News Archives:
2024
October 20: Seven Last Words in Painesville
8-29-2024: On October 20 at 3pm, Anna Judkins will perform excerpts from my 2016 organ cycle Seven Last Words on the magnificent instrument in Morley Music Hall at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, on a concert of organ music by members of the Cleveland Composers Guild performed by the Cleveland Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Admission is free.
October 16: Price Adoration at Montana MEA
8-15-2024: On October 16, LaSaundra Booth will lead the Montana Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra in a program to include my large orchestra arrangement of Florence Price's Adoration at Skyview High School in Billings, Montana, the first performance of my work in that state!
Dr. Booth has also programmed the same arrangement with the Guildford (North Carolina) All-County Orchestra in November: watch this space for details!
Dr. Booth has also programmed the same arrangement with the Guildford (North Carolina) All-County Orchestra in November: watch this space for details!
September 25 and 28: Short Psalms on the Radio
6-29-2024, Updated 8-29-2024: On Wednesday, September 25 at 8pm Eastern time, Heidi Skok's April 27 recital will be broadcast on WLCV's program Ovations; it will be rebroadcast on Saturday, September 28 at 10pm Eastern. It included works by Mahler and Wagner, along with the second performance of my Short Psalms with pianist Randall Fusco. Listen on FM 90.3 WCLV if you are in Northeast Ohio, or on the web here: https://www.ideastream.org/show/ovations
May 19: New Work for Composers Guild Junior Concert
1-26-2024: I'm working with Pearl Zhu, a young pianist here in Cleveland on a solo piano work as my latest contribution to the Cleveland Composers Guild Creativity: Learning Through Experience program. The premiere will take place at the Music Settlement in Cleveland's University Circle on Sunday, May 19 at 3pm. Watch this spot for more details!
4-10-2024: I delivered the new piece in early March, a short fantasia entitled Here There Be Dragons.
4-10-2024: I delivered the new piece in early March, a short fantasia entitled Here There Be Dragons.
April 30: One like a hundred in Wake Forest, North Carolina
1-26-2024: I've completed my work One like a hundred for LaSaundra Booth and the Wake Forest Community Youth Orchestra The premiere performance is slated for Tuesday, April 30. More info to come!
April 28: Greater Cleveland Flute Society Premieres Duo Capriccio
4-18-2024: The Greater Cleveland Flute Society's annual Cleveland Composers Connections concert on Sunday, April 28 will include the first performance of the flute and alto flute version of Duo Capriccio, my take on *that* melody by Paganini, in a performance by Martha Somach and Sara Lambert. Concert is at 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Shaker Heights.
6-3-2024: This performance was cancelled due to performer illness, but we look forward to additional performances in the future!
6-3-2024: This performance was cancelled due to performer illness, but we look forward to additional performances in the future!
April 27: And I Live With the Fiction That I Never Get Mad in Kearney, Nebraska
1-10-2024: Baritone Andrew White and pianist Nathan Buckner will present my 2018 song And I Live With the Fiction That I Never Get Mad as part of the University of Nebraska-Kearney New Music Festival on Saturday, April 27 (time TBD). If memory serves, this is the first performance of my music in the state of Nebraska, completing the Texas-North Dakota tier!
April 27: Short Psalms repeated in Cleveland
4-10-2024: Heidi Skok, contralto and pianist Randall Fusco will include Short Psalms for a second performance on Heidi's recital on April 27 at 7:30pm at Disciples Christian Church, 3663 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights, along with songs by Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler. Admission is free, but a freewill donation is accepted. The recital will also be livestreamed.
April 26: Mysterious Marvels repeated in Williamsburg, Virginia
4-10-2024: I enjoyed a fantastic performance of Mysterious Marvels at the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Conference at the College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Dr. Richard Marcus informed me that he is programming the piece again on the Wind Ensemble's final concert of the year on Friday, April 26 at 7:30pm. Find details here: https://events.wm.edu/event/view/music/356406. The concert will also be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@williamandmarymusic8582
April 21: Short Psalms and Minute for Seconds to premiere in Cleveland
2-14-24: The world premiere of my Short Psalms, a set of five settings for contralto and piano, will take place on a Cleveland Composers Guild concert on Sunday, April 21 at 3pm at West Shore Unitarian Church in Rocky River, Ohio. The performers are the commissioning singer, Heidi Skok, and pianist Randall Fusco. The texts are, well, short psalms: five of the shortest in the King James Version of The Bible.
