VanPelt to lead orchestra in original composition

Photo by Josiah Garber

At an orchestra pracitce, Anthony VanPelt leads the EMU Community Orchestra in a rehersal. Among other works in the upcoming program is his original piece, “Miller Cottage.”

Back in 1994, while Spotswood High School students were performing a concerto with the Youth Symphony Orchestra, one of their peers was conducting them…in his own orchestra piece. This talented young student is our very own Anthony VanPelt, now the conductor of EMU’s orchestra for the 2003-2004 school year. They will be performing one of his compositions entitled "The Miller Cottage" at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23, in Lehman Auditorium.

VanPelt began playing the violin at age four. He graduated from EMU in 1999 with a B.A. in violin performance and received his master’s degree in music composition from Shenandoah Conservatory in 2002. VanPelt describes his music as film score style with a wide open feel, and noted, "I like thinking up a storyline…for me to know where I am in the music, what I’d like it to convey." His inspiration comes from walking through the countryside in New Market, especially along his neighbor’s dirt road.

Upon returning home, he sits down with a piece of paper and writes the entire score. He says he avoids the piano or violin at this stage because that way he can "hear all the instruments at once." Instead, he writes one line at a time and orchestrates along the way.

VanPelt is reluctant to own any of his songs as a favorite, asserting, "If it’s not my favorite, I’m not done with it." Eventually he conceded that "Rockingham Fair" is especially enjoyable, not because of the music itself, but because it accompanies the feeling that one gets from watching the fairgrounds from the hillside.

Before accepting the position at EMU to fill in for Joan Griffin’s sabbatical year, VanPelt was teaching private violin and bluegrass fiddle lessons in his own studio. He currently plays fiddle in the Southriver Bluegrass Band, with which he has been playing for over a year. In 2000, he produced a CD of his own bluegrass music with performers Derek Kratzer, Jesse Buckwalter, and Reuben Miller, who are locally recognized in Reuben’s Potted Ferns. His classical training allows him to "add to the bag of tricks in the bluegrass field."

When he began composing, VanPelt had no formal training and was unaware that trumpet and clarinet parts needed to be transposed. He relied heavily on his teachers for help but learned as he wrote. Composing obviously came naturally to him, considering that his first formal lesson was in 1997, three years after his composing/conducting debut.

To aspiring composers, VanPelt offers two pieces of advice. 1) Take other people’s advice with a grain of salt; take people’s opinions into consideration, but you are the deciding factor. 2) Familiarize yourself with "Finale," a computer notation program. VanPelt adds, "In this time, a computer is a really big asset to have. You can put [your music] in and print it out, and you are your own publisher."

VanPelt’s music has traveled from the eastern United States to Guam, Europe, China, and Japan. Three of his full-orchestra compositions were even recorded by the National Opera Orchestra of China in Beijing. Despite all these accomplishments, VanPelt declares in parting, "As a musician, performer, and conductor, I’m always open to learn."

Tuesday’s concert, in honor of Dr. Loren Swartzendruber’s inauguration, will also include "Waltzes From Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss and "Grande Polonaise Brillante and Andante Spianato" Opus 22 by Frederic Chopin, with Dr. Stephen Sachs on piano. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed for the EMU Music Student Scholarship Fund.