Dr. William E. Doyle | El Camino College (original) (raw)
Conference Presentations by Dr. William E. Doyle
Art Gallery Presentation, 2023
The new Art Gallery at El Camino College (Torrance, CA) opened in September 2023. To open the gal... more The new Art Gallery at El Camino College (Torrance, CA) opened in September 2023. To open the gallery, an Indigenous Music/Art presentation was given in September and November 2023. The gallery was curated by Wendy Stockstill and was comprised of more than 100 instruments, art, and artifacts from more than 12 countries. The presentation consisted of Native American flute and Aboriginal Australian yidaki (didgeridoo) music, accompanied by piano and percussion. Dr. Anthony Moreno, Wendy Stockstill, Srimal de Mel, and Dr. William Doyle were the featured performers. Click on this LINK to watch a video of the Lecture/Demo from November 2023. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/shcud8f5acdmpr04kmtp9/Art-Gallery-Nov-2023.mp4?rlkey=l4m5wpaxfdh3w2u1vby8kkd7f&dl=0
Education and the Arts at the Center of Kurt Vonnegut's Universe., 2023
The Theme of the 2023 Teaching Vonnegut series is that High School is at the Core of the American... more The Theme of the 2023 Teaching Vonnegut series is that High School is at the Core of the American Experience. As we will see, the Vonnegut family, from his great-grandfather right down to Kurt Jr., were all musically literate. And Kurt Vonnegut’s influence continues to grow. Vonnegut’s reflections about the dynamic of being broadly educated, and that as an artist, reflects the depth of his family’s concerns as well as his regional influences and worldly experiences. Vonnegut extols the value of art, and he encourages graduates to engage with literature, music, and other art forms since they have the power to expand our perspectives, foster empathy, and inspire creativity. Art is a vital tool for making sense of the human experience. The 14 July 2023, KVML presentation, can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fjgz5j1sap58hiem9mmyi/h?rlkey=44rxtzkv9pyrsubotu2q9o61o&dl=0
Kurt Vonnegut was a musically literate writer. In a number of his works there are references to B... more Kurt Vonnegut was a musically literate writer. In a number of his works there are references to Bach, Mozart, jazz, the blues, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. This workshop will explore hi musical references as we unravel his musical choices -- including the movie music from Slaughterhouse Five. We will be joined by organist Dr. James Hurd. The video of this workshop can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
Welcome to Bach, Beethoven, the Beatles – and the musical choices of Kurt Vonnegut. My name is Wi... more Welcome to Bach, Beethoven, the Beatles – and the musical choices of Kurt Vonnegut. My name is William Doyle and I earned my Doctorate in Music at the Univ. of Southern California. I am a composer, conductor, and a Professor of Music teaching at El Camino College in Los Angeles, and at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree. I teach a variety of Music History classes, as well as a very unique Music of The Beatles class!
This presentation is in 4 parts as we discuss, AND LISTEN to, the music that Kurt Vonnegut refers his novels, stories, interviews, and letters. We’ll also have time for a Q. and A. session at the end. The video of this presentation can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
I discovered the works of Kurt Vonnegut at an early age and, in 2019, premiered a comic opera The... more I discovered the works of Kurt Vonnegut at an early age and, in 2019, premiered a comic opera The Janitor. This comic opera is infused with the wit and wisdom, artistic and ecological concerns of Vonnegut and was originally inspired by his novel The Sirens of Titan. The video of this workshop can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
Teaching Vonnegut, KVML, 2021
The Wit and Wisdom of Vonnegut, Teaching Vonnegut 2021. Artistic and Ecological view in The Jani... more The Wit and Wisdom of Vonnegut, Teaching Vonnegut 2021. Artistic and Ecological view in The Janitor (comic opera) by William E. Doyle. Drawing from Player Piano up through If This Isn't Nice, this workshop examines the wit and wisdom, musical, artistic and global view of Kurt Vonnegut. Joined by members of the original cast, and with live performances, Vonnegut's global views take center stage. The video of this program can be found at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
Opera Libretti by Dr. William E. Doyle
The Janitor, our anti-hero, enters with a broom. Sweeping the stage, he tells us that he's apolog... more The Janitor, our anti-hero, enters with a broom. Sweeping the stage, he tells us that he's apologizing-but he doesn't tell us what for (and he never does). He's going to 'make it up to us,'-but first he's going to tell us how it happened. And he starts his story at the VERY beginning, the CEO (Created Everything Originally) & the Big Bang. 2. The CEO (2:25) The Janitor is obviously impressed with his boss. He describes him as if he is a singer, dancer, and the coolest person all rolled into one. This is his big build-up & stage entrance. The only problem is that the CEO manifests himself as a woman. Covering up his mistake, he wants to tell us all about the Big Bang, but the CEO stops him. 3. The Ride-Big Bang (3:10) To the CEO, the Big Bang is like a motorcycle ride, and it needs some explanation. The CEO is very proud of her universe. In fact, she is quite impressed with her work. The byproduct of her creation is that we get to live in it. She also has many 'expressions gone bad'malapropisms. Father Time gives us a reading from the Gospel according to Kurt Vonnegut-a humanist who just happens to be the CEO's favorite author-in order to help us understand what she is talking about. This is followed by the CEO and Janitor finally getting to the point, the Big Bang. She is funny, playful, clever, and uses her voice to bring the universe to life borrowing some 'sounds' from James Joyce (Ulysses) and recreates the Big Bang for us. Father Time ends with a second reading that is directed at the Janitor-everyone wants to build, but no one wants to do maintenance. This is one of the themes… and the Janitor needs to get his stuff together (1. The Apology) in order to keep his job and get the girl. 4. The Universe (2:41) The Janitor continues on with a 'humanly' or scientific explanation of the universe. As he expands on the universe, it gets faster and faster. At the end, Bubbles comes onto the stage with a Work Order (folded up accordion-like paper). He's clearly in love with her-and he tells her that he wants her to be in his dreams (20. A Dream within a Dream). 