Doug Spata's Olympic Dream

The Olympics begin this week and it's always an exciting time for the world. I love watching the opening and closing ceremonies and the Parade of Nations, though I don't have a specific sport that I follow. The first Olympics I was aware of was the 1984 games in Los Angeles and I remember that for a long time all anyone could talk about was the U.S. gymnastics team.

TV coverage does a good job of highlighting the dramatic stories that drive the competitors and led the athletes to the games. They all have that "Olympic dream," to achieve at the highest level in front of the whole world.

Even though I'm not an athlete, I have an Olympic dream of my own: it would be an epic thrill to hear one of my compositions used in during Olympic competition. I'm not talking about the opening and closing ceremonies – that's way too much to ask. But it would be amazing to hear one of my pieces accompany a gymnastics floor exercise, a synchronized swimming routine, or, at the Winter Olympics, figure skating or ice dancing.

As a kid, I especially enjoyed hearing the music used in the gymnastic competitions because it's so full of color, energy, and emotion. I think some of my pieces would be suitable. Need something with a dark energy? Try Avatar, Elementals, or Storm Trail. Something more rhythmic and angular? There's Agincourt. Need a bright explosion of sound? Quicksilver or Star of Valor. For something more lyrical, have a listen to A Hero's Welcome. And if you need something fun and sassy, I recommend Violet's Tango, Samba Del Sol, Lemon Twist, or Mambo Incognito. Of course, Gauntlet is good for any occasion.

Professional recordings of all these and more are available at alfred-music.com.

So if you're an Olympic-level gymnast, synchronized swimmer, figure skater, or ice dancer... you're probably training really hard and don't have time for music classes, so you've never heard of me. But if you're someone who knows an Olympic-level athlete, maybe suggest one of my pieces and help make my dream come true!

 

Doug's Olympic Dream

I've had a lot of unexpected honors in my career as a composer - I've had schoolkids write essays about me, My music has been performed at major festivals and conferences, and I've received a lot of compliments through the years both in person and via e-mail - but I do have an unrealized dream.

Ever since I was but a wee Doug, I've thought about how great it would be for one of my compositions to accompany a floor exercise routine at the Olympics. I remember watching the telecasts of past Olympics and hearing all sorts of great, exciting music during the gymnastics competitions and hoped that someday, some of my music would be selected.

Wouldn't it be cool to see those impossible flips and turns accompanied with Gauntlet, Avatar, or Agincourt? Recordings are readily available online (www.alfred-music.com), but the real issue is exposure. My student-level orchestra music is little-known outside the realm of school orchestras and young gymnasts have no time for activities outside their sport, so they probably wouldn't know that my music exists.

So: If you know a young gymnast looking for an exciting piece of music for her routine, do me a solid and steer her over to the Alfred website. Maybe she'll go far and make both our dreams come true.