Guiding Light
(Choral)
Performed live by a mixed choir of 240 singers at the Maine All State Music Festival Centennial Celebration, conducted by Dr. Robert Russell.
Music and Lyrics by Matt LaBerge.
A composition for SATB unaccompanied choir with divisi, Guiding Light manifests the idea that at some point or another, we all need a light to act as a beacon of hope and guide us through our darkest days. Beyond anything else, however, it asserts that if we always carry that light in our hearts, we will never be alone.
Portrait Room
(Film Scoring - Orchestral)
AUDIO ONLY
Recorded at Studio West in San Diego, CA, for the Palomar Film Music Workshop. Composed and Orchestrated by Matt LaBerge.
Written at the Palomar Film Music Workshop as an exercise in film scoring, Portrait Room is composed to underscore a brief scene from The Contender, a film written and directed by Rod Lurie. During the compositional process, I worked extensively under the tutelage of renowned Hollywood film composer Larry Groupé who wrote the actual score for the Academy Award-nominated film. In this workshop, participants (myself included) were presented with clips from various films/shows with the music removed. From there, we had to compose our own underscoring with nothing but the visual elements and dialogue, just like the actual composers did. Any scene we chose to score was required to be from a film/show we had never seen before so that each composition would be completely original.
The scene for which this composition is written takes place in the portrait room of the White House, where a young politician named Reginald Webster (portrayed by Christian Slater) waits anxiously for his meeting with the President of the United States (portrayed by Jeff Bridges). During this brief scene, young Webster finds himself staring at portraits of the many presidents who have served in office throughout the nation's history. The music is meant to capture his inner emotions, giving a glimpse into what he may be feeling in these moments leading up to his first meeting with the President.
Sunset
from Celtic Heritage Suite
(Orchestral)
Orchestral MIDI mockup produced in Finale. Composed and Orchestrated by Matt LaBerge.
Celtic Heritage Suite is a piece for modern orchestra that draws on many historical influences and cultural perspectives. Although much of the musical content is based on traditional Celtic music, particularly that of Ireland and Scotland, it is also heavily based on the many interpretations of Celtic music found in the United States, including film scores written by composers spanning various cultural backgrounds and upbringings. Just like the composer, the score is not entirely Celtic. It is an interpretation of what it means to be Celtic.
This particular movement, "Sunset", is a musical painting of the sunset on the sea as seen from the Cliffs of Moher, located at at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland, which the composer has only seen in pictures but has spent a lifetime imagining. Although the movement is meant to be played as part of the entire suite, it also makes for a great selection on its own, albeit brief, as a beautiful and lyrical addition to any concert.
Education Everywhere
(Orchestral)
Orchestral MIDI mockup produced in Logic Pro. Composed and Orchestrated by Matt LaBerge.
Written and pitched as a concept piece for Education Everywhere, a series of instructional videos and other digital resources produced by the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece was composed with the PSO's standard orchestration in mind, the idea being that it might serve as a theme song to be played at the start of each instructional video, potentially even including lyrics starting at meas. 9 sung to the melody heard in the clarinet and flute.
Sgt. Roberts' Song
from Silent Night
(Musical Theater - Vocal/Orchestral)
Full Version
Instrumental-Only
Orchestral MIDI mockup produced in Logic Pro. Composed, Orchestrated, and Sung by Matt LaBerge.
From my upcoming musical, Silent Night, based on the events of the Christmas Truce of World War One in 1914. In this fully orchestrated song, Sgt. Benjamin Roberts, commanding officer for the 116th regiment of the British Army, reprimands a young and naive soldier, Pvt. Jack Davies, for disobeying direct orders and following through with an attempted kidnapping of a German soldier for ransom- an act that could have resulted in all of the men in the unit getting killed. Sgt. Roberts attempts to break down Jack's preconceived notions of masculinity, encouraging him to embrace the fact that being a good man is not a matter of strength. Rather, it is a matter of heart.