5. Bubbles, Moon and Eclipse (3:05) Bubbles wants to be sure he gets his work done… he needs to demonstrate that he is 'reliable' and not just charming. We find out they have a history with each other (they watched an Eclipse together). This also has a sappy, cheesy ending from the Janitor, but Bubbles reminds him of his work. Father Time turns over an hourglass-and we get the idea that the Janitor is 'on the clock' with both jobs and Bubbles (we'll see this throughout the opera). Oh, and there's the devil he'll have to contend with… Scene 2, Day, Somewhere on Earth 6. The Map (5:43) Bubbles reminds the Janitor about some of his earlier screw ups… including the missing Rings of Saturn (also in 21. Apology 2). The Janitor needs a map to get to his jobs and to complete the Work Order. Mercury appears with a cloth bag (Nat. Am. flute) for him to deliver and tells him to open up the Work Order. NOW, it accordions to the floor… he is startled. Then Mercury, who is kind of abrupt with him, directs him to see Leonardo for a map-she obviously has other deliveries to make! As we meet Leonardo, he is about to hang himself. Bubbles and the Janitor watch as the Devil enters with a guitar and iPad. Before he can make a trade for his soul, the Devil introduces himself to us… full of hubris and sarcasm. He will play his guitar during his introduction and then use technology to try and steal the soul of Leonardo with lies, greed, deception, and all the hubris of a used car salesman. The CEO takes Bubbles off the stageshe wants to see how well the Janitor does on this job.
On Oct. 3, 2020, William Doyle was awarded the best Original Work in the 2020 International Edgar... more On Oct. 3, 2020, William Doyle was awarded the best Original Work in the 2020 International Edgar Allan Poe festival for his work Extraordinary Tales in Music (concert-opera). The awards ceremony can be view on his YouTube page (Dr. William E. Doyle) and on the Poe Baltimore YouTube page.
An evening of new and original compositions based on ‘extraordinary’ tales in literature, includi... more An evening of new and original compositions based on ‘extraordinary’ tales in literature, including three works by Edgar Allan Poe.
As the concert begins, we meet Edgar Allan Poe at the University of Virginia in 1826. With his wild and vivid imagination, he takes us on a trip through Homer’s Odyssey, the travels of Marco Polo, and his own trip to Ireland.
Later, inspired by love and the poet WB Yeats, Poe brings to life three of his masterpieces — his poem A Dream Within A Dream, the famous The Raven, and the terrifying story of The Cask of Amontillado. This concert-opera premiered in May of 2019 at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance, California.
The Janitor — what is it? Well, it is not about religion, politics, socio-economics, or the newe... more The Janitor — what is it? Well, it is not about religion, politics, socio-economics, or the newest world order… it is about the universal concepts of love and the intersection of music, science, poetry/literature. This is a comic opera as we watch two people overcome their jobs, bosses, temptation, and lots of people who ‘think they know’ in order to engage in the simplest of actions. Along the way we’ll upend everything from our views of Creation and the Universe, to the Scholars who try to explain it to us, and even the most beloved of Fairy Tales and Airline safety as the Janitor takes us on a universal and personal odyssey - with some inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut. This comic opera premiered in September 2019 at the El Camino College Campus Theater, Torrance, California.
Screenplay/Play by Dr. William E. Doyle
From the Letters of Edgar Allan Poe, 2020
With a story and original music by William E. Doyle, and art design by Wendy Stockstill, excerpts... more With a story and original music by William E. Doyle, and art design by Wendy Stockstill, excerpts from the original Letters of bring to life some of the most dramatic poems, stories, and heartbreaking personal letters. This 20-minute film includes excerpts from The Raven, Dream within a Dream, Alone, To One in Paradise, The Cask of Amontillado, To Helen, and others. The entire film can be viewed on the YouTube page of Dr. William E. Doyle.
WGAw 2093785, 2021
Episodes…in the Life of an Artist A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actres... more Episodes…in the Life of an Artist
A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actress by composing a piece that depicts his dreams and fantasies — including her murder and his public execution. It’s Mick Jagger in 1830 Paris and the beginning of heavy metal ‘orchestral’ music as Amadeus meets Shakespeare in Love.
Hector Berlioz, now 60 years old, is reading his Journal; “My career is over, I compose no more, I conduct no more concerts.” He then writes; “With this final entry, I shall have said enough… I must go to the graveyard, it is to be demolished, all remains must be exhumed - even my Juliet.”
We now see a young Hector Berlioz traveling to Paris to begin his university studies at Medical School. At his first Anatomy class he is horrified when the older students walk up to the cadavers, each in various stages of decomposition, and address them as if they were friends. One student takes an exposed shoulder blade and tosses it to a rat that begins gnawing on it. Another takes a scrap of lung and tosses up into the air — swallows begin fighting over it. Overwhelmed by sights and sounds, Hector opens a window, climbs out and runs away leaving bloody footprints.
Not wanting to return to Medical School he decides to follow his dream and, after several comical and unsuccessful attempts, is finally accepted into the Paris Conservatory of Music. At the end of the term, he returns to his small village to tell his parents that he has found his destiny — only to have his father cut off his allowance and have his mother put a curse on him!