4-10-2024: On the same concert, Factory Seconds Brass Trio will give the world premiere of a short fanfare written for them, Minute for Seconds.
4-10-2024: On the same concert, Factory Seconds Brass Trio will give the world premiere of a short fanfare written for them, Minute for Seconds.
April 6-7: Mysterious Marvels in Williamsburg, Virginia
12-31-2023: My 2020 band work Mysterious Marvels will be included as part of the program of the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Conference, hosted at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, a school I almost attended. Looking forward to my first in-person CMS conference since 2019! The concert will be on Saturday, April 6.
March 20-23: Summer Night, Windows Open at Denison TUTTI Festival
12-31-2023: A biennial festival that has hosted my music in the past, Denison University's TUTTI Festival, will once again include my work, this time, Summer Night, Windows Open (2023), in a repeat performance by UCelli. More details to come on specific scheduling.
January 21: Sonatina for Oboe and Piano in Cleveland
12-31-23: In the mid-2000s, I wrote four sonatinas for woodwind instruments and piano. The bassoon piece (2003) was part of my application to graduate school, and I wrote the flute (2005) and clarinet (2007) pieces during my studies at Ohio State. In 2007, I finished my DMA, and took my first full-time college teaching job in Oklahoma, and decided that if I didn't write something, I might never write anything, so I got down to business, and within a few months, produced a sonatina for oboe and piano. I wasn't writing for anyone in particular, and it ended up straight in the desk drawer, where it stayed until a revision in 2021.
Finally, my Sonatina for Oboe and Piano is receiving it's world premiere on January 21 on a concert of the Cleveland Composers Guild, performed by oboist Opal Curry and pianist Eric Charnofsky. 3pm at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Free admission. Info here.
Finally, my Sonatina for Oboe and Piano is receiving it's world premiere on January 21 on a concert of the Cleveland Composers Guild, performed by oboist Opal Curry and pianist Eric Charnofsky. 3pm at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Free admission. Info here.
2023
October 10: Summer Night, Windows Open Premiere in Columbus
4-13-2023: I've been commissioned by the Johnstone Fund for New Music as part of their collaboration with UCelli: The Columbus Cello Quartet. The new work, titled Summer Night, Windows Open, will be premiered on October 10 at the Short North Stage in Columbus. I'm pleased to receive support from the Johnstone Fund for a third time, after their generous funding of Moriarty's Necktie (2011) and ...into the suggestive waters... (2015).
September 10: Price Adoration in Des Moines
9-8-2023: The Des Moines Symphony, under the baton of Joshua Barlage and Timothy McMillan will perform my arrangement of Florence Price's Adoration on a free concert at Riverview Park at 1pm as part of the Together Through Sound Festival. The concert also includes the orchestra version Olivia Kieffer's ...and then the Universe exploded, which was created for and premiered by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in 2019.
July 15: Price's Adoration in LA
4-13-2023: The YOLA National Festival Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Dr. LaSaundra Booth will perform my arrangement for large orchestra of Florence Price's Adoration on July 15 in the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. More information at https://www.laphil.com/learn/yola/yola-national-festival.
May 14: Bay Village Barn Dance Premiere in Cleveland
4-13-2023: Bay Village Barn Dance, my piece for flutist Miya DeBolt and violinist Rachael Ploenzke in my mostly-annual contribution to the Cleveland Composers Guild Creativity: Learning Through Experience program, in which Composers Guild members compose new works for young musicians will have its first performance on Sunday, May 14 at the Cleveland Music School Settlement in University Circle. Admission is free, but arrive early!
More information at clevelandcomposers.com.
More information at clevelandcomposers.com.
2022
October 22: Price's Adoration in Marietta, Georgia
8-18-22: On Saturday, October 22 at 7pm, the Georgia Philharmonic, under the baton of Tamara Dworetz, will perform my arrangement for large orchestra of Florence Price's Adoration on a subscription concert at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia, in the Atlanta metro area.
