Personal Artistic Statement

The focus of much of my past work has to do with making use of the rich experimentation results of previous composers in this century in a non-eclectic organic exploration of the many diverse possibilities that the generation before has left to us. Thus, I have some minimalist 12-tone works, variations on Clementi sonatinas that sound more akin to Bartok at times, and other works of like sort that in sometimes unusual ways combine quite naturally what was once thought to far apart to combine organically.

My purpose in doing this is because I see a need in our craft of music of bridge building between the fragmented orientations of listeners. ‘A house divided against itself can not stand.’ So my aesthetic position is to attempt to build works that can be related to by various listeners with diverse listening habits. So my personal voice in much of my music has been invested in serving my art and audiences in this non-ego purpose of creating works that can bring together listeners with diverse orientations so that each of them can get some meaning out of the work.

After the completion of ‘144 Kaleidoscopen Sonatinas’ I hope to be in a new beginning of fulfilling my afore mentioned goals, and continue onward composing many new works and distriute them via the internet. My work is still mostly unknown to many for I have lived mostly on the fringes of musical society these past 30 years, but through the internet I do hope to distribute my works and eventually become a bit better known than I am at present.

Aesthetic Position

In the 20th century the language of Western Art Music (Classical) at one time universal in the West has fragmented into a number of distinct languages, schools, and musical systems. There are few, if any, translators who bridge the differences between these apparently distinct musical systems. Each composer has their own tongue and the result is Babel. The significant composers of the past often achieved their greatness by distinguishing themselves from their contemporaries. I firmly believe that the significant composers of our time will achieve their greatness by assimilating in a unifying vision the sometimes almost chaotic distinctiveness of the present.

The focus of much of my work has to do with making use of the rich experimentation results of previous composers in this century in a non-eclectic organic exploration of the many diverse possibilities that the generation before us has left to us. Thus, I have some minimalist 12-tone works, variations on Clementi sonatinas that sound more akin to Bartok at times, and various other works that in sometimes unusual ways combine quite naturally what was once thought to far apart to combine organically.

My purpose in doing this is because I see a need in our craft of music of bridge building between the fragmented orientations of listeners. “A house divided against itself can not stand.” So my aesthetic position is to attempt to build works that can be related to by various listeners with different listening habits. Thus, my personal voice in much of my music is invested in serving my art and audiences in this non-ego purpose of creating works that can bring together listeners with different listening orientations so that each of them can get some meaning out of the work.

My task as a youth was to try to discover points of ambiguity wherein all the various major 20th century musical practices intersect allowing for the organic (rather than eclectic) use of these various methods: 1) 12-tone; 2) Synthetic scales; 3) Polytonal use of traditional scales. After much work and research, I developed in the early ‘80s what I call the Kaleidoscopic method of musical composition. This method is explained in detail in ‘Kaleidoscopic Music (A Study Of Musical Materials) and with this method I found a way of making music that opened the door for envisioning and creating a new diatonic / chromatic music, in which all the positive characteristics of those once distinct musical methods can now be integrated while all their individual limitations can now be transcended.

Composers Philosophy

The focus of much of my work has to do with making use of the rich experimentation results of previous composers in this century in a non-eclectic organic exploration of the many diverse possibilities that the generation before has left to us. Thus, I have some minimalist 12-tone works, variations on Clementi sonatinas that sound more akin to Bartok at times, and other hybrid works of like sort in various genres (New Age; Jazz; Rock; Classical) that in sometimes unusual ways combine quite naturally what was once thought to far apart to combine sensibly and organically.

I originated kaleidoscopic music method in the late 1970's and early 1980’s. It is essentially a way to make Cubist music in any genre. My purpose in doing this is because I see a need in our craft of music of bridge building between the fragmented orientations of listeners. ‘A house divided against itself can not stand.’ So my aesthetic position is to attempt to build works that can be related to by various listeners with diverse listening habits.

So my personal voice in much of my music is invested in serving my art and audiences in this non-ego purpose of creating works that can bring together listeners with diverse orientations so that each of them (In fact anyone) can get some real meaning out of the work in at least some aspects of the work plus be introduced to something new to give them the opportunity to grow beyond their previous limitations & perspectives.

Note on Mr. Strunk being an Emerging Composer

After spending years of his youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota helping to promote fellow composers new works via his radio show in the late ‘80’s as well as doing other akin endeavors Mr. Strunk has for the first time begun to submit his own work for consideration. Although well-known among the emerging composers of the late ‘80’s in Minnesota his compositions up until 2000 have had very few performances and many of his works including his latest pieces have yet to be heard on the concert stage.

Development of Work and Funding

Having a vision of reunifying 20th century musical practice in the High Art of the West in my youth was all well and good, but how to accomplish such a task seemed akin to searching for the elusive Holy Grail. Thanks to Charles Wuorinen in his Simple Composition I found out about Ordered-Interval-Successions and this with a lot more work and research on my part gave me the key. In the late 1970's and early 1980's I wrote the first music (possibly) that is organically and equally ofthe original tonal-modal system, the 12 - tone system, the synthetic scale based system, and the polytonal based system to both the mind and ear. Since then, I have over the years developed a new variation form that I call Kaleidoscopen and writing these works is where I have been focused in my instrumental writing.

Still, my main love in music is the electronic medium, creating new electronic works. This is where I developed my expertise through my college years. Having been exposed and working on electronic music early on in my education as a composer I have always wanted the needed equipment to explore more fully sonic possibilities in that medium. However, due to limitations from my disability slowing up my finacial progress in life it has taken me a very long time to finally reach a financial circumstance to at last be in a financial posistion to obtain the electronic gear, musical gear, and software that I have long needed in order to further my work in the electronic music medium. (2008).

Future Plans and Goals

Keep Trucking On!

Web Cam: (Coming Soon)

Hopefully, soon in 2009 there will be sets of psychedelic audio paintings that will be available as Screensavers & Wallsavers and also to play these sound paintings in your livingroom via your DVD player, plus, new musical compositions made availible on site with new CD Releases & More FREE Mp3s, as well as, a set of continuious concerts available on site 24/7 on web cam; plus Special Live Weekend Concerts of Ricks!