Needing a job, Hector starts working at the Paris Theater. There, in the audience for one night, he falls in love with the Irish actress playing Juliet — the beautiful and talented Henriette Smithson. He tries to speak with her after her performance but she refuses to speak to him. He decides to write a piece of music that will win him not only fame and fortune, but also her love.
The story he writes begins with; “A young musician, in a fit of lovesick despair, decides to poison himself. The opium is not strong enough to kill him, but plunges him into a strange dream ... in which he sees himself being sent to the gallows for murdering the woman he loves.” After a year of musical studies in Rome, he returns to Paris with this composition finished. He conspires with Henriette’s manager to have her attend the premier of Symphonie Fantastique.
With titles like Reveries, Passions, At the Ball, and Scene in the Country, Hector draws on his medical studies, the book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Shakespeare, and his unbridled imagination. Imagining that he has killed his ‘beloved,’ Hector will March to the Scaffold to be executed. The music is wild and gloomy, the crowd yells “murderer,” and he climbs up the steps to the gallows. Placing his head on the chopping block, he has one final thought — of love. The axe falls, his severed head rolls into a basket, and the crowd cheers.
Now a headless corpse, the Dream of a Witches Sabbath has the deceased ‘beloved’ return to laugh at him surrounded by a fearful crowd of specters, sorcerers, and monster of every kind all united for his burial. Unearthly sounds, groans, shrieks of laughter, distant cries — then, a funeral bell and the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) bring the music to a powerful conclusion. Exhausted from having conducted the premier, Hector looks up to the balcony to see that even Henriette is standing and applauding. As their eyes meet, he knows that; “I will have my Juliet!”
At the end of his life, Hector Berlioz arrives at the cemetery for the exhumation. He sees a young grave digger, with bare hands, reach into a coffin coming away with the withered skull of Henriette. As he holds it at the edge of her grave, the tired old man tells us; “Beyond all doubt, we will be reunited in the oblivion of the tomb - as flights of angels sing us to sleep.”
WGAw 2093785, January 2021
William E. Doyle
WGAw 2016680, 2019
DARK MUSIC, based on a true story, by William E. Doyle A young musician sets out to win the love... more DARK MUSIC, based on a true story, by William E. Doyle
A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actress by composing a piece that depicts his dreams and fantasies — including her murder and his public execution. It’s Mick Jagger in 1830 Paris and the beginning of heavy metal ‘orchestral’ music as Amadeus meets Shakespeare in Love.
Hector Berlioz, now 60 years old, is reading his Journal; “My career is over, I compose no more, I conduct no more concerts.” He then writes; “With this final entry, I shall have said enough… I must go to the graveyard, it is to be demolished, all remains must be exhumed - even my Juliet.”
The young Hector Berlioz travels to Paris to begin his university studies at Medical School. At his first Anatomy class he is horrified when the older students walk up to the cadavers, each in various stages of decomposition, and address them as if they were friends. One student takes an exposed shoulder blade and tosses it to a rat that begins gnawing on it. Another takes a scrap of lung and tosses up into the air — swallows begin fighting over it. Overwhelmed by sights and sounds, Hector opens a window, climbs out and runs away leaving bloody footprints.
Not wanting to return to Medical School he decides to follow his dream and, after several comical and unsuccessful attempts, is finally accepted into the Paris Conservatory of Music. At the end of the term he returns to his small village to tell his parents that he has found his destiny — only to have his father cut off his allowance and have his mother put a curse on him!
Needing a job, Hector starts working at the Paris Theater. There, in the audience for one night, he falls in love with the Irish actress playing Juliet — the beautiful and talented Henriette Smithson. He tries to speak with her after her performance but, recognizing that he was the one that yelled out “Don’t do it” during the final scene in the tomb, she refuses to speak to him. He decides to write a piece of music that will win him not only fame and fortune, but also her love.
The story he writes begins with; “A young musician, in a fit of lovesick despair, decides to poison himself. The opium is not strong enough to kill him, but plunges him into a strange dream ... in which he sees himself being sent to the gallows for murdering the woman he loves.” After a year of musical studies in Rome, he returns to Paris with this composition finished. He conspires with Henriette’s manager to have her attend the premier of Symphonie Fantastique.
With titles like Reveries, Passions, At the Ball, and Scene in the Country, Hector draws on his medical studies, the book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Shakespeare, and his unbridled imagination. Imagining that he has killed his ‘beloved,’ Hector will March to the Scaffold to be executed. The music is wild and gloomy, the crowd yells “murderer,” and he climbs up the steps to the gallows. Placing his head on the chopping block, he has one final thought — of love. The axe falls, his severed head rolls into a basket, and the crowd cheers.
Now a headless corpse, the Dream of a Witches Sabbath has the deceased ‘beloved’ return to laugh at him surrounded by a fearful crowd of specters, sorcerers, and monster of every kind all united for his burial. Unearthly sounds, groans, shrieks of laughter, distant cries — then a funeral bell and the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) bring the music to a powerful conclusion. Exhausted from having conducted the premier, Hector looks up to the balcony to see that even Henriette is standing and applauding. As their eyes meet, he announces; “I will have my Juliet!”
60-year old Hector Berlioz arrives at the cemetery for the exhumation. He sees a young grave digger, with bare hands, reach into a coffin coming away with the withered skull of Henriette. As he places it at the edge of her grave, the tired old man utters; “Love, a celestial flame, survives even in the tomb! It raises the stone, and, by the angels blest, like a wave of light loses itself in the infinite.”
WGAw registered, 2017
Queen Lili’uokalani was the last reigning monarch of Hawai’i. Removed illegally from her office,... more Queen Lili’uokalani was the last reigning monarch of Hawai’i. Removed illegally from her office, and wrongfully imprisoned, this is her story... the story of her people, and the end of the old Hawaiian ways.
