Charles Gayle - 6. Mechanical Birds - Toy Box
6. 'Mechanical Birds' - Cleveland Panda takes his family out for a day in the Playroom. Ethyl packs a lunch. After the picnic they certainly feel like stuffed animals. Cleveland has a collection of remote controlled mechanical birds. You can see the afternoon Sun glancing off their metal wings as they soar high in the air. They are careful not to guide them too close to the closet. The closet is the home of the legendary Falcon, the protector of all toys and stuffed animals. "Toy Box" is a collection of compositions that draw upon Gayle's earlier works. These pieces were recorded in 2003 using a computer with software sound banks. Charles Irving Gayle (1949-2011) was an American musician and composer. One of six brothers, he grew up between Sandston and Bottoms Bridge, eastern suburbs of Richmond Virginia. At 16, he joined the Richmond Symphony playing French Horn. He graduated from Randolph-Macon College, then served in the US Air Force. In the 1980s, after his service, he earned a Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition from Virginia Commonwealth University while managing the VCU Performing Arts Center. This was an important and productive time for him as a composer. After his separation from VCU in the mid-1990s, he worked for Tower Records, and then Colonial Downs as A/V manager. In 2000 Gayle was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. On 1 May 2001 he received a lung transplant that gave him nearly ten more years of life. Despite his compromised health, changed lifestyle, and the constant medical issues, he composed prolifically during his post-transplant years. He dedicated the work "Overture to Unframe" to the organ donor whose lung let him continue to create: "Dedicated to the organ donor who gave me the gift of life and the chance to live another day. Today, years after my transplant, I offer my music as an expression of gratitude. This is music that, without your kindness and generosity, would never have been written." Please visit www.AntonomasiaProductions.org for a list of the composer's works, more music, scores, and composer commentary. This is a long-running project, still fragmented and incomplete, and more will be added as I continue to sort through the thousands of pages of manuscripts and hundreds of audio recordings. Please consider purchasing a CD or book to help support this project. Copyright Statement: I, Benjamin Gayle, am the owner of rights to all material posted to this channel, including sound recordings, scores, and videos. Thanks for listening! - Benjamin Gayle
6. 'Mechanical Birds' - Cleveland Panda takes his family out for a day in the Playroom. Ethyl packs a lunch. After the picnic they certainly feel like stuffed animals. Cleveland has a collection of remote controlled mechanical birds. You can see the afternoon Sun glancing off their metal wings as they soar high in the air. They are careful not to guide them too close to the closet. The closet is the home of the legendary Falcon, the protector of all toys and stuffed animals. "Toy Box" is a collection of compositions that draw upon Gayle's earlier works. These pieces were recorded in 2003 using a computer with software sound banks. Charles Irving Gayle (1949-2011) was an American musician and composer. One of six brothers, he grew up between Sandston and Bottoms Bridge, eastern suburbs of Richmond Virginia. At 16, he joined the Richmond Symphony playing French Horn. He graduated from Randolph-Macon College, then served in the US Air Force. In the 1980s, after his service, he earned a Master's degree in Music Theory and Composition from Virginia Commonwealth University while managing the VCU Performing Arts Center. This was an important and productive time for him as a composer. After his separation from VCU in the mid-1990s, he worked for Tower Records, and then Colonial Downs as A/V manager. In 2000 Gayle was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. On 1 May 2001 he received a lung transplant that gave him nearly ten more years of life. Despite his compromised health, changed lifestyle, and the constant medical issues, he composed prolifically during his post-transplant years. He dedicated the work "Overture to Unframe" to the organ donor whose lung let him continue to create: "Dedicated to the organ donor who gave me the gift of life and the chance to live another day. Today, years after my transplant, I offer my music as an expression of gratitude. This is music that, without your kindness and generosity, would never have been written." Please visit www.AntonomasiaProductions.org for a list of the composer's works, more music, scores, and composer commentary. This is a long-running project, still fragmented and incomplete, and more will be added as I continue to sort through the thousands of pages of manuscripts and hundreds of audio recordings. Please consider purchasing a CD or book to help support this project. Copyright Statement: I, Benjamin Gayle, am the owner of rights to all material posted to this channel, including sound recordings, scores, and videos. Thanks for listening! - Benjamin Gayle