Fundraiser

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Fundraiser 〰️

A Thousand Inner Voices

for Grade 2 or 4 Wind Band

Join the commissioning consortium for A Thousand Inner Voices by Mathew Campbell by donating to And We Were Heard for as little as $25!

Composer: Mathew Campbell

Instrumentation: Wind Band

Difficulty: Grade 4 (Medium) or simplified Grade 2 (Easy)

Duration: 5’30” (Grade 4) | 5’ (Grade 2)

Buy-In: Grade 2 - $25 USD or more
Grade 4 - $35 USD or more (due by August 15th, 2022)
or $50 for both the Grade 4 and Grade 2 versions

Delivery: Electronic PDF (delivered by September 1st, 2022)

Consortium Exclusivity: No exclusivity

Preview the Scores: HERE!

This fundraiser is now closed.

About the Piece …

I was just coming off my first premiere at The Midwest Clinic, and I was wondering what was next. Within weeks, my head was flooded with doubtful thoughts that I had peaked as a composer and it was all downhill from there. I did my best to cope with these thoughts, but I could not shake them. I had a myriad of projects to complete, and I couldn’t quiet what felt like a thousand inner voices telling me that I wasn’t good enough. Then I did what I do best, and I came up with the idea for this piece. Composing this piece was a coping mechanism, especially because it freed my mind to create freely and justify to those voices that I can do what I want to do. ...That I can accomplish my goals. ...That I can quiet said voices.

The many musical layers in this work represent the thousand inner voices. Some are positive, but most are negative. They distract from the theme and mock it at times. This occurs throughout the piece until just after halfway, where a chorale beckons the radiant positivity that exists in all of us. This battle between positive and negative lasts to the end of the piece where we hear a triumphant chord only to be followed by a sinking, negative ending. After all, this piece isn’t about only quieting these voices. It’s about learning to live with them.

I wanted to share musical inspiration and call to all who come in contact with this piece to be brave enough to rise above these doubtful voices. With this courage to pursue and achieve our goals with our one true voice, we may finally say “and we were heard.”

About the composer …

Mathew “Mat” Aaron Campbell (b. 1992) started his musical journey at the age of eight when he took piano lessons followed by informal lessons on how to play drum set. His studies continued through middle school and high school with percussion as his primary instrument.

Mathew is originally from the La Hermosa barrio in San Benito, a small town found in the Rio Grande Valley in Deep South Texas. Much of the population in this region is underprivileged and Mathew’s family was no exception. After learning how to make the most of limited resources, he has turned to using his unique, speech-impedimented voice to uplift the work of other underrepresented Latinx artists and collaborators from the Rio Grande Valley.

He is an alumnus of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he earned his BM in Education as well as studied percussion and composition with Dr. Joe Moore III. Campbell graduated with High Honors from Oklahoma City University earning a double MM in Music Composition and Wind Conducting under the tutelage of Dr. Edward Knight and Dr. Matthew Mailman, respectively. He is a proud member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Society - Alpha Upsilon Chapter.

As an award-winning composer, Mat has collaborated with various educators throughout the nation. His passion for composing and conducting led to conducting world premieres with various student ensembles at the state and national levels. He has conducted his works at The National Flute Convention, ClarinetFest, and the Texas Music Educator’s Conference. His music has been celebrated by conductors and ensembles at various events in Los Angeles, Austin, Oklahoma City, the National Conference of Percussion Pedagogy, and at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. His music has been reviewed in journals such as Percussive Arts Society’s Percussive Notes and the International Clarinet Association’s The Clarinet.

His piece Into the Void: A Study in Disembodied Consciousness was awarded first prize in the SATB Chorus and Percussion (3-5 Players) Category of the 2015 Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest.

Mat is an aspiring media composer where he focuses on writing music primarily for video games and films of varying length. Notable projects include the Ari’s Journey Original Video Game Soundtrack.

His music is self-published and also available through C. Alan Publications. Mat is currently a Music Engraving and Audio/Video Specialist at C. Alan Publications.