This is a play, with music and dance, that details her brief reign and the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy. It is full of Hawaiian poetry, music, Hawaiian dancing (kahiko & au'wana), and the remarkable life of this composer queen.
Concert Programs by Dr. William E. Doyle
Performance, MasterClass, Lecture at the International Music Festival in Padua, Italy. Organized... more Performance, MasterClass, Lecture at the International Music Festival in Padua, Italy. Organized, directed, and arranged by Dr. William E. Doyle with special guest 6-time Grammy Winner Daniel Ho, baritone Anthony Moreno, pianist Tatiana Aleksandrova, and Hawaiian dancer Wendy Stockstill.
Performance with Keali'i Reichel at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Philharmonic World Music series ... more Performance with Keali'i Reichel at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Philharmonic World Music series -- the LA SuperNova chamber ensemble directed by Dr. William E. Doyle (who also contributed several arrangements)
Official concert program for the Sept. 2019 concert at the Campus Theater, El Camino College, Tor... more Official concert program for the Sept. 2019 concert at the Campus Theater, El Camino College, Torrance, CA.
Official concert program for the May 2019 concert at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torran... more Official concert program for the May 2019 concert at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance, CA.
Animation by Dr. William E. Doyle
A young boy and his mother arrive in NYC, the big city, for a day of shopping. Lily drops her so... more A young boy and his mother arrive in NYC, the big city, for a day of shopping. Lily drops her son Tony off with Uncle Max for a few hours. Uncle Max, the director of an orchestra is in rehearsal and Tony, sitting listening, is taken on an amazing journey out on 3rd Street as he meets Rocky, a saxophone-playing raccoon.
Rocky, and Tony bring the trash cans, fire hydrant, sidewalk, and even the light post to life to become members of their band. As the orchestra rehearses Beethoven's 5th Symphony with Uncle Max, Tony helps get the 'band' together to play their version of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven.
Gripper, Tera, and Tia are all friends from High School. It’s summer time, they have just gradua... more Gripper, Tera, and Tia are all friends from High School. It’s summer time, they have just graduated and are getting ready for their first semester in college.
Gripper is getting ready to take his Drivers Ed road test and his friends are there to support him. Gripper is next in line to take his test with Mr. Dunnigan (a bit absent minded) – the Drivers Ed teacher at their high school. Mr. Dunnigan is giving a driving test to Riff -- he is the leader of the car gang in high school who has failed the driving test with Mr. Dunnigan 3 times now!
As the three friends watch, the car in which Dunnigan and Riff are driving in crashes into a tree. Riff sprints out of the car, laughing, and jumps into another car full of his friends (the Raffs). Off they ride leaving Dunnigan in pain. We hear Riff yell out the window “We don’t need no stinking drivers license!”
The 3 kids run to Dunnigan and get him to the hospital. There, he asks them to work with him on his secret mission to help kids as a “Traffic Avenger.” He especially wants to check-up on the notorious “car gang” during their infamous nightly exploits and bring them to justice. Dunnigan, injured and unable to drive, tells them of his secret garage and asks them to meet him there that night. “All will be explained at my garage,” he tells them.
The 3 kids show at Dunnigan’s garage. That night, as they enter the garage, they see his high-tech Traffic Avenger station complete with video monitors, cameras, scanners, log books, and two strange looking guns that Dunnigan – they are untested proto-types.
The plot ideas center around a small city, the local high school, and the first year for the Traffic Avengers at college as they help Mr. Dunnigan and carry on his work.
Art Gallery Presentation, 2023
The new Art Gallery at El Camino College (Torrance, CA) opened in September 2023. To open the gal... more The new Art Gallery at El Camino College (Torrance, CA) opened in September 2023. To open the gallery, an Indigenous Music/Art presentation was given in September and November 2023. The gallery was curated by Wendy Stockstill and was comprised of more than 100 instruments, art, and artifacts from more than 12 countries. The presentation consisted of Native American flute and Aboriginal Australian yidaki (didgeridoo) music, accompanied by piano and percussion. Dr. Anthony Moreno, Wendy Stockstill, Srimal de Mel, and Dr. William Doyle were the featured performers. Click on this LINK to watch a video of the Lecture/Demo from November 2023. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/shcud8f5acdmpr04kmtp9/Art-Gallery-Nov-2023.mp4?rlkey=l4m5wpaxfdh3w2u1vby8kkd7f&dl=0
Education and the Arts at the Center of Kurt Vonnegut's Universe., 2023
The Theme of the 2023 Teaching Vonnegut series is that High School is at the Core of the American... more The Theme of the 2023 Teaching Vonnegut series is that High School is at the Core of the American Experience. As we will see, the Vonnegut family, from his great-grandfather right down to Kurt Jr., were all musically literate. And Kurt Vonnegut’s influence continues to grow. Vonnegut’s reflections about the dynamic of being broadly educated, and that as an artist, reflects the depth of his family’s concerns as well as his regional influences and worldly experiences. Vonnegut extols the value of art, and he encourages graduates to engage with literature, music, and other art forms since they have the power to expand our perspectives, foster empathy, and inspire creativity. Art is a vital tool for making sense of the human experience. The 14 July 2023, KVML presentation, can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fjgz5j1sap58hiem9mmyi/h?rlkey=44rxtzkv9pyrsubotu2q9o61o&dl=0
Kurt Vonnegut was a musically literate writer. In a number of his works there are references to B... more Kurt Vonnegut was a musically literate writer. In a number of his works there are references to Bach, Mozart, jazz, the blues, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. This workshop will explore hi musical references as we unravel his musical choices -- including the movie music from Slaughterhouse Five. We will be joined by organist Dr. James Hurd. The video of this workshop can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
Welcome to Bach, Beethoven, the Beatles – and the musical choices of Kurt Vonnegut. My name is Wi... more Welcome to Bach, Beethoven, the Beatles – and the musical choices of Kurt Vonnegut. My name is William Doyle and I earned my Doctorate in Music at the Univ. of Southern California. I am a composer, conductor, and a Professor of Music teaching at El Camino College in Los Angeles, and at Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree. I teach a variety of Music History classes, as well as a very unique Music of The Beatles class!