More information and tickets here: https://georgiaphilharmonic.org/season
More information and tickets here: https://georgiaphilharmonic.org/season
October 16: World Premiere of Woman/Night in Cleveland
8-17-22: On Sunday, October 16 at 3pm, soprano Rebecca Freshwater and I will give the premiere performance of my cycle of Wallace Stevens poems Woman/Night on the first Cleveland Composers Guild concert of the 2022-2023 season. This premiere has been a long time coming, since I started work on this piece in 2009 and have been looking for the right combination of collaborator and event. As always, I'm excited to be performing my own music, and over the moon to get to work with Rebecca! The concert is at the Spahr Center of the First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and admission is free.
More information here: https://clevelandcomposers.com/2022-2023-season
More information here: https://clevelandcomposers.com/2022-2023-season
October 11: Aggie Songs performed at Oklahoma Panhandle State University
6-8-22: In 2009, Oklahoma Panhandle State University celebrated its centennial, and in my former role as music department chair there, I organized a concert to celebrate. The concert included music from 1909, as well as works celebrating OPSU's past and present. I was commissioned to write Progress through Knowledge for the combined concert band and chorus, and also made a gift of a concert band arrangement of the school songs, since the library didn't contain one and called it Aggie Songs. Now my former student David Hyrum Vaughan is the director of bands at OPSU, and he has decided to program Aggie Songs on October 11 in Hughes-Strong Auditorium, the first performance of my work there that I know about since I left in 2012.
More information here: https://www.opsu.edu/
More information here: https://www.opsu.edu/
October 9: Price's Adoration in Mankato, Minnesota
8-5-22: On Sunday, October 9 at 3pm, the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Tamara Dworetz, will perform my arrangement for large orchestra of Florence Price's Adoration on a concert at St. Peter High School in St. Peter, Minnesota. The concert also includes works by Glinka and Rimsky-Korsakov.
More information and tickets here: https://mankatosymphony.ticketleap.com/2223sheherazade/
More information and tickets here: https://mankatosymphony.ticketleap.com/2223sheherazade/
August 4: Price's Adoration at the Mann Center in Philadelphia
7-27-22: On Thursday, August 4 at 4pm, the students of the All-City Orchestra Summer Academy of the Mann Center for the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will perform my arrangement for large orchestra of Florence Price's Adoration. I'm pleased to see my arrangement allow a group of talented young people to encounter the music of Florence Price.
Update 8-17-22: Ah, the vagaries of the music camp experience! This performance didn't happen, but I'm optimistic that they will include this piece next year.
More information here: https://manncenter.org/education/acosa
Update 8-17-22: Ah, the vagaries of the music camp experience! This performance didn't happen, but I'm optimistic that they will include this piece next year.
More information here: https://manncenter.org/education/acosa
July 15 and 17: George Leggiero Reprises Pilaster at the McGaffin Carillon
7-13-22: George Leggiero will reprise the premiere performance of Pilaster for carillon on Friday, July 15 at 12:15 on the McGaffin Carillon of the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland's University Circle. Free admission (since it can be heard for about a half-mile in any direction), and the concert will include works by several of my Composers Guild colleagues.
The concert will be repeated on Sunday, July 17 at 11am.
More information here, including the link to the livestream (Friday only): https://www.ucbells.org/events/202207715concert
The concert will be repeated on Sunday, July 17 at 11am.
More information here, including the link to the livestream (Friday only): https://www.ucbells.org/events/202207715concert
June 11: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performs Price's Adoration
4-1-22: I've had the privilege of writing and arranging music for Antoine Clark multiple times over the last few years as his career as an orchestral conductor has bloomed. In 2020, he asked me to work on Florence Price's organ composition Adoration, a short, wonderfully lyrical prelude. The result was two arrangements, one for chamber ensemble and one for small orchestra. Then, Antoine was named a 2022 MAC Music Innovator by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a role which includes him programming and conducting a neighborhood concert by the orchestra. He asked me to make one more arrangement of the Adoration, this one for large orchestra, and the result will receive its first performance by the Cincinnati Symphony on Friday, June 11 at 7pm at Word of Deliverance Ministries in Cincinnati. Admission is free, but tickets are required.
