True stories of the multitalented

[Diamond18]

Came across this in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, thought some BD'ers might find it interesting:

Love of music, fiction create symphony

In case the link stops working: (there's a color picture of the subject there, though, if you're interested in seeing that)

By ELYSE UNDERHILL
as told to Elaine Schmidt

Elyse Underhill, 16, is home-schooled in Elm Grove [Wisconsin]. She has played the cello since age 5 and the piano for nearly that long. She hopes to become a composer of film scores.

When I was 6, my dad read "The Lord of the Rings" to me for the first time. I read it several more times on my own, and then when I was 14, I started writing a symphony based on the book.

The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Senior Symphony played one of the five movements from it in Uihlein Hall in April, which gave me a chance to hear some of the symphony in a hall with good acoustics.

People ask if I saw the movie before I wrote the symphony, and the answer is no. I wrote the whole thing before I knew there was a movie.

The symphony took about a year to finish. It's lucky I had no idea what I was getting into when I started, or I might not have kept going.

I wanted the music to be about the story. I would sit with the book in front of me, open to the part I was writing, as I worked. A lot of the music is very literal - if something happens in the book, you hear it in the score.

When I started, I was basically drawing on what I had heard other composers do. I play the cello, so I had a pretty good idea of what the strings could do. I would listen to different composers and think, this is what the flutes can do, or this is what the brass can do.

My dad had an orchestration book that had the ranges of all the different instruments and that helped me. I play in the MYSO Senior Symphony. On rehearsal breaks, I would ask people in the wind and brass sections what their instrument can do.

I think the hardest thing was dealing with the harp. It is a pretty complicated instrument to write for. You have to understand the mechanics of how the pedals work so you know what notes you can and cannot put together.

This is the first orchestral piece I have written, but I also like to write pop songs. I started a string quartet when I was 10 or 11, but I never finished that.

I have really been improvising as long as I have been studying music. When I was little, I took Suzuki cello. My dad would practice with me, which is the way Suzuki works. When we would finish practicing he would tell me to play a made-up song. As time went on, those songs got more and more interesting.

I love writing fiction and I love music, so putting the two together was just a dream. Now I am working on a ballet, and I have also started a symphonic suite based on "The
Song of the Lioness" by Tamora Pierce.

From the June 15, 2003 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With a name like "Underhill", I guess she was destined to become a Tolkien fan of notoriety, eh? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Tinuviel of Denton]

One word.

WOW!

*sigh* I wish I could do that...

[Finwe]

My point exactly! That is amazing!

[maikafanawen]

That is amazing! Elysse is a genious! Oh, I wish I could do that! *sigh* I wonder how long it is. Could you imagine going to a concert where they played the "The Lord of the Rings" symphony piece!? I'd die!!

What an interesting article to come across. I always get chills when I find something LOTR related in magazines or newspapers ... especially if it's book-based and not movie-based, makes it much more exciting.

Hmm, that article wasn't written too long ago. How far do you think it'll get?

-Maikafanawen

[Meela]

That is an interesting article. Nice to see people spreading Tolkien throughout their own work.

[Olorin]

Wow! That is truly amazing. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] I wish I was so musically inclined.

[Noxomanus]

pfffffffff.........I can write stories,draw both cartoons & real life nature,I can rap (Forget the Nelly's & Ja Rule's,cause they are crap.Get yourself some early 90's Ice Cube or some Pharaohe Monch and then you'll realise what a real rapper is and what an artform rapping can be.),I can do comedy and I can imitate others,so...
I'm sure everyone has got some great talents that equal that kid's stuff,after all,a ballet is nothing more then jumping around & moving with style and once you can play an instrument you can come up with your own creations.After all,nobody said her play was fantastic!Would you be just as fascinated if she was a 60-year old composer?It's impressive but isn't anything like say.....creating the world through music! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Diamond18]

I'm sorry you feel threatened by her. That's really quite sad.

[Noxomanus]

How could I feel threatened by her?I suppose you didn't even read my entire post.What I said (and you obviously didn't get that) is that we shouldn't put that girl to a point where she's nearly revered because she did some artistic stuff,because most of us have artistic talents.Her talents just happen to be greatly expanded on and exposed. I don't really see the reason why her story was even mentioned here.