This presentation is in 4 parts as we discuss, AND LISTEN to, the music that Kurt Vonnegut refers his novels, stories, interviews, and letters. We’ll also have time for a Q. and A. session at the end. The video of this presentation can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
I discovered the works of Kurt Vonnegut at an early age and, in 2019, premiered a comic opera The... more I discovered the works of Kurt Vonnegut at an early age and, in 2019, premiered a comic opera The Janitor. This comic opera is infused with the wit and wisdom, artistic and ecological concerns of Vonnegut and was originally inspired by his novel The Sirens of Titan. The video of this workshop can be viewed at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
Teaching Vonnegut, KVML, 2021
The Wit and Wisdom of Vonnegut, Teaching Vonnegut 2021. Artistic and Ecological view in The Jani... more The Wit and Wisdom of Vonnegut, Teaching Vonnegut 2021. Artistic and Ecological view in The Janitor (comic opera) by William E. Doyle. Drawing from Player Piano up through If This Isn't Nice, this workshop examines the wit and wisdom, musical, artistic and global view of Kurt Vonnegut. Joined by members of the original cast, and with live performances, Vonnegut's global views take center stage. The video of this program can be found at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aqf4xolmsyh8nyv/AABC-iuZ2bMYVbqrRRe8SSsEa?dl=0
The Janitor, our anti-hero, enters with a broom. Sweeping the stage, he tells us that he's apolog... more The Janitor, our anti-hero, enters with a broom. Sweeping the stage, he tells us that he's apologizing-but he doesn't tell us what for (and he never does). He's going to 'make it up to us,'-but first he's going to tell us how it happened. And he starts his story at the VERY beginning, the CEO (Created Everything Originally) & the Big Bang. 2. The CEO (2:25) The Janitor is obviously impressed with his boss. He describes him as if he is a singer, dancer, and the coolest person all rolled into one. This is his big build-up & stage entrance. The only problem is that the CEO manifests himself as a woman. Covering up his mistake, he wants to tell us all about the Big Bang, but the CEO stops him. 3. The Ride-Big Bang (3:10) To the CEO, the Big Bang is like a motorcycle ride, and it needs some explanation. The CEO is very proud of her universe. In fact, she is quite impressed with her work. The byproduct of her creation is that we get to live in it. She also has many 'expressions gone bad'malapropisms. Father Time gives us a reading from the Gospel according to Kurt Vonnegut-a humanist who just happens to be the CEO's favorite author-in order to help us understand what she is talking about. This is followed by the CEO and Janitor finally getting to the point, the Big Bang. She is funny, playful, clever, and uses her voice to bring the universe to life borrowing some 'sounds' from James Joyce (Ulysses) and recreates the Big Bang for us. Father Time ends with a second reading that is directed at the Janitor-everyone wants to build, but no one wants to do maintenance. This is one of the themes… and the Janitor needs to get his stuff together (1. The Apology) in order to keep his job and get the girl. 4. The Universe (2:41) The Janitor continues on with a 'humanly' or scientific explanation of the universe. As he expands on the universe, it gets faster and faster. At the end, Bubbles comes onto the stage with a Work Order (folded up accordion-like paper). He's clearly in love with her-and he tells her that he wants her to be in his dreams (20. A Dream within a Dream). 5. Bubbles, Moon and Eclipse (3:05) Bubbles wants to be sure he gets his work done… he needs to demonstrate that he is 'reliable' and not just charming. We find out they have a history with each other (they watched an Eclipse together). This also has a sappy, cheesy ending from the Janitor, but Bubbles reminds him of his work. Father Time turns over an hourglass-and we get the idea that the Janitor is 'on the clock' with both jobs and Bubbles (we'll see this throughout the opera). Oh, and there's the devil he'll have to contend with… Scene 2, Day, Somewhere on Earth 6. The Map (5:43) Bubbles reminds the Janitor about some of his earlier screw ups… including the missing Rings of Saturn (also in 21. Apology 2). The Janitor needs a map to get to his jobs and to complete the Work Order. Mercury appears with a cloth bag (Nat. Am. flute) for him to deliver and tells him to open up the Work Order. NOW, it accordions to the floor… he is startled. Then Mercury, who is kind of abrupt with him, directs him to see Leonardo for a map-she obviously has other deliveries to make! As we meet Leonardo, he is about to hang himself. Bubbles and the Janitor watch as the Devil enters with a guitar and iPad. Before he can make a trade for his soul, the Devil introduces himself to us… full of hubris and sarcasm. He will play his guitar during his introduction and then use technology to try and steal the soul of Leonardo with lies, greed, deception, and all the hubris of a used car salesman. The CEO takes Bubbles off the stageshe wants to see how well the Janitor does on this job.
On Oct. 3, 2020, William Doyle was awarded the best Original Work in the 2020 International Edgar... more On Oct. 3, 2020, William Doyle was awarded the best Original Work in the 2020 International Edgar Allan Poe festival for his work Extraordinary Tales in Music (concert-opera). The awards ceremony can be view on his YouTube page (Dr. William E. Doyle) and on the Poe Baltimore YouTube page.
