DJ Sparr (1975-Present)

Introduction
DJ Sparr is a American composer and guitarist from Westminster, Maryland. His style of music he composes is regarded as being "pop-romantic". His music is known for blurring boundaries and perfectly embodying the spirit of the modern music world. He is regarded as being an excellent soloist and making his guitar seem like it isn't even a guitar at all. He had a huge interest in the guilt from an age as early as 3. He attended the Baltimore School fro the Arts as a jazz guitar major. He then continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan.

Work Analysis
The piece I want to focus on from Sparr was "Concerto for Jazz Guitar and Orchestra: Katrina". This specific piece was a very interesting listen due the solo being played by an electric guitar, which has not really ben included in any pieces I have listened to before this. The guitar gives the piece an overall modern feel that definitely fits into his "pop-romantic" aesthetic. Sparr says himself that in regards to this piece "Written for Ted Ludwig, a refugee of Hurricane Katrina who now lives in Little Rock, it ties our understanding of a horrific tragedy to the story of the Great Flood. In this tale, the protagonist character—known in different cultures as Ziusudra, Gilgamesh, or Noah—manages to escape the rising floodwaters and find redemption and strength in a new home." This piece definitely fits that storyline there are epic crashing parts of tragedy that are they contrasted by sections of confusion and serenity. This piece was such an interesting listen due to the included timbre of the guitar, an instrument you do not usually associate with orchestral music. Score: https://issuu.com/d.j.sparr/docs/00_sparr_jazzguitarconcerto_conduct

Comparisons
I want to compare this specific piece of Sparr's to Gabriela Lena-Frank's piece "Leyendas". Both of these pieces do an absolutely fantastic job in storytelling a very specific storyline. The instrumentation they use allow for the music to also place itself into the style of the specific area that is being written about. There also seems to be an little bit of influence for composers like Stravinsky. Stravinsky took that storytelling element and viciously applied it to his music that it is hard to not think bout Stravinsky when referring to pieces like this.

Observations
I thoroughly enjoyed the music of Sparr. His music seems to be taking modern music to the modern audience, where other composers were taking music to new modern ideas but still appealing it to a specific less modern audience. I could see many friends of mines going to see this piece in person and each of them thoroughly enjoying the story that it tells. I learned from this piece that storytelling is a very useful tool in getting the music you create to specifically resonate with your audience.