More information here: https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2122-cso-season/mac-music-innovator-concert/
More information here: https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2122-cso-season/mac-music-innovator-concert/
May 15: Nathan Hill premieres Rule of Three in Cleveland
4-1-22: Every year I look forward to working with a young music student and their teacher on a new short work for the Cleveland Composers Guild's Creativity: Learning Through Experience project, and this year has been no exception. I've had a great time collaborating with pianist Nathan Hill and his teacher Coren Estrin Mino on Rule of Three, inspired by our mutual love of all things comical. The premiere will take place at the Cleveland Music Settlement on Sunday, May 15 at 3pm, on a concert featuring this year's crop of new works by Guild composers. Admission is free.
More information here: https://clevelandcomposers.com/
More information here: https://clevelandcomposers.com/
May 6: Lakeland Civic Flute Choir plays Nod a Don
10-21-21: On May 6, 2022, the Lakeland Civic Flute Choir, under the direction of Judith Elias, will perform my 2013 piece Nod a Don. I'm very excited to have this piece on a concert of Lakeland Community College's newest civic ensemble.
More information and ticket purchases here: https://www.lakelandcc.edu/arts
More information and ticket purchases here: https://www.lakelandcc.edu/arts
April 24: Sonatina for Flute at Greater Cleveland Flute Society
4-1-22: Another cancelled performance from Spring 2020 seeing its promise fulfilled! The Greater Cleveland Flute Society's Composers Connections series has featured two of my works previously: Nod a Don in 2014 and Transmissions and Transmutations (BLF) in 2018. I'm pleased to return to the program with one of my first flute pieces, 2006's Sonatina for Flute and Piano, to be performed by flutist Rae Yaeger and pianist Adam Whiting at 7pm on April 24, 2022 at the Unitarian Church in Shaker Heights. Admission is free.
More information and livestream link here: https://gcfs.org/
More information and livestream link here: https://gcfs.org/
April 24: Lakeland Civic Orchestra reprises The Lovely Soul of Lakeland
4-1-22: On April 24, 2022, the Lakeland Civic Orchestra will present a second performance of my fanfare The Lovely Soul of Lakeland. Composed and premiered in 2018 for the 50th anniversary of Lakeland Community College, which hosts the orchestra, we are returning to this piece to celebrate a successful season coming back from the COVID pandemic. The concert is a combined concert with the Lakeland Civic Band.
More information and ticket purchases here: https://www.lakelandcc.edu/arts
More information and ticket purchases here: https://www.lakelandcc.edu/arts
April 22: Cleveland Chamber Symphony and Verb Ballets present Martian Dances
4-1-22: Rescheduled from a performance slated for April 2020, Steven Smith will conduct the Cleveland Chamber Symphony in the world premiere of the chamber orchestra version of Martian Dances with a dance by Verb Ballets in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio on Friday, April 22 at 7pm. Admission is free.
More information and link to the livestream here: http://clevelandchambersymphony.org/
More information and link to the livestream here: http://clevelandchambersymphony.org/
April 10: Robin Whirlwind Soldier Senior Recital
4-1-22: This semester I have been teaching composition virtually at the University of Minnesota-Morris as a sabbatical replacement for the indominable Wes Flinn, who is taking the spring to write an opera. It's been a pleasure to work with his student Robin Whirlwind Soldier, who will present his senior composition recital in Morris, Minnesota on Sunday, April 10, including works for piano, chorus, and chamber ensemble. Admission is free.
I'm still figuring out the details of everything, but check here for more information: https://academics.morris.umn.edu/music/concerts-and-music-events
I'm still figuring out the details of everything, but check here for more information: https://academics.morris.umn.edu/music/concerts-and-music-events
February 13: Florence Price Adoration by Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra
10-21-21: On February 13, 2022, the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra will perform my arrangement of Florence Price's Adoration under the baton of their music director Antoine Clark in Oberlin, Ohio.
More information here: https://www.noyo.org/
More information here: https://www.noyo.org/
January 12: Twenty Views of the Trombone at Fine Arts Association
8-4-21: On January 12, 2022, I will perform my unaccompanied trombone work Twenty Views of the Trombone in a Faculty Artist Recital at the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, Ohio. This will be the first complete performance of this work in Northeast Ohio, and the first complete performance of it since the premiere in Atlanta in 2017.
