Vic Sagerquist Contributor

Music is my life. Ever since I was five years old, and I was watching the Lawrence Welk show with my parents and told them I wanted to "...play the one with the music in the stick...", I have oriented myself toward music. I began taking violin lessons at age nine, somehow withstanding the ribbing I received from my schoolmates. I continued studying the violin through high school, becoming quite adept and falling in love with music notation. My parents supported me by buying me study scores of the great symphonies and concertos, and then engaging me with my brother's piano teacher, who also taught music theory at the local community college. I began composing at this point.

I entered college as a performance major on the violin. My first semester jury was a horrible experience for me; I failed miserably. One of my new friends who knew about my fledgling skills as a composer suggested I take a composition jury, as there was still time before the semester ended. The composition staff was highly impressed, and outlined a change in curriculum for me. I graduated in 1981 with a degree in music composition.

The big question everyone asked me next was, "OK. What are you going to do with it?" I thought long and hard over the summer months, and decided to continue my schooling by entering the Masters program. But I was still perplexed as to where I was headed. A few months later I got a phone call from the same friend who had suggested I take the composition jury. In the years before, I had worked with him scribbling out instrumental parts from scores by other composition majors - essentially working as a copyist. It turned out that presently he was working in Hollywood as an orchestrator for television scores, and had heard about a job opportunity in the music library at Paramount Pictures, as assistant to the supervising copyist. I called the supervisor, and landed the position. I am still working there today.

I've never stopped composing, though, and it is my dream to one day be a film composer. My duties at work include proofreading instrumental parts and fixing errors, transcribing music from tapes (or in midi format), and basically setting up orchestra books for TV and motion picture scoring sessions. But when I go home at night, after having dinner with my lovely family, I sit down at my computer and compose. How many of you can say that your job is also your hobby? (I'd love to hear about it!)

When composing, I use a program called Encore, and enter notes with the mouse. I have a midi keyboard in my home studio, but it's not connected to the computer. The method I have described here is the most like sitting at a piano and writing the music by hand as I have always done. But since I am a string player, I have never been able to hear my compositions, except in my head. I am a terrible pianist; I can never seem to get both hands to play together. Encore has changed all that, and has opened up a whole new world for me.

My compositions are here for you to download and enjoy free of charge. However, if you wish to use them in any other way, such as attracting attention to your web page or any other type of performance, my permission is necessary.

Vic Sagerquist