7/21/10 RECOVERY
So I’m back from the NYC performance and the Alarm Will Sound premiere at the Mizzou New Music Festival. Both weeks away from home were sweaty, sticky, and generally draining. But don’t derive any negative connotations: I have been having a blast. The show at Littlefield in Brooklyn was a chance for me to see how a concert with more than one of my pieces might go over. The performances by John Popham, Emily Popham Gillins, Kevin Sims and Bethany Pietroniro were absolutely top-notch despite the fact that the heat index was triple-digits, the piano keys were sticking, and the bartender was throwing empty bottles in the garbage can during some of the more pregnant silences of my pieces. I can’t thank the performers enough for working so hard on my music; it was really a thrill to have them bring it to life. And I can’t thank Daniel Wohl enough for splitting the bill with me. His music is amazing and he is a mighty swell fella at that.
As for the journey to the heartland, I dunno where to begin. To have a group like Alarm Will Sound premiere one of your pieces is a composer’s best-case scenario. These folks take their parts seriously and hold themselves to quite a high standard. They have a sound like no other chamber orchestra and they adapt as necessary to whatever vernacular you put in front of them. Alan Pierson is an amazing conductor and each member of the group is a true virtuoso. The end result was a fantastical concert in a beautiful theater supported by incredible arts patrons and the saintly Mizzou composition faculty (Billy Lackey gets my vote for festival MVP!).
Getting to work with Martin Bresnick and Derek Bermel was quite inspiring. These guys are for real, and their collective experience undoubtedly rubbed off on me. Martin can make any number of cultural and artistic references to music on the spot that flow poetically and are dripping with sage wisdom. His music is succinct, austere, adventurous and miles deep, and his stories are hilarious and heartwarming. Derek is, I believe, the last of his kind (despite the fact that there is no other): a true musician/composer/performer to the core. His knowledge of the rep as well as his ability to demonstrate via performance are unparalleled in his generation (and completely absent in mine). And his music is kick-ass to boot. Both of these guys get gold stars in my book.
As for the other composers picked for the festival, it was an honor to be picked as their peer. Six different pieces by six extremely talented and radically different voices were brought to life (myself not included), and I think that we all learned quite a bit from each other. I think that some enduring friendships and bonds were made and I look forward to hearing what these fine folks do in the future. If you want to check out their stuff, I have linked them on my “links” page. Their names are Amy Beth Kirsten, Francisco Cortes Alvarez (sorry, no website yet), Christopher Dietz, Moon Young Ha, Zhou Juan and Paul Dooley. I hope that you have all survived the meal plan at Eva J’s and aren’t permanently crooked from the dorm beds in Discovery Hall.
I cannot forget to mention the incredible generosity of Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. The gift that they have given to create the Mizzou New Music Initiative is a philanthropic anomaly in a country that needs to put its money where its mouth is. I hope that your efforts pay off over the years and that Columbia, MO becomes a true hotbed of new music. Thanks, once again, for all that you have done!
6/24/10 TICKETS
For tickets and directions to the joint show with Daniel Wohl in Brooklyn, go here.
Working on stereo mixes of my electric guitar pieces for the show. Other than that, beating the heat!
06/13/10 SHOW IS NOW OFFICIAL
Visit the performances page for info about my upcoming joint show with the fantastic Daniel Wohl. It should be a DIY epic of chamber and electronic music.
Damn, I hate the Lakers.
05/07/10 OFFICIALISM
Here‘s the official release from Mizzou. Make sure to check out and support all of the other composers involved (it seems like a very talented, eclectic bunch!).
Here‘s the summary from the good folks at NewMusicBox.
Back to milking the music cow. Her udders are sore, and she is getting testy.
LISTENING TO: Flying Lotus Cosmogramma, Charles Mingus Let My Children Hear Music, Alarm Will Sound a/rhythmia, Eric Dolphy Out There, Big Star Third/Sister Lovers, Tom Waits Bone Machine
DIGGING: Treme, Spinach and Feta croissants at City Bakery, Stonecutters espresso, the new season of Party Down
NOT DIGGING: My landlord (she’s as fake as it gets), how fast time moves as I get older, all of the schlubs in town for graduation, pollen
3/20/oh-10 SPRING FOR DUMMIES
So the blossoms are popping and the sun is thawing my winter bones. No complaints here! In honor of all things in bloom, I might as well announce my big news: I was one of the lucky composers chosen to write for ALARM WILL SOUND at the MIZZOU NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL. I’ve been wrestling with my creative demons over this for a few weeks now, and they are finally crying, “UNCLE!” (I was screaming it myself internally until a couple of days ago). So now the daunting task of writing up to nine quality minutes of music for the most badass chamber orchestra around is upon me, so I must stop typing here. If you see me in public, please remind me to get back to work.
PREMIERES AFOOT: My solo piano piece, “The Open Circuit” will be premiered next month in dazzling fashion by the talented Ms. Bethany Pietroniro at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. Due to disagreements between our management teams, a specific date and time will be announced after negotiations are complete. And if you believe that last sentence, you might just believe anything.
The premieres of at least one (maybe two) new electronic pieces in my Brief Interviews with Hideous Guitars series will be in late April. Check my “Performances” page for info about all of this.
LISTENING TO: Spoon Transference, Flying Lotus Los Angeles, Louis Andriessen Zilver and Disco, Keith Jarrett Fort Yawuh, Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Lady Sinner, Congotronics 2
READING: Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint, Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
DIGGING: Dakshin Indian Restaurant (Louisville, KY), TAK Thai Restaurant (Bloomington), my new espresso maker, Mahon cheese, and the new season of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job!
NOT DIGGING: Bills
12/15/09 NEW AUDIO FOR YOUR EARS
Check out the “listen” page for an excerpt of the premiere of “Comet Tails (Which Way?)”; it will hopefully soothe you during the holiday meltdown.