Category: Live

The final arrangement for the Holland Symphony Orchestra’s “Music Unites Us” concert with Grupo Super Nova was a ballad called “Inevitable Adiós.” It is gorgeous and heartbreaking.

When Christian, the songwriter, first sent me this, I responded, “I don’t understand half of the Spanish, and I was still getting choked up!” With a song like this, the best thing to do is just stay out of the way. Let the song speak for itself; simply support and enhance what is already in the music. I did that with lush lower strings, regal horns, soaring violin lines, harp, and lots of cymbal rolls.

Of course, I needed to let the orchestra come to the foreground at some point. I did this with an oboe solo, a flugelhorn solo, and a trumpet/trombone duet. Just enough of a break to leave us wanting more.

I’m usually not one for modulations. They are so often used as a cheap way of inflating energy back into a mediocre song that I normally stay clear of them. But I made an exception here. I let the song wind down as if it were ending, but instead of the quiet tag of “Inevitable adiós” that we expect–BAM!–a sudden modulation into a new key with full orchestra. It’s glorious, if I don’t say so myself.

Below is video of me accompanying Christian on guitar at the concert.

The next arrangement for Grupo Super Nova and the Holland Symphony Orchestra was “Escucha.” This song, too, is in an upbeat Cumbia dance style, but the lyrics are poignant: “Listen! I want you to pay attention, just in case today is our last day together: I love you like I have never loved before.”

This arrangement is further outside the box than the others. I ask the violins to strum their instruments like ukeleles and play a melody on one string with one finger (to match the portamento of the synth line). Later is a duet between electric guitar and electric violin. Then I ask the orchestra to sing background vocals. All of these stretch the musicians out of their comfort zones, but since we had worked together previously, I decided there was enough trust for them to try these unusual effects with a minimum of grumbling.

One of my favorite sections is when all the motion stops and Hector sings a quiet refrain in English. I didn’t want the English-speaking audience to miss the poignant message of the lyrics. Too, a short silence makes what follows sound even more energetic.

I should make a note about how I created these demos. I use Dorico for my notation software. To make a demo of the arrangement, I play Dorico through orchestral playback software called NotePerformer. NP is unique in that it interprets the score as orchestral musicians would play it, with articulations, blend, and reverb as they would happen in an actual performance. (Who says AI is bad?) From there, I load my orchestral arrangement and Grupo’s original recording into Logic Pro. After a bit of tempo matching and splicing I can produce a decent demo of how the final performance might sound. This is really important when trying to get buy in from both note-readers and ear-performers. It allowed everyone walk into rehearsal with a very good idea of how it would sound.

Below are a few snippets of video from the concert. There aren’t a lot of composers who can say people dance to their orchestrations!

I recently wrote three new arrangements for the Holland Symphony Orchestra’s “Music Unites Us” concert on August 9, 2025. In this outdoor concert, Grupo Super Nova, a Mexican Cumbia group from Holland, performed their original songs with the orchestra. My next three posts will be the arrangements from that concert.

The original “Lo mejor” (link below) keeps up a mid-tempo dance groove throughout. In each of these songs, I was looking for ways to create a dialogue between band and orchestra, rather than keeping the orchestra in a purely accompaniment role. So, on this song, I decided to begin with an extended, dramatic introduction before it kicked into its dance groove. Once the beat drops, the orchestra plays an accompaniment role, until…

Surprise! It’s a tuba solo. In the Mexican Banda style, tubas play a prominent role. I decided to tip my hat to that tradition by starting the mid-song breakdown with a tuba solo. Then comes a long build, beginning with the violin, moving through the strings, and then joined by all the bass instruments. After a quick recap of the chorus, the song concludes.

Sadly, I didn’t get a good video recording of the event. You will have to be satisfied with a demo of an early draft of the score. Email me if you’d like to take a look at the score.