An evening of new and original compositions based on ‘extraordinary’ tales in literature, includi... more An evening of new and original compositions based on ‘extraordinary’ tales in literature, including three works by Edgar Allan Poe.
As the concert begins, we meet Edgar Allan Poe at the University of Virginia in 1826. With his wild and vivid imagination, he takes us on a trip through Homer’s Odyssey, the travels of Marco Polo, and his own trip to Ireland.
Later, inspired by love and the poet WB Yeats, Poe brings to life three of his masterpieces — his poem A Dream Within A Dream, the famous The Raven, and the terrifying story of The Cask of Amontillado. This concert-opera premiered in May of 2019 at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance, California.
The Janitor — what is it? Well, it is not about religion, politics, socio-economics, or the newe... more The Janitor — what is it? Well, it is not about religion, politics, socio-economics, or the newest world order… it is about the universal concepts of love and the intersection of music, science, poetry/literature. This is a comic opera as we watch two people overcome their jobs, bosses, temptation, and lots of people who ‘think they know’ in order to engage in the simplest of actions. Along the way we’ll upend everything from our views of Creation and the Universe, to the Scholars who try to explain it to us, and even the most beloved of Fairy Tales and Airline safety as the Janitor takes us on a universal and personal odyssey - with some inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut. This comic opera premiered in September 2019 at the El Camino College Campus Theater, Torrance, California.
From the Letters of Edgar Allan Poe, 2020
With a story and original music by William E. Doyle, and art design by Wendy Stockstill, excerpts... more With a story and original music by William E. Doyle, and art design by Wendy Stockstill, excerpts from the original Letters of bring to life some of the most dramatic poems, stories, and heartbreaking personal letters. This 20-minute film includes excerpts from The Raven, Dream within a Dream, Alone, To One in Paradise, The Cask of Amontillado, To Helen, and others. The entire film can be viewed on the YouTube page of Dr. William E. Doyle.
WGAw 2093785, 2021
Episodes…in the Life of an Artist A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actres... more Episodes…in the Life of an Artist
A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actress by composing a piece that depicts his dreams and fantasies — including her murder and his public execution. It’s Mick Jagger in 1830 Paris and the beginning of heavy metal ‘orchestral’ music as Amadeus meets Shakespeare in Love.
Hector Berlioz, now 60 years old, is reading his Journal; “My career is over, I compose no more, I conduct no more concerts.” He then writes; “With this final entry, I shall have said enough… I must go to the graveyard, it is to be demolished, all remains must be exhumed - even my Juliet.”
We now see a young Hector Berlioz traveling to Paris to begin his university studies at Medical School. At his first Anatomy class he is horrified when the older students walk up to the cadavers, each in various stages of decomposition, and address them as if they were friends. One student takes an exposed shoulder blade and tosses it to a rat that begins gnawing on it. Another takes a scrap of lung and tosses up into the air — swallows begin fighting over it. Overwhelmed by sights and sounds, Hector opens a window, climbs out and runs away leaving bloody footprints.
Not wanting to return to Medical School he decides to follow his dream and, after several comical and unsuccessful attempts, is finally accepted into the Paris Conservatory of Music. At the end of the term, he returns to his small village to tell his parents that he has found his destiny — only to have his father cut off his allowance and have his mother put a curse on him!
Needing a job, Hector starts working at the Paris Theater. There, in the audience for one night, he falls in love with the Irish actress playing Juliet — the beautiful and talented Henriette Smithson. He tries to speak with her after her performance but she refuses to speak to him. He decides to write a piece of music that will win him not only fame and fortune, but also her love.
The story he writes begins with; “A young musician, in a fit of lovesick despair, decides to poison himself. The opium is not strong enough to kill him, but plunges him into a strange dream ... in which he sees himself being sent to the gallows for murdering the woman he loves.” After a year of musical studies in Rome, he returns to Paris with this composition finished. He conspires with Henriette’s manager to have her attend the premier of Symphonie Fantastique.
With titles like Reveries, Passions, At the Ball, and Scene in the Country, Hector draws on his medical studies, the book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Shakespeare, and his unbridled imagination. Imagining that he has killed his ‘beloved,’ Hector will March to the Scaffold to be executed. The music is wild and gloomy, the crowd yells “murderer,” and he climbs up the steps to the gallows. Placing his head on the chopping block, he has one final thought — of love. The axe falls, his severed head rolls into a basket, and the crowd cheers.
Now a headless corpse, the Dream of a Witches Sabbath has the deceased ‘beloved’ return to laugh at him surrounded by a fearful crowd of specters, sorcerers, and monster of every kind all united for his burial. Unearthly sounds, groans, shrieks of laughter, distant cries — then, a funeral bell and the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) bring the music to a powerful conclusion. Exhausted from having conducted the premier, Hector looks up to the balcony to see that even Henriette is standing and applauding. As their eyes meet, he knows that; “I will have my Juliet!”
At the end of his life, Hector Berlioz arrives at the cemetery for the exhumation. He sees a young grave digger, with bare hands, reach into a coffin coming away with the withered skull of Henriette. As he holds it at the edge of her grave, the tired old man tells us; “Beyond all doubt, we will be reunited in the oblivion of the tomb - as flights of angels sing us to sleep.”
WGAw 2093785, January 2021
William E. Doyle
WGAw 2016680, 2019
DARK MUSIC, based on a true story, by William E. Doyle A young musician sets out to win the love... more DARK MUSIC, based on a true story, by William E. Doyle
A young musician sets out to win the love of a famous actress by composing a piece that depicts his dreams and fantasies — including her murder and his public execution. It’s Mick Jagger in 1830 Paris and the beginning of heavy metal ‘orchestral’ music as Amadeus meets Shakespeare in Love.
