Balance

I deleted instruments from my Jabberwocky orchestration--so much so that it is more of a chamber orchestra than a full orchestra.  The reason for this is that several instruments weren't playing very much.  I've listened to it a few more times and have taken a couple of days to reflect upon what I heard, and I feel that the texture of the ensemble is too thin in those places that I deleted.  Perhaps I should add more instead of taking away.

Over the many years of playing, I've played a few symphonies where I thought the instrumentation was excessive.  But most composers find the perfect balance and blend.  That is what I am striving to do.

As a composer, I want my works to sound modern, but not so strange that only a few select people want to listen to them.  I want to be true to myself as a composer, but I also want to create things that other people will want to play for years to come.  Again, this is balance.  I want to create new sounds, but not so different that it only has a small niche of listeners. 

Does this make me a "sell-out"?  Does this make me "commercial"?  Not at all.  I think it's very possible to sound modern and yet write things people like.  It's been happening for hundreds of years.  Beethoven was the "rockstar" of his day.  He pushed the envelope for his time.  Elvis and the Beatles did the same thing during theirs.

This is my goal.
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