I.I

By: Walt Ribeiro

Reviewed by: robbie

Classical music for a digital age

'I.I', is the debut release from 22 year old New Jersey musician/composer Walt Ribeiro. It is a 50 minute score consisting of 12 compositions that were written to be performed by an 80 piece orchestra.

After spending over a year writing and arranging the piece, Walt was left with a product and no one to perform it. In his words, “It’s challenging being an independent musician and wanting people to experience your music and feel for it in the same way you do. I needed a vehicle to let people hear my works.”

He then came up with the idea to bring his composition to life using the latest in orchestral sampling software. All of his handwritten scores were painstakingly fed into the computer and each voice was then sampled to attach sounds with the notes. The result of these efforts is a thought provoking, moving and powerful album that on occasion makes it hard to believe that there is not a live orchestra behind it. Walt Ribeiro is a brilliant young artist and a true pioneer in the art of MIDI orchestration and production.

Bio: Born and raised in Haddon Heights NJ, Ribeiro got serious about music at the age of 16 when he learned to play the guitar. Inspired by the sounds of Frank Zappa and Pearl Jam, he enrolled as a jazz guitar performance major at Camden County College in New Jersey. There he worked hard on his playing technique, transcribing, and arranging. After two years of study, he continued his education at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to study music composition. As his works improved and got bigger, the idea of releasing an orchestral CD seemed unrealistic.

“I began writing the score in March 2005, completed by April 2006, and then had a product with no one to perform it. When the idea of using samples occured to me, I was unsure but excited.” With this, Ribeiro invested endless amounts of time to understand and learn MIDI orchestration and production, so he could turn his music into a sound recording.

Finally on Oct. 4, 2006, Ribeiro’s CD ‘I.I’ was debuted, and in such a short time has already created an incredible buzz in the greater Philadelphia area. Over the years Walt has taught over a hundred students - everything from orchestration and ear training to guitar and recording techniques. “You don’t know something well enough unless you can teach it to somebody, and that’s where I learned things the most, was through my students.”

Purchase this album

I.I is available at CD Baby and on iTunes. For more information about Walt Ribeiro visit: www.myspace.com/littlepesce

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