Melrose Overture


Upon completion of his formal musical training in 1987, Matt’s orchestral “Melrose Overture” marked a new, exciting level of maturity and creativity in his journey as a composer. Resurrected from forgotten manuscripts in 2021, this Premiere recording brings the “Melrose Overture” into the light of day with the gifted players of the DNP Studio Orchestra. The recording’s cover graphic highlights the work’s rhythmic motif. This energetic orchestral piece wraps different melodic “movements” into a singular work. The music opens with an explosive high-A from all three trumpets. A bombastic timpani solo takes over, followed by a single trumpet’s presentation of the melodic motif, which is answered by the full orchestra. Solos are plentiful throughout, including a virtuosic cadenza by the concertmaster. Slower lyrical themes are balanced with those featuring more rhythmical challenges. The conclusion builds harmonic dissonance between the instruments, until a unifying final chord.

(Official Music Video)

Single Release

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Rhythmic Motif

Conductor Score
Complete set of 32 Parts

Available through online partners

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COLLECTORS - Matt Johnson’s NFTs use IPFS cryptographic hashing within the metadata and associated files, providing proof of authenticity and indefinite persistence of the token.

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Autographed Limited Edition
Cover Art NFTs

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Album Review: Melrose Overture Matt Johnson 2021 / Dolce & Nuit Productions 8 minutes Review by Kathy Parsons www.MainlyPiano.com
 "Melrose Overture" is an exciting orchestrated single from pianist/composer/educator Matt Johnson. Clocking in at just over eight minutes, the piece weaves together a variety of melodic themes or movements to create an energetic, multi-faceted work. Originally composed in the summer of 1987, right after Johnson completed his Master's degree at New England Conservatory in Boston, the work marked a new and exciting level of maturity and creativity for the young composer. At the time, Matt was living across the street from Memorial Hall where the Melrose Symphony Orchestra performed. He met with the conductor and the two agreed that Matt would compose a work dedicated to the orchestra. "Melrose Overture" was scheduled to have its first performance by the orchestra it was named for in the spring of 1988, but was taken off the program a week before its premiere. I can only imagine what a crushing experience that must have been, and the piece was shelved for many years - long enough that the computer files for the conductor's score as well as all of the parts became inaccessible. "Decades later, a chance remembrance of the work encouraged me to try to recover the files once more. I successfully located a source—halfway around the world—that was able to access and convert the files. With renewed energy, I began to re-engrave the entire Conductor score and all the players' parts. I assembled the best players, formed the DNP Studio Orchestra and recorded the Premiere during the summer of 2021." The "Overture" itself has a very strong visual quality and the variety in its themes would make it an excellent choice for a movie soundtrack, but visuals are definitely not needed to thoroughly enjoy this powerful symphonic work! Both the recording and the orchestral score for "Melrose Overture" are offered through Matt's site. The recording can also be downloaded or streamed from sites such as Amazon, Apple Music/iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and others. The conductor's score and orchestral parts are also available from SheetMusicPlus.com and JWPepper.com. On YouTube, you can follow the score as the music plays at https://youtu.be/uYvSyME1l6E - always a fun thing to watch! ​So, if you're in the mood for some music that is more classical than jazz or new age, be sure to look for "Melrose Overture"!