Hector Berlioz, now 60 years old, is reading his Journal; “My career is over, I compose no more, I conduct no more concerts.” He then writes; “With this final entry, I shall have said enough… I must go to the graveyard, it is to be demolished, all remains must be exhumed - even my Juliet.”
The young Hector Berlioz travels to Paris to begin his university studies at Medical School. At his first Anatomy class he is horrified when the older students walk up to the cadavers, each in various stages of decomposition, and address them as if they were friends. One student takes an exposed shoulder blade and tosses it to a rat that begins gnawing on it. Another takes a scrap of lung and tosses up into the air — swallows begin fighting over it. Overwhelmed by sights and sounds, Hector opens a window, climbs out and runs away leaving bloody footprints.
Not wanting to return to Medical School he decides to follow his dream and, after several comical and unsuccessful attempts, is finally accepted into the Paris Conservatory of Music. At the end of the term he returns to his small village to tell his parents that he has found his destiny — only to have his father cut off his allowance and have his mother put a curse on him!
Needing a job, Hector starts working at the Paris Theater. There, in the audience for one night, he falls in love with the Irish actress playing Juliet — the beautiful and talented Henriette Smithson. He tries to speak with her after her performance but, recognizing that he was the one that yelled out “Don’t do it” during the final scene in the tomb, she refuses to speak to him. He decides to write a piece of music that will win him not only fame and fortune, but also her love.
The story he writes begins with; “A young musician, in a fit of lovesick despair, decides to poison himself. The opium is not strong enough to kill him, but plunges him into a strange dream ... in which he sees himself being sent to the gallows for murdering the woman he loves.” After a year of musical studies in Rome, he returns to Paris with this composition finished. He conspires with Henriette’s manager to have her attend the premier of Symphonie Fantastique.
With titles like Reveries, Passions, At the Ball, and Scene in the Country, Hector draws on his medical studies, the book Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Shakespeare, and his unbridled imagination. Imagining that he has killed his ‘beloved,’ Hector will March to the Scaffold to be executed. The music is wild and gloomy, the crowd yells “murderer,” and he climbs up the steps to the gallows. Placing his head on the chopping block, he has one final thought — of love. The axe falls, his severed head rolls into a basket, and the crowd cheers.
Now a headless corpse, the Dream of a Witches Sabbath has the deceased ‘beloved’ return to laugh at him surrounded by a fearful crowd of specters, sorcerers, and monster of every kind all united for his burial. Unearthly sounds, groans, shrieks of laughter, distant cries — then a funeral bell and the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) bring the music to a powerful conclusion. Exhausted from having conducted the premier, Hector looks up to the balcony to see that even Henriette is standing and applauding. As their eyes meet, he announces; “I will have my Juliet!”
60-year old Hector Berlioz arrives at the cemetery for the exhumation. He sees a young grave digger, with bare hands, reach into a coffin coming away with the withered skull of Henriette. As he places it at the edge of her grave, the tired old man utters; “Love, a celestial flame, survives even in the tomb! It raises the stone, and, by the angels blest, like a wave of light loses itself in the infinite.”
WGAw registered, 2017
Queen Lili’uokalani was the last reigning monarch of Hawai’i. Removed illegally from her office,... more Queen Lili’uokalani was the last reigning monarch of Hawai’i. Removed illegally from her office, and wrongfully imprisoned, this is her story... the story of her people, and the end of the old Hawaiian ways.
This is a play, with music and dance, that details her brief reign and the downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy. It is full of Hawaiian poetry, music, Hawaiian dancing (kahiko & au'wana), and the remarkable life of this composer queen.
Performance, MasterClass, Lecture at the International Music Festival in Padua, Italy. Organized... more Performance, MasterClass, Lecture at the International Music Festival in Padua, Italy. Organized, directed, and arranged by Dr. William E. Doyle with special guest 6-time Grammy Winner Daniel Ho, baritone Anthony Moreno, pianist Tatiana Aleksandrova, and Hawaiian dancer Wendy Stockstill.
Performance with Keali'i Reichel at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Philharmonic World Music series ... more Performance with Keali'i Reichel at Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA Philharmonic World Music series -- the LA SuperNova chamber ensemble directed by Dr. William E. Doyle (who also contributed several arrangements)
Official concert program for the Sept. 2019 concert at the Campus Theater, El Camino College, Tor... more Official concert program for the Sept. 2019 concert at the Campus Theater, El Camino College, Torrance, CA.
Official concert program for the May 2019 concert at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torran... more Official concert program for the May 2019 concert at Marsee Auditorium, El Camino College, Torrance, CA.
A young boy and his mother arrive in NYC, the big city, for a day of shopping. Lily drops her so... more A young boy and his mother arrive in NYC, the big city, for a day of shopping. Lily drops her son Tony off with Uncle Max for a few hours. Uncle Max, the director of an orchestra is in rehearsal and Tony, sitting listening, is taken on an amazing journey out on 3rd Street as he meets Rocky, a saxophone-playing raccoon.
Rocky, and Tony bring the trash cans, fire hydrant, sidewalk, and even the light post to life to become members of their band. As the orchestra rehearses Beethoven's 5th Symphony with Uncle Max, Tony helps get the 'band' together to play their version of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven.
Gripper, Tera, and Tia are all friends from High School. It’s summer time, they have just gradua... more Gripper, Tera, and Tia are all friends from High School. It’s summer time, they have just graduated and are getting ready for their first semester in college.
