I like the emotion at the beginning and the melodies. The oboe is beautiful at around the 1-minute mark. You go a long while without changing the texture very much, though. I’d suggest experimenting a little more with the dynamics and humanizing the instruments more. Subtle tempo changes and the like can really give a piece like this a lot more flavor. The slight pause at 1:33 was also a bit awkward. Perhaps some reverb could smooth that over (some reverb would also help make this piece sound like it was being played in a concert hall)? Your samples are actually rather good, but I can still tell that someone’s not actually playing those instruments - the uniform vibrato on the cello, the synthetic overtones in the upper register, and unnaturally slow attacks (e.x., 1:10) are all giveaways. You have a great sense of harmony and atmosphere, and the mixing is also rather impressive. I suppose my main problem with the piece is that it has a sense of continuity without much shape and variety in dynamics. In order to really give this a cinematic appeal, I think you need to incorporate more phrasing. The piece also didn’t have much coherence structurally. It was hard to stay grounded in similar themes or riffs, unlike your audition piece. Still, I really enjoyed the high production quality and melodic content here. Keep at it, PomicStone! ;)

8.25/10  

Hey! This piece is really great. It's very interesting and atmospheric and your melodies are great. I've listened to some of your music before and have always enjoyed the way you tell stories and use instruments as characters.

I'm actually your competitor for this round of NGADM, so I had to see what you had done. Our pieces are COMPLETELY different, so seeing the results will be really interesting. I can't wait.

I wish you all the best! :) I'll upload mine a little later if you'd like to hear.