Composer . Producer . Pianist . Percussionist . Vocalist
  • Impulse Impulse Trio for alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and piano.
  • Nocturnal Music Nocturnal Music Nocturnal Music (2013) is a transcription for string orchestra of Two Movements for Wind Quintet (2012).
  • The Great Figure The Great Figure The Great Figure (2012) is a setting of William Carlos’ Williams poem of the same name for countertenor and chamber ensemble.
  • Arcis: Original Game Soundtrack Arcis: Original Game Soundtrack
  • Two Movements for Wind Quintet Two Movements for Wind Quintet Two Movements for Wind Quintet (2012) is a study on how far minute amounts of melodic and harmonic material can be stretched. The primary sonority of the first movement is a minor-major ninth chord. The omnipresent motive of the descending half-step is a result of the chord being revoiced so that the interval between the third and ninth of the chord changes from a minor ninth to a major seventh. This concept of “resolving” a dissonance to a lesser dissonance is present throughout the first movement. The jazz-influenced second movement features the dominant seventh sharp ninth chord, but retains melodic motives and certain harmonic passages from the first movement. The augmented scale sinuously weaves throughout both movements, and is the final tie that binds together two highly contrasting sections of music.
  • Flight Flight Flight (2011) is a five-minute work for brass quintet that sweeps the listener through a musical journey of exuberance. The constant motivic eighth-note groove provides an energetic rhythmic underpinning over which melodic material floats in an effortlessly joyous arc. Featuring an improvised trumpet solo, Flight relies on the player’s own spur-of-the-moment emotions to complete the piece.

     
Latest Blog Entries
Performances

Roseville Area High School (MN) to Perform “Two Movements for Wind Quintet”

by Michael Betz on Oct 27, 2012 • No Comments
UPDATE: The performance was postponed to February 12, 2013. The students played Mvt. II. —– I am pleased to announce that a student quintet from Roseville Area High School in Roseville, MN will be performing Two Movements for Wind Quintet!  The performance will be December 4th at 7:30 PM.  I adapted the original contrabassoon part...
Arcis Audio Creation
Audio Production / Composition

Arcis Audio Creation

by Michael Betz on Aug 10, 2012 • 1 Comment
I recently completed the music and sound effects for Arcis, Nathan Tornquist‘s latest release, a tower defense game that combines traditional tower defense gameplay with a more involved arcade playing style. This is not my first collaboration with Nathan.  When we were in the 6th grade, we both got the book Game Programming for Teens by...
Maintenance

This Page is Under Construction

by Michael Betz on Jul 8, 2012 • No Comments
Michaelbetzmusic.com is under construction at the moment.  If somehow you have stumbled upon it in its unpublicized state, please feel free to return once everything is ready! Thanks, Michael Betz  

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

© 2013, Michael Betz. All Rights Reserved.