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Melrose Overture_B-flat Trumpet 2_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmZEk14sVjuQHz4wmum1ARa88nmnXosC3UAsAget4W1yFM 19. Melrose Overture_B-flat Trumpet 3_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/Qma21ZjmpoZUJsLFLhs22AF6C3XaGuzrX2MRKTPaJvyhUd 20. Melrose Overture_Trombone 1_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/Qmd5LESXu4AMNZugT7NgXhpGNh7c2PvmaqUspafYsY6peL 21. Melrose Overture_Trombone 2_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmcbFGRwoA9RbgFB9Lr5Nz8SakgixNWoFJEXTVA5NDCH1k 22. Melrose Overture_Trombone 3_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmepmnmAwx6wQHXdZoVshegA4toQAK51mUu5smrypT9BAX 23. Melrose Overture_Tuba_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmaFTsTHJQc6jLhAKqKisRQfZTkVJg5FEgjN4PWzvoVecX 24. Melrose Overture_Timpani_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmZHgsqzJPwPxAGTbUr2DwEvBAy3DFCwSj2QtGFwnv4hYu 25. Melrose Overture_Percussion 1_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmVET9rS88bzUFsG7EoVxikKbdZc8r9Yy2Ng5EZ6j7qHwJ 26. Melrose Overture_Percussion 2_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmbhAMjr9UbxRkF7RsAer6ypDw9s9dBT1hkdBXfV4smZuz 27. Melrose Overture_Percussion 3_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmPMihRu28qzfNqamzJnb9v6TZQ9Y5D4Ydh3f6vAorPJQE 28. Melrose Overture_Violin 1_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmZ3ahu8SwU3JCYcrPi9JBj5bgx78NbQ1BfWrUzLfqngLM 29. Melrose Overture_Violin 2_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXrdBjhv2CZBSRtQnoCU4xEXpw9TJR6wwBtfS4pkPpMFy 30. Melrose Overture_Viola_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmVz8nggN7WUTnMmXBksnBJ9XTZbocPMWhmNXY98E8Ju8A 31. Melrose Overture_Cello_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmcmPHQqUUj6MU5GzrzCtvDwyfaQqBga9UvDSEidmzsiFv 32. Melrose Overture_Double Bass_PART.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmSR7xfX2MF39yzYezRkbb1o4pB2Fux6FQ5CNTx3ykYWDm Public Domain Release_MattJohnsonMusic_DNP.pdf • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmfDYohhwGcFvdhiNj45jqiPAmfk45U5ht6cSNY7MVAM61 METADATA UPC = 045011366875; ISWC = T-304.428.579-8; ISRC = USUX32136687; ASCAP Work ID = 911728202; DNP Catalog # = DNP36-0687 Web2 • Cover Art URL’s • CoverArtArchive.org links Melrose Overture Cover Art; http://coverartarchive.org/release/18e79cec-3b8a-4511-8afe-a79f1ad65e00/front INFO: https://www.mattjohnsonmusic.com/melrose-overture

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(350 words) FEATURE PROFILE ARTICLE By Jerrold Schwartz, Ph.D | October 10, 2021 VIBRANT NEW OVERTURE FOR ORCHESTRA Inspired by the classical heritage of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, American composer Matt Johnson’s “Melrose Overture” for symphony orchestra celebrates its premiere recording release by Dolce & Nuit Productions. Like Bach, Johnson’s decades-long compositional output for the church includes choral works and hymn arrangements. Then, mirroring Beethoven’s tenacity, Johnson has promoted his piano and ensemble creations through sheet music, recordings and concertizing. Finally, echoing Chopin, Johnson’s renown as a teacher has allowed him to help shape and inspire several generations of up-and-coming composers and pianists. George Winston’s written encouragements guided Johnson’s journey of recording his original works back in the 1980’s. Although Johnson holds a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, his first recordings were described as “new age” and that label stuck. However, Johnson cannot be pigeon-holed or type-cast. He employs a unique blend of classical and jazz elements. His pianistic and compositional skills are broader, more cerebral and much more refined than the normal perception of new age music. “Melrose Overture” is Johnson’s first major orchestral work, and written as a stand-alone piece. Recently resurrected from forgotten manuscripts, Johnson assembled gifted players to form the DNP Studio Orchestra and recorded the premiere during the summer of 2021. The recording’s cover graphic highlights the work’s rhythmic motif. The critics concur that “Melrose Overture” is a worthy addition to the orchestral repertoire. Critic Robert Matthew-Walker from London’s Musical Opinion commented: “This is a highly attractive overture by a genuinely gifted composer, which more than deserves performance and will appeal to any concert audience.” This energetic and audience-friendly orchestral piece is an upbeat concert opener which wraps different melodic “movements” into a singular work. The music opens with an explosive high-A from all three trumpets. A bombastic timpani solo takes over, followed by a single trumpet’s presentation of the melodic motif, which is answered by the full orchestra. Solos are plentiful throughout, including a virtuosic cadenza by the concertmaster. Slower lyrical themes are balanced with those featuring more rhythmical challenges. The conclusion builds harmonic dissonance between the instruments, until a unifying final chord. # # # About the Author: Jerrold Schwartz contributes to an eclectic smattering of online journals and publications. He has followed Mr. Johnson’s career for many years and may be reached at….