A World Class Orchestra, At Your Service

“I was impressed by the audio samples on the Ravel Virtual Studios website, so I sent them the Finale score for my Reverie for small orchestra to find out what they could do with it. I was very pleased with the result. I was also impressed by their professionalism and their prompt and cheerful responses to all of my questions and requests.”

John Winsor
Composer-in-residence, Hardwick Chamber Ensemble

Spotlight - Reverie

Ravel Virtual Studios recently performed John Winsor’s Reverie, “a short, quiet piece for small orchestra which is somewhat reminiscent of Maurice Ravel’s music.” John is a composer whose music has a distinct voice and an emphasis on solid craftsmanship. We’re pleased to be able to make the recording of Reverie available for your listening pleasure.





About John Winsor

John WinsorJohn Winsor (B.Mus., Heidelberg College; M.A., Kent State University) studied clarinet Robert Marcellus of the Cleveland Orchestra and composition with John Rinehart and James Waters. He has taught music theory at the Armed Forces School of Music and at the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. He is clarinetist and composer-in-residence of the Hardwick Chamber Ensemble and webmaster for the National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA), the MusicLink Foundation, and the Virginia Music Teachers Association (VMTA) and a past Chairman of NACUSA’s Board of Directors. John’s composition prizes include 1992 and 1995 Delius Awards, 1992, 1994, and 2004 VMTA Commissioned Composer awards, and the Modern Music Festival 2000 Film Scoring Competition prize. He has received grants from the American Music Center and from Meet the Composer, Inc. and 16 ASCAP Plus awards. He is the author of Breaking the Sound Barrier: An Argument for Mainstream Literary Music (iUniverse Writer’s Showcase), which won a Bronze Medal in ForeWord Magazine’s 2003 Book of the Year Awards.

John’s writing generally resembles that of Hindemith and Stravinsky. He often uses traditional forms, imitative counterpoint, and literal repetitions. His harmonies are usually either quartal or by-products of contrapuntal relationships. For John, the heart of composition is in development. The challenge is to let the music unfold logically and seamlessly, as though it is driven by the laws of nature. During exposition, he strives to present basic thematic material clearly so that the audience can assimilate it and vicariously participate in the act of composing.

Visit John on the web at www.john-winsor.com.