Photography by Sean Drews

My names C.J. I'm 21 years old living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, trying to follow my dream of attending a music school for composition and ethnomusicology.

Im completely self-taught in composition, as well as on all of my instruments (the woodwinds), with the exception of clarinet. I am deeply passionate about what I write and why I write it. If you had to classify my style, Id say its a mixture of the new and the old. Im influenced by the legendary classical composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, to the 20th century Eastern European composers, such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Prokofiev, Penderecki, and many others.

In December of 2009, I was awarded the 3rd Grand Prize in Plathners Eleven of Hanover international composition competition with my piece Der Man Ferder Over for Two Pianos. Shortly after, I was awarded first place in the February Young Composers Forum competition with my piece For Alexander McQueen.

I have drive, I have patience, I have a strong work ethic. I also have a very, very strong and unique sense of humor. As I usually say: Im very serious about my craft. Im not really serious about anything else. I like to bend the rules, be different, keep things interesting. While Im perfectly fine on my own, I certainly could not have gotten this far without the support of all of my fantastic friends, family, and anyone who has ever clicked on my website or listened to an MP3 of mine. I truly appreciate all of you for that.

As a fellow composer of mine once said: As composers, we make and break the rules as a way of life. I couldnt think of truer words about myself as a musician, as a composer, and as a person.

Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/CJDcomposer

Title	Genre	Released	Plays
Haikyo - Duet for Kingma Alto Flute and Piano, II. Akasaka Love Hotel	Classical	Sep 15, 2010	357
Haikyo - Duet for Kingma Alto Flute and Piano, IV. Kaiten Suicide Boat Base	Classical	Sep 14, 2010	223
Igor Stravinsky's "Petrushka" - For Concert Band (arr. C.J. Darnieder)	Classical	Sep 14, 2010	1631
Op. 1-Symphonic Dance for Flute and Piano	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	577
Op. 10-Symphony No. 1 in F (Family Tree)-I. Allegro molto e animato	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	340
Op. 10-Symphony No. 1 in F (Family Tree)-II. Adagio teneramente (SKETCH)	Classical	Nov 5, 2009	307
Op. 10-Symphony No. 1 in F (Family Tree)-III. Moderato con anima (SKETCH)	Classical	Dec 3, 2009	351
Op. 11-Sonata for Piano in E-I. Allegro commodo, Piu mosso	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	287
Op. 11-Sonata for Piano in E-II. Andante ma non troppo, tempoco sostenuto	Classical	Oct 28, 2009	367
Op. 11-Sonata for Piano in E-III. Allegro scherzando, Tempo di Menuetto	Classical	Oct 21, 2009	438
Op. 11-Sonata for Piano in E-IV. Presto con fuoco	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	947
Op. 12 Quintet for Woodwinds (Movements 1 and 2)	Classical	Sep 20, 2010	223
Op. 12-Woodwind Quintet No. 1-III. Presto	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	300
Op. 13-Divertimento for String Quintet and Piano	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	258
Op. 14-Der Man Ferder Over-I. Daybreak in Sogenfjord	Classical	Oct 28, 2009	355
Op. 14-Der Man Ferder Over-II. A Viking's Workday	Classical	Nov 11, 2009	314
Op. 16-Valse-Scherzo for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano	Classical	Dec 27, 2009	739
Op. 17-Scherzo in G Minor for Piano-"The Christmas Scherzo"	Classical	Dec 22, 2009	425
Op. 18 Sonata for Flute and Piano in D-II. Allegro, molto capriccioso	Classical	Sep 17, 2010	349
Op. 18 Sonata for Flute and Piano in D-III. Andante pastorale, poco mosso	Classical	Sep 17, 2010	256
Op. 18-Sonata for Flute and Piano in D-I. Giusto, ma poco moderato	Classical	Jan 4, 2010	262
Op. 19-For Alexander McQueen-Trio for English Horn, Violin and Viola	Classical	Mar 21, 2010	421
Op. 2-Sonata for Bassoon-III. Allegro molto animato e ritmico	Classical	Mar 28, 2010	266
Op. 3-Preludes for Piano-I. Largo e misterioso	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	369
Op. 3-Preludes for Piano-II. Moderato ma molto marcato assai	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	427
Op. 3-Preludes for Piano-III. Allegro e molto scherzando	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	392
Op. 3-Preludes for Piano-IV. Adagio sostenuto	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	2683
Op. 3-Preludes for Piano-V. Presto	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	372
Op. 4-Valse Horrible-Concertpiece for Piano	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	329
Op. 5-Sonata for Oboe-II. Andante	Classical	Mar 28, 2010	216
Op. 5-Sonata for Oboe-III. Allegro con brio	Classical	Oct 21, 2009	310
Op. 6-Three Pieces for Clarinet and Cello-III. Allegro con brio	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	688
Op. 8-String Quartet No. 1-I. Allegro con anima	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	313
Op. 8-String Quartet No. 1-II. Andante ma non troppo-Molto animato-Tempo I	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	499
Op. 8-String Quartet No. 1-III. Allegro pizzicato, alla humoresque.	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	372
Op. 8-String Quartet No. 1-IV. Allegrissimo	Classical	Oct 20, 2009	15948
Op. 9-Sonate Vert for Piano	Classical	Mar 28, 2010	233