[ June 22, 2003: Message edited by: Noxomanus ]

[Diamond18]

Sorry to sound a bit sarcastic. (I did read your whole post, though, about three times). I only meant that Elysse herself never set herself up as a wonder-woman, so I'm sorry you took it that way. I mean, she was simply telling how she did things, in an unassuming, matter of fact way. I didn't get the impression that she was rubbing her talent into anyone's noses, so we don't need to defend our talents against hers. Let's just say that I respect everyone's talents, and I don't think any of us need to defend ourselves. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[maikafanawen]

I'd like to point out that compossing music for an entire orchestra is no easy feat. I mean no offense but her talent deserves the publicity it's recieving. A conductor must be able to read the music for each type of instrument (we're talking eighteen lines at a time) to be able to lead his orchestra-or band-.

Noxomanus, your talents are, impressing, but I doubt that a journalist would be so keen to write an article about yet another poet, author or artist. I, er, noticed among your lists of personal talents that a musical instrument was not mentioned, therefore you couldn't possibly know the complexity of the subject.

I hope I haven't offended anyone, I only meant to provide a reply from the view of a minor musician: and point out a compelling counteranswer you may not have considered.

Meela, I like your idea, I think that you should open a thread sharing talents oriented around LOTR that other Barrow-Downers have. I'm sure we'd have a lot of enthusiastic contributers.

I will keep on the lookout for Elyse's piece. Suppose she's here on the Barrow Downs ... I wish her good luck should she read this! --I hope she doesn't ...

-Maikafanawen

[Darby]

Diamond 18, thank you for posting about this. I do think it does belong *somewhere* on a Tolkien board, because it is after all a story about a Tolkien fan in the news doing something really neat.
I love reading about stuff like this! I'm quite certain it takes real talent, and lots and lots of training and practice to be able to do what this girl has done.
That's certainly worth a small piece in what I assume is probably her local paper. A 60yo might have years of professional experience in composing behind them, so wouldn't be so remarkable. However, an 80yo doing the same thing, would also be impressive and probably make her local paper too, if only because we expect most people of that age to be headed for the retirement home.
I really don't understand why someone would say "pffft" to that. My paper profiles the top graduating public school students in our city every year and it doesn't bother ME that I graduated from a private school, earned the Governor General's award for highest academic achievement, and got no public recognition at all. Why should it? Their successes don't take anything away from mine.
Plus, I'll be homeschooling one of my own children starting next september, so I also think it's neat to read about someone who's been successfully homeschooled and is making a bit of a name for herself.
Oh, and this is my first post!
Whee!

[ June 29, 2003: Message edited by: Darby ]

[Maylin]

thats great that she has the will power to stick with something like that. Im pretty musically inclined ( I can pick out about any melody, harmony too, if its simple enough) but i cant write like that, 1, because i have no instrement from the strings, which id need a representive of to write, and 2, I get bored easily, pretty soon, id just be strumming my guitar, not doing anything.
Still, judging from other posts, it seems some people are jealou( dont hurt me, its but an observation) I have to admit, i do wish i could compose like that.

[Neferchoirwen]

I am impressed with this young lady! I wish I were as talented as she is, but I do believe I have hope (I'm planning to study music as a third major [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] ).

I myself am attempting to master the elven style of singing

I, for one, have quite the set of singing lungs, and I'm also interested in the elven style of singing, since you brought it up, Meela. Even singing in the common tongue with an elvish accent wouldn't be bad either. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

But I'm also thinking about my children...Not only will I read Tolkien to them (have no kids yet...), but I'll be plugging HOward Shore and Elyse Underhill's music (if she has a recording out then) on my belly before they come out of me.

Good luck to you and your kids, Darby. And welcome to the Downs!

[Darby]

Thanks for the welcome, Neferchoirwen! The only things my kiddos got to listen to in-utero was a whole lot of purring kitty.
But I did read first the Hobbit, and then the Lord of the Rings aloud to my daughter, and I'm just waiting for my son to get to the point where I can read some of these to him too (maybe next year). It really is an amazing thing to do with your kids. You get a whole new appreciation for the complexity of the story and the nuances of the characters when you are reading aloud - it makes every word count. You can't miss a single detail.
Your theoretical future offspring might also enjoy the BBC Radio production of LOTR, too. That's favorite bedtime listening around here.

[Horse-Maiden of the Shire]

Hm...I taught myself to play part of the violin solo for the Rohan theme on the guitar. And I also (sort of, I think it's in the wrong key) taught myself the main LotR theme on the trumpet, along with (also in the wrong key) the Sauron theme and part of Bilbo's birthday party song. They sound bad, but I'm working on them.