The time came when I needed to find help to bring my melodies and lyrics out of my head and computer and into the real world. The music in my files wasn’t anywhere near presentable for the outside world. The information I had fed into my music creator app wasn’t at all what I heard in my head. I decided that my amateur collection of tunes deserved more than to die in my computer. I asked friends for suggestions for someone who might be able to orchestrate my music for me. A couple of possibilities popped up and then faded. The onset of COVID didn’t help.

One day at my family’s coffee roasting company, I asked my co-worker, Les, who happens to be a guitarist, if he might know of someone who could do the work for me. He said, “Yes, I think I know someone who can help you. His name is Akira Ross. He’s done some arranging for high school music programs. He plays trumpet in my jazz group. I’ll ask him.”

Aki, a bit hesitant because he hadn’t previously orchestrated original music, agreed to a Zoom meeting with Les and me. February 2021, pandemic precautions were still in place. Fully bearded and working from home, he taught private music lessons over Zoom. Professional trumpet performances for him were non-existent during this time. His work in the high school music programs was non-existent as well. My husband and I were also banned by our sons from our family workplace due to COVID concerns. Our first meeting was successful, and we figured out how to start the process of orchestrating my songs remotely.

Aki has been so gracious in receiving my terribly orchestrated songs without comment. He has had a decent challenge ahead of him to make each of the pieces sound beautiful. With substantial knowledge of music theory, a keen ear for instrumentation, and a creative side of his own, Aki has taken on the songs in my files one by one and turned them into beautiful works of art. We have developed an easy give-and-take collaboration that is working well for us. I am so proud of the work we have done and the lovely music that has emerged.

It so happens that Aki now works for our coffee company too. An opportunity arose during COVID restrictive times, and he readily jumped on board. I must say, it was quite strange for us to finally meet in person, after many months of collaborating through a computer screen. I kept checking through the office windows to make sure he was a real person. As a result of our close proximity, it is now easy for us to quickly meet during work breaks on new pieces of music. We have just completed our 19th song, which wraps up the music for the Tales from Vowella book series. Again, find out more about our musical journey by following upcoming blog posts on this page – Music of an Imaginary World – and in other spots throughout the Heaven’s Wait website. There is more to come! B

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to subscribe to Heaven’s Wait’s Email List using the form in the footer. Alerts of new blog articles will be sent to subscribers as they are published from Heaven’s Wait, typically once a week. You may unsubscribe at any time.