Music Composition, Performance, & Audio Production
Music Composition, Performance, & Audio Production
- All compositions licensed through Broadcast Music, Inc. [BMI]
- Compositions listed in reverse chronological order, with more significant performances cited in chronological order.
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Conference/Festival abbreviations used:
CMS = College Music Society, National Conference
EMM = Electronic Music Midwest Festival
FEMF = Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival, Gainesville, FL
ICMC = International Computer Music Conference
KISS = Kyma International Sound Symposium
NYCEMF = New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
SCI = Society of Composers, Inc. Conference (national or regional)
SEAMUS = Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States, National Conference
SJSU = San Jose State University
WAC = Web Audio (International) Conference
Composition for solo flugelhorn, solo violin, and string orchestra, composed for Stephen Ruppenthal, Patricia Strange, and Bridges, a string orchestra.
Accepted for 2021 recording and CD publication by PARMA Recordings.
String Orchestra
I. Emergence
II. Contemplation
III. Expansion
Published Review:
Stellar Nebulae, by Brian Belet, a three-movement string orchestra piece, is an example of how the composer tends to seek formal abstraction. Belet’s melodies are like paths of hope that pour us into the deep valleys of our thoughts.
- Josep Bosch, Sonograma Magazine, September 29, 2020. ISSN 1989-1938
Bridges performing Stellar Nebulae, Bainbridge Island, WA, Nov. 1, 2019. (Photo by S. Ruppenthal)
Any three performers and Kyma digital sound system.
Buchla analog synthesizer and Kyma digital sound system.
B. Belet & Stephen Ruppenthal performing A Strange Diversion at KISS 2018, September 8, 2018.
Three by Five
I. Two Short Fugues
II. More Questions (Still Unanswered)
III. Fugal Reflections
<-- Brass Act Quintet performing the premiere. (Photo by Belinda Carr)
Accepted for 2021 recording and CD publication by PARMA Recordings.
Percussion (large battery, one performer) and Kyma
Two voices and Kyma
Alto flute
Composed for Maria Carolina Cavalcanti (15 Minutes of Fame concert set)
Piano and electronics (Kyma processed piano sounds - fixed)
Commissioned by Jeri-Mae Astolfi.
-- Published on Astolfi's CD Here (and there) - Innova 846, 2013.
-- Published on Kai Schumacher's CD Insomnia - SWR Music/Hänssler Classic (093.334.000), 2015.
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, Keith Kirchoff, piano. Ravello Records, 2017.
Published reviews:
[RE: Jeri-Mae Astolfi's 2013 CD]
"Brian Belet’s Summer Phantoms: Nocturne is a refreshing change of pace on the album. A blend of heavily-processed and synthetic sounds create a dynamic, surprising environment that sounds fresh. The varieties of texture and timbre, and the structural design are highly successful and sonically arresting. The work fully orchestrates the space, the spectrum, and the piano, and Astolfi aggressively makes the work her own."
- Tom Dempster, "Recording Reviews" SEAMUS Newsletter, May/June 2013
"Summer Phantoms: Nocturne completely lives up to its name. The piece opens with deep, scary sounds, like the throwing of a knife in the dark or a large blade cutting through the air. Piano notes, often dissonant, add to the tenseness. The electronics here are particularly effective and atmospheric. The effects are genuinely chilling and not artificial or overly analytical. The piano weaves its line skillfully in and out between the electronics and the balance between the two sustains the tension."
- Paul Muller, November 2013, Sequenza 21
Insomnia, Kai Schumacher, 2015.
Computer processed sea lion & human sounds
Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, Ravello Records, 2017.
Computer processed voice
Composed for the Vox Novus '60x60' project, included on the 'Crimson Mix' (360 degrees of 60x60).
Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, B. Belet, voice. Ravello Records, 2017.
Computer processed voices
Commissioned by the University of Illinois to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Electronic Music Studios at UIUC.
-- Published on UIUC CD: In Celebration of the University of Illinois Experimental Music Studios (1958-2008), 2008.
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, Ravello Records, 2017.
Published Review:
We had a healthily self-reflexive laugh as a result of Brian Belet’s Name Droppings, which incorporated text snippets from bios of various academic composers. Belet’s piece focused on the ubiquitous, easily-mocked phrases: “has been recognized by,” “studied with,” “commissioned by.” This was a clever choice, because it points out the short connecting units, leaving out that which, in reality, represents the vast majority of the word count in our bios: not these verbs, but the nouns that follow them. Too often, we’re guilty of ignoring the verbs – the work that we do – in favor of nouns – the people and organizations that have publicly approved of said work.
- Luke Gullickson, “Review of 2009 SCI National Conference,” SCI Newsletter, 39/3, May-June 2009.
Trumpet & Flugelhorn and Kyma processing.
I. Aurora Borealis
II. Andromeda's Dream
III. Zephyr Apparition
-- Published on Flamethrower CD, Stephen Ruppenthal, trumpet & flugelhorn. Ravelo Records (RR7954), 2017.
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, S. Ruppenthal, trumpet & flugelhorn. Ravello Records, 2017.
Stephen Ruppenthal recording System of Shadows.
Piano
I. Zephyr
II. Beyond the Curtain
III. Earth Dance
-- Published on Jeffrey Jacob's CD Contemporary Eclectic Music for the Piano, Vol. 15.
New Ariel Recording, 2019.
Piano
I. Forest Path
II. Winter Stream Crossing
III. Unexpected Clearing
- Published on CD Chroma: New Music for Piano, Jeri-Mae Astolfi. Capstone Records (CPS-8810), 2008.
- Published on CD Anton Webern: Complete Piano Music and works inspired by them, Janis Mercer, piano. Centaur Records (CRC 3771), 2020.
Published Review:
[RE: Janis Mercer 2020 CD]
The three movements of Brian Belet’s Klavierstücke each have a title from Nature, reflecting Webern’s love of the great outdoors. Belet’s writing is wonderfully rarefied, and Mercer is superb in finding just the right tone.
- Colin Clarke, Fanfare, November/December 2020
Piano and Kyma
Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, Janis Mercer, piano. Ravello Records, 2017.
Violin and Kyma
-- Published on CD Ghost Strings, Patricia Strange, violin. IMG Media, CD-02-01, 2006.
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, P. Strange, violin. Ravello Records, 2017.
Percussion ensemble (9 performers)
-- Score published by Warner Brothers Publications / Belwin-Mills Publishing Corp., 2002.
Electric bass and Kyma
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, B. Belet, elec. bass. Ravello Records, 2017.
Computer-processed voice
-- Published on The Frog Peak Collaborations Project, a double audio CD international compilation of 115 short compositions on a sound text by Australian sound poet Chris Mann, Frog Peak Music, FP007 (1998).
-- Published on Sufficient Trouble CD, Ravello Records, 2017.
Computer-processed trombone mute sounds
-- Published on CD Music from the Center for Research in Electro-Acoustic Music, Consortium to Distribute Computer Music CD series, Volume 26, Centaur Records, CRC 2404 (1998).
Trombone Quartet, 1992
I. Molten Convection
II. Temporal Proportions
III. Distant Memory
-- Score published by International Trombone Association Press (1997).
Piano, 1991
I. Reflection
II. Metallica
III. Modulated Cosine
IV. Resonance
-- Published on SCI CD No. 11: Chamber Works, Janis Mercer, piano. Capstone Records, CPS-8651 (1998). Score published in SCI Journal of Music Scores, Vol. 24, European American Music/C.F. Peters, (1998).