Talk about the best Christmas present ever!

December 22, 2009

Fjörðr...whatever that means.

October 26, 2009

New to this site. Not really sure what to expect.

October 20, 2009

Title	Artist	Genre	Plays
ARIETTA with EWQLSO (Silver Edition) Strings	georgeptingley	Classical	707
call it anything you want	Lapskin	Electronica	221
Chanson et L'amour Mens choir piece	deorleans	A Cappella	1238
Clarinet Quintet Caprice "Spring Dance of the Plants"	davidsmith99	Classical	1858
Cosmic Phone Call to Carla	carlajpatterson [+1]	Comedy	995
Dancing Dragonfly (studio version)	MonikaEvans	Alternative	417
December Rain (piano and orchestra)	georgeptingley	Classical	1162
Desert Sunrise	georgeptingley	Classical	600
Devils Night ft Phade,Mideon and Heressy	Verbalist	Hip Hop/Rap	425
Don't Make Me Do It	carlajpatterson	Alternative	534
It's A Night (w/Rosalinda)	Naaji [+1]	Jazz	855
Lampoons (for Orchestra)	soulima	Classical	585
Leadbelly's TAKE THIS HAMMER	georgeptingley	Folk	722
Machu Picchu	Narananda	Ambient	426
Memento Mori	soulima	Classical	655
Minuet in G minor	georgeptingley	Classical	734
movie chase cue	mrtinyjam	Other	349
Now Im alone	KitRumble	Electronica	1408
Oriental Mist	KathyK	Classical	755
Phantasmagoria	soulima	Classical	578
Protocol	becwil [+1]	Classical	1755
Raindrops 2	Lapskin	Electronica	366
Reverie (concert piano version)	georgeptingley	Classical	526
Rockastepp	Sera [+1]	Electronica	344
Russolo's Glitch	puppy7	Electronica	407
Sayonara baby	KitRumble	Electronica	356
Scotch Whisky	archjerry	Jazz	450
Sensai Japan	tedfire	Ambient	396
Serenade for Chamber Orchestra - Complete	soulima	Classical	563
Sextet In D (movement 4)	JoelIrwin	Classical	477
Spain	Bennie	Jazz	614
Speculative Mania (HTB)	becwil	Other	1129
Suite for Chamber Orchestra-Mov't 1	soulima	Classical	746
Symphony in E Major - First Movement (draft)	soulima	Classical	933
The Keening Spell (UF)	becwil	Classical	4563
Theme and Variation # 1 from the 'August Variations'	soulima	Classical	1007
Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon in Gmin, First Movement	JoelIrwin	Classical	415
Unconditional (For Theo and Maya)	carlajpatterson [+1]	Jazz	591
Usvapuro - main theme	ewigwanderer	Classical	601
Uva Ursi	enkibumbu	Jazz	866
Violin concerto	pandolfo	Classical	1247
Waltz/Dance	Alegoo92	Classical	557
What Are You Like?	4arms [+1]	Pop	681
Zoomorphisms - Fireflies	soulima	Classical	1770
Zoomorphisms - Orcas	soulima	Classical	931