Purchase tickets here: https://www.fineartsassociation.org/artistrecitalseries/
Purchase tickets here: https://www.fineartsassociation.org/artistrecitalseries/
2021
December 10 & 12: New Choral Work for Oberlin Choral Spectrum
10-3-21: Oberlin Choral Spectrum will give the first performances of a new short piece for unaccompanied mixed chorus on December 10 and 12 at the Carnegie Center at the Lorain Historical Society. This piece is a setting of Ella Higginson's "Christmas Eve," a wistful meditation on that "after Christmas" feeling. It's a real privilege to write again for a group of musicians that helped me get started on my journey as a composer: their recording of The Beatitudes was part of my graduate school applications.
November 21: Majestic Fanfare for the Ohio Valley Majestic Brass
7-13-21: The Ohio Valley Majestic Brass, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, commissioned a fanfare from me, and will be performing the result, Majestic Fanfare, throughout their 2021-2022 season of Sunday morning worship presentations. I had the privilege of rehearing the piece with them on July 11, and if you can hear them in concert, make time to do so!
UPDATE 7-29-21: The first performance of Majestic Fanfare will be as a part of worship at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Bromley, Kentucky on Sunday, November 21 at their 10:45am service.
UPDATE 7-29-21: The first performance of Majestic Fanfare will be as a part of worship at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Bromley, Kentucky on Sunday, November 21 at their 10:45am service.
November 5: Premiere of Pilaster for the McGaffin Carillon
10-29-21: As part of a collaboration between the Cleveland Composers Guild and the McGaffin Carillon, I've composed a short new work for the 47-bell instrument at Church of the Covenant in Cleveland's University Circle. The result, Pilaster, is a reworking of my piece Peristyle for guitar from 2019, and will receive its first performance by carilloneur George Leggiero on November 5, 2021 at a free concert beginning at 12:15pm. The concert will also be livestreamed.
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra Premieres Big Bright Lake Blue Sky
7-13-21: My newest jazz composition, Big Bright Lake Blue Sky, will have its premiere by an octet of musicians from the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra on a concert co-presented by the Cleveland Composers Guild, at the Bop Stop on Sunday, September 19 at 7pm.
Gamer Troll Loses Control for Fine Arts Association
7-13-21: The Faculty of the Fine Arts Association will give the premiere of Gamer Troll Loses Control, a tone-poem for the same instrumentation as Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals, on Thursday, August 19 in Willoughby, Ohio.
7-16-21: I've added my original story to this website in anticipation of the premiere. The story serves as the program for my composition. Read it here.
8-4-21: Purchase tickets here: https://www.fineartsassociation.org/artistrecitalseries/
7-16-21: I've added my original story to this website in anticipation of the premiere. The story serves as the program for my composition. Read it here.
8-4-21: Purchase tickets here: https://www.fineartsassociation.org/artistrecitalseries/
2020
Arrangements of Florence Price's Adoration in Worthington and Ada
9-6-20: Antoine Clark, music director of the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra and the Ohio Northern Symphony has commissioned from me not one but two transcriptions of Adoration, a short prelude for organ by Florence Price. I am overjoyed to be working on them.
The first, for wind quintet plus string quintet, will be performed on September 12 by the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra at an outdoor concert in Worthington, Ohio. Information here. Antoine is also planning to use the arrangement again later this season, so look here for updates!
The second, for chamber orchestra, will be used this season by the Ohio Northern Symphony and the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra. Look for more information here!
The first, for wind quintet plus string quintet, will be performed on September 12 by the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra at an outdoor concert in Worthington, Ohio. Information here. Antoine is also planning to use the arrangement again later this season, so look here for updates!
The second, for chamber orchestra, will be used this season by the Ohio Northern Symphony and the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra. Look for more information here!
Peristyle to Receive Virtual Premiere
9-6-20: My latest contribution to the Cleveland Composers Guild's annual Creativity: Learning Through Experience project is the solo guitar piece Peristyle, written for Parker Carrus, a 14-year-old student of Robert Gruca. Parker recorded a virtual performance at the Bop Stop in August that will be part of a virtual concert in September, along with works by eleven other Guild members. Look for the virtual premiere, followed by it's continued availability online.
10-7-20: Check out this review in ClevelandClassical.com of the Creativity: Learning Through Experience concert, and watch concert, which remains available on YouTube.