Gripper is getting ready to take his Drivers Ed road test and his friends are there to support him. Gripper is next in line to take his test with Mr. Dunnigan (a bit absent minded) – the Drivers Ed teacher at their high school. Mr. Dunnigan is giving a driving test to Riff -- he is the leader of the car gang in high school who has failed the driving test with Mr. Dunnigan 3 times now!
As the three friends watch, the car in which Dunnigan and Riff are driving in crashes into a tree. Riff sprints out of the car, laughing, and jumps into another car full of his friends (the Raffs). Off they ride leaving Dunnigan in pain. We hear Riff yell out the window “We don’t need no stinking drivers license!”
The 3 kids run to Dunnigan and get him to the hospital. There, he asks them to work with him on his secret mission to help kids as a “Traffic Avenger.” He especially wants to check-up on the notorious “car gang” during their infamous nightly exploits and bring them to justice. Dunnigan, injured and unable to drive, tells them of his secret garage and asks them to meet him there that night. “All will be explained at my garage,” he tells them.
The 3 kids show at Dunnigan’s garage. That night, as they enter the garage, they see his high-tech Traffic Avenger station complete with video monitors, cameras, scanners, log books, and two strange looking guns that Dunnigan – they are untested proto-types.
The plot ideas center around a small city, the local high school, and the first year for the Traffic Avengers at college as they help Mr. Dunnigan and carry on his work.
Season 1 – the first 4 (4-bedroom house, living room) Meet the original cast. Watch the interact... more Season 1 – the first 4 (4-bedroom house, living room)
Meet the original cast. Watch the interaction between the main 4 characters – they are Bohemian’s, interested in their art more than their success. Sort of like the 4 characters in La Bohème by Puccini. We see them out on auditions, discussing their projects with each other, and in their own rooms working.
Jenni with an i - her room is a music studio with posters of Hilary Hahn and Paul McCartney facing each other, April has a small Mac Plus computer and a dot matrix printer, Newton has a giant TV and tons of DVDs, and Otto has bookcases overfilled with books and a bed. Each room is as quirky as the artist …
Their auditions/situations lead us to wonder if they will ever be commercially successful – especially since they don’t really seem to be chasing that dream. They are interested in their art.
The situations they find themselves in are incredibly ‘artistic’ types of scenes – everything from performing at funeral home (Beatles, The End) to weird art showcases (Renaissance art gallery with ‘out of place’ performance art), etc.
While all of the situations are a twist on the modern art/music scene, the first 4 always end up shining in the situations (even if they are not re-hired and considered a commercial success, they are certainly an artistic success – the theme of the show).
For Example --
Romeo and Juliet – Newton comes to life when he gets a call to audition for Romeo. He gets April to play Juliet. As they rehearse the balcony scene, Newton jumps over the couch (walls in Shakespeare) to speak to April – who is sitting atop a stack of chairs (balcony). After getting all the lines correct and really nailing the scene, he gets so excited he exits the apartment. He leaves April up on the stack of chairs – unable to get down.
By the end of the season, April has written, submitted and had a TV show about their lives picked up by a TV network (that we find out in S2 is really just a local community college theater class). This will change their lives in S2 when they see how they ‘look’ as they are cast against the S2 "fab 4."
A first look at the relationships between prior musical experience and success in a college/unive... more A first look at the relationships between prior musical experience and success in a college/university level music appreciation course. This was completed during the two years I studied/worked at the University of Southern California.
Love, Murder, Music , 2022
Literary Agent Query -- download the Author's Note and Chapter 1 (PDF). I am seeking representa... more Literary Agent Query -- download the Author's Note and Chapter 1 (PDF).
I am seeking representation for my 75,000-word historical fiction debut, Love, Murder, Music – the creative output of kindred spirits Edgar Allan Poe and Hector Berlioz during the 1820s in Paris.
Edgar, investigating several gruesome murders, stays one step ahead of the police delving quickly into the suspects, motives, and clues that twist and turn like the streets of Paris. Hector, in love with a beautiful actress, writes a daring piece of music describing his dreams, visions, and fantasies – including her murder and his death on the guillotine.
When Edgar arrived on what was supposed to be a short holiday, he found himself almost immediately drawn into several police inquiries. Helping the Parisian police unravel their most scandalous cases, a harrowing story unfolds that would lead to The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Berenice, and The Premature Burial – his tales of mystery and imagination. His roommate Hector, a medical student that yearns to become a composer, introduces Edgar to the world of medicine, the morgue, and the macabre. Then, with Edgar’s help, Hector sets out to win the love of a Shakespearean actress with a musical depiction of her. Would Hector’s music attract her attention? Could Edgar and Hector, like Holmes and Watson, solve the mysteries of love, murder, and music before the unexpected, shocking conclusion in this twisting Gothic thriller?
In today’s world, the works of both artists are quite visible as the music of Hector Berlioz can be heard in many concert halls and even in the credits of White Lotus (HBO). As for EA Poe, besides his own published works, both The Pale Blue Eye (Louis Bayard’s bestseller) and Wednesday are on Netflix while his unfinished story, The Lighthouse, is a recent movie and The Fall of the House of Usher is due to be released as an 8-part series.
My concert-opera Extraordinary Tales in Music received the Best Original Work at the 2020 International Poe Festival and my film, From the Letters of EA Poe, was nominated for Best Adaptation in 2021. I also recently presented three Teaching Vonnegut workshops for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. In addition to my writings about Berlioz (screen and stage) and my compositions, I have a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California and I have taught music there and at several universities/colleges on both coasts. I am looking for a literary agent with wide-ranging interests and that is on the lookout for new voices and original ideas in mysteries and thrillers. Author's Note and the brief intro (Chapter 1) are attached.