area for posting is the “Music Analysis and Critique” discussion, which is here:

http://composersforum.ning.com/forum/categories/music-analysis-and-critique/listForCategory

Before posting, please acquaint yourself with the rules, which are here:

http://composersforum.ning.com/forum/topics/rules-and-suggestions-for

Glad to have you aboard and hope you enjoy the Composers Forum!

Michael