10-7-20: Check out this review in ClevelandClassical.com of the Creativity: Learning Through Experience concert, and watch concert, which remains available on YouTube.
What It's Like for Fine Arts
9-6-20: The Fine Arts Association created a short video of their teachers' work, to be a part of the virtual version of the Willoughby Arts Fest. I reocorded my contribution, "What It's Like," from Twenty Views of the Trombone, in August, and I'm hoping to see the results soon!
Sonatina for Flute and Piano by the Greater Cleveland Flute Society
2-3-20: April is shaping up to be a month of blasts from the past! I just received word that flutist Rae Yeager and pianist Adam Whiting will give the Cleveland premiere of my Sonatina for Flute and Piano, a piece I wrote in 2005. This will be a part of the Greater Cleveland Flute Society's annual Composers Connection concert on April 26 at 7:30pm at Judson Park in Cleveland. I'm looking forward to hearing this piece live for the first time in a long time! (It will be a busy day, since there is a Lakeland Civic Orchestra concert earlier in the day!
UPDATE 4-4-20: This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19. Check back for more information.
UPDATE 4-4-20: This concert has been postponed due to COVID-19. Check back for more information.
New Version of Martian Dances to Premiere by Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Verb Ballets
2-3-20: Rich Reinhardt and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony will join Verb Ballets for the premiere of a new version for chamber orchestra of Martian Dances, my 2004 signature piece and namesake of this website. This will be a part of the NEOSonicFest 2020, and will happen at Baldwin Wallace University's Gamble Auditorium on April 4. I'm very excited to have one of my personal favorite pieces make it to Cleveland for the first time, and even more thrilled that it will be performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, who performed the music of my mentor and friend, the late Donald Harris, among so many others. Even better, even though I didn't compose Martian Dances as a ballet, I've always thought it would be great with choreography, and I'm exxcited to see what Verb Ballets will do with it!
UPDATE 4-4-20: This concert has been postposed, along with the rest of NEOSonicFest 2020, until a date TBD in the fall due to COVID-19.
UPDATE 4-4-20: This concert has been postposed, along with the rest of NEOSonicFest 2020, until a date TBD in the fall due to COVID-19.
Lady Glides on the Moon: Two Performances in Illinois
12-2-19: Percussionist Adam Cowger and clarinetist Rich Moore, both on the faculty of Joliet Junior College, will be presenting Lady Glides on the Moon on recitals this spring: first on March 22, 2020 as part of Adam's faculty recital, and then on April 5, 2020 as part of Rich's faculty recital. Great to have my music returning to Greater Chicago!
UPDATE 4-4-20: As all events at Joliet Junior College through April 30 are cancelled due to COVID-19, I am assuming that these recitals will be rescheduled. Look here for more information.
UPDATE 4-4-20: As all events at Joliet Junior College through April 30 are cancelled due to COVID-19, I am assuming that these recitals will be rescheduled. Look here for more information.
Premiere of Mysterious Marvels at Lakeland Community College and CSU
UPDATE--11-1-19: Of course as soon as I made the first post on this plans changed, but for the better! The Lakeland Civic Band and Dan Crain will give not one but two performances of Mysterious Marvels. The first on March 1, 2020 at Lakeland Community College at 4pm. The second will be Sunday, March 8 at Cleveland State University's Waetjen Auditorium as part of the community band festival hosted there. Check back for more information!
UPDATE--2-3-20: One more change to this premiere process: the second performance will take place not on March 8, but on Sunday, March 15 at Cleveland State University's Waetjen Auditorium, a fantastic gift for my birthday!
UPDATE 4-4-20: The March 15 performance was cancelled due to COVID-19, but the premiere resulted in the piece getting its very own page at the Wind Repertory Project, with an update to my composer page: https://www.windrep.org/Mysterious_Marvels
UPDATE--2-3-20: One more change to this premiere process: the second performance will take place not on March 8, but on Sunday, March 15 at Cleveland State University's Waetjen Auditorium, a fantastic gift for my birthday!
UPDATE 4-4-20: The March 15 performance was cancelled due to COVID-19, but the premiere resulted in the piece getting its very own page at the Wind Repertory Project, with an update to my composer page: https://www.windrep.org/Mysterious_Marvels
Premiere of Place of the Sea Mountains in Canton
2-