Cassie To says her music is about producing emotional connections. Her sound is refined but textured, with each composition carefully crafted to appeal to the rawest elements of humanity – emotion, memory and feeling. Her education at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music (Bachelor of Music, Honours in Composition) combined with her musical influences has given her the passion and expertise to compose across different styles and genres. She has composed for ensembles such as Ensemble Offspring, Sydney Youth Orchestra String Ensembles and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as part of the Cybec 21st Century Composer program. Cassie To’s adaptability and creativity has seen her write scores for film, social media shorts, advertisements and documentaries as well as collaborations with pop and indie artists. Her portfolio already includes work for Tropfest (2011–2014), ABC, and Channel 7. Cassie is a devoted environmentalist and her passion for conservation and telling stories through nature is rippled through her work.
Auras I & II. Cassie To, 2013. Score and parts for string quartet. From the composer: “Concepts of an individual’s aura can be found in many different religions and spiritual beliefs and are generally associated with notions of a spiritual field of luminous radiation that surrounds an individual, reflecting their personality traits, thoughts and feelings. Auras, composed for string quartet, sonically explore these notions through two distinct movements”.[purchase_link id=”3199″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Birds of Passage. Cassie To, 2013. Score and parts for string orchestra (two violins, viola, cello, double bass). This piece was originally composed for Sydney Youth Orchestra’s Junior Strings ensemble Sinfonietta.[purchase_link id=”3218″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Brass Quintet No.1. Cassie To, 2014. Score and parts for brass quintet (two trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba). From the composer: “An exciting piece for brass quintet consisting of three contrasting movements”.[purchase_link id=”3222″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Mejiro. Cassie To, 2013. Score for solo cello. From the composer: “Mejiro is the name given to a small Japanese bird also known as Japanese White Eye. The piece is based upon the C harmonic series and inspired by the little Japanese bird.[purchase_link id=”3228″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Piano Sonata No. 1. Cassie To, 2014. Score for piano, two movements: I. Gasp and II. Sigh.[purchase_link id=”3234″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]The Brightness of Your Dawn. Cassie To, 2013. Score for SATB choir. From the composer: “A small choral piece based upon concepts of ‘epiphany’, Lyrics: Isaiah 60:1- 5″.[purchase_link id=”3238″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]To the Holy Spirit. Cassie To, 2015. Score for SSA Choir. From the composer: “A small vocal piece for female voices inspired by the music of Hildegard Von Bingen. Lyrics translated from ‘De Spirito Sancto’ by Hildegard”.[purchase_link id=”3241″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Waldeinsamkeit. Cassie To, 2013. Score for SSAATTBB Choir. From the composer: “Translated from German, Waldeinsamkeit is the feeling of being alone in the woods and is associated with experiences of peacefulness and calm when at one with nature. Waldeinsamkeit is a meditative and atmospheric piece for choir”.[purchase_link id=”3244″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]
Light. Cassie To, 2015. Score and parts for flute and piano. From the composer: “Light is a piece for solo flute and piano. The piece consists of two movements: I. Aranyhíd (Hungarian for ‘the reflection of the sun as it shines upon the water’) and II. Yakamoz (Turkish for ‘reflection of the moon as it shines upon the water’). Although quite distinct, both movements begin with stillness, calm and an essence of mystery, conjuring images of water and light reflections”.[purchase_link id=”3225″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Ostara’s Equinox. Cassie To. Score and parts for wind symphony. From the composer: “According to Norse Mythology, Ostara was the Germanic goddess of spring and fertility who was celebrated during the Vernal (spring) Equinox. During the equinox, the hours of light becomes equal to night, symbolising a perfect equilibrium in dark and light, masculinity and femininity and inner and outer balance. Ostara’s Equinox explores the celebration of Ostara and the Spring equinox”.[purchase_link id=”3231″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]Avialae. Cassie To, 2015. Score and parts for flute, Bb clarinet, piano, percussion, and violin. From the composer: “‘Avialae’ translated from Latin means ‘bird wings’ and is a reference to the scientific classification of birds as ‘Clade Avialae’. The piece incorporates the bird songs of five endangered Australian species: Painted Snipe, Swift Parrot, Carnbary’s Cockatoo, Regent Honey Eater and the Ground Parrot. Each birdcall is imitated and improvised by the performers and, throughout the piece, are transformed from literal interpretations to conventional musical melodies. Avialae explores a disappearing natural sound world and hopes to bring to attention our environmental situation, where if nothing is done to protect our ecosystems, these songs may permanently be silenced, only to exist in our imagination”.[purchase_link id=”4213″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]