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Now Playing... 'Nutcracker Suite' by Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Note: These are MIDI (.mid) files
(Requires Windows Media Player or RealPlayer)
1. Overture Miniature
2. March
3. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
4. Russian Dance: Trepak
5. Arabian Dance
6. Chinese Dance
7. Dance of the Reed Pipes
8. Waltz of the Flowers
The music will be played by a 'plug-in' launched by your browser)
(For more information Click here)
This is an excellent site for shareware programs.
The shareware/freeware I have out at the moment falls into two categories:
This is another excellent site for shareware programs.Most of my music scores, and some tapes are available at the Canadian Music Centre.
Most of my music there was written between 1957 and 1974, and includes orchestral music, band music, chamber music, as well as some piano and vocal music, and an opera. In some instances, both the score and parts are there, and where the parts may be missing, I can probably provide them. Some of the music was intended for performers at the student level, and some of it is quite difficult.
Some of my compositions:
MP3 Files
Click here for 'SoundClick' Click here for 'MP3Unsigned' to hear some of the above files converted to MP3 format. This preserves the intended sound, and is not dependant on the listener's equipment.
The Mechanics of MusicOne of the courses I taught Music Specialists at the Nova Scotia Teachers College was Music Theory (which included Harmony, Arranging etc.). I found that although there was a tremendous amount of talent among my students, they were frequently deficient in music theory. What I tried to do was devise a course that provided the background they needed, but was practical, and not too academic. It was also designed to utilize the musical resources available - voices, recorders, autoharp, wind instruments etc. Eventually, the course evolved into a book The Mechanics of Music. I submitted it to a few publishers, and one large publisher was about to undertake its publication, but then Head Office decided it could not undertake another Music Theory project at that time. However, I did receive some very favourable and useful reviewsClick here for Page 1 Click here for Page 2. Although the book was completed in 1970, I think that it is basically still relevant, and after sorting out some of the technical problems in doing so, I am making it available on the internet. It is available to anyone interested in using it, whether for personal study, or for teaching purposes. However, the material is copyrighted, and it is NOT available for any commercial purpose. Click here to read the book.
IndexMy Biography
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on December 11, 1931. I received a Bachelor of Music (composition) degree from McGill University in 1956. After that, I taught privately, and in a private school, I did a little playing (clarinet and saxophone), I managed to sell a little stock music to the National Film Board, I wrote arrangements for a television series out of Winnipeg (for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra), and a few other odds and ends.
In 1958, I was fortunate in being able to acquire a Teaching Fellowship at Bennington College in Vermont. My primary job was to accompany Modern Dance classes by improvising on the piano. It also involved playing the clarinet, copying music etc. This was a two year program that led to a Master of Arts in Music Composition. The atmosphere was very conducive to creative work there, particularly since practically everything one wrote was performed, at least in workshop. I wrote quite a bit of music there, and capped it off with a one-act opera This Evening;. I spent the following year in the Theatre Department of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, where I played for dance classes, wrote some music for theatrical productions, and taught clarinet privately.
I freelanced for a year after Bennington and Smith, and then decided to go into teaching. I taught instrumental music and English in high schools in Ontario for four years, and then taught music theory, music history, instrumental music, and classroom music at the Nova Scotia Teachers College in Truro, Nova Scotia, over a period of eight years. During this period, I wrote some band music, other music for students, and a music theory textbook, The Mechanics of Music (unpublished).
In 1975, I decided to move back to Toronto, and change careers. I took a six month programming course at Control Data, and worked for seventeen years first with Minicomputers, and later with Microcomputers, as a Programmer Analyst writing business systems using Business Basic. I designed and programmed Accounting, Job Costing, Bill of Materials, Rental Management, Distribution, Retail etc. systems, and worked for a number of years developing the system for the Ontario New Home Warranty Program. Eventually, health problems emerged, and I was forced at first to reduce my workload to part-time, and finally to quit work altogether.
I am now retired, but keep busy mainly with computers and music.
Some Travel PhotosOver the years, I've travelled somewhat, not a huge amount by today's standards, but I've taken some photos, that I thought weren't too bad, and which I would like to share here.
(Click on the photos to enlarge them.).
In 1999, my brother, Harvey Sirlin (Sirulnikoff) sat down and wrote a memoir detailing what he called "My 2nd Most Memorable Year". This was the year that he, as a twenty year old, partly out of idealism, and partly craving adventure, participated in Israel's 1948 War of Independence. His writing ability somewhat surprised me, and his memory for detail contributes in no small measure to the impressiveness of this effort. He was also at some great pains to tell only the truth, and not exaggerate, as he often felt some veterans of war are prone to do. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2001, and so I am presenting it here in his memory.Click here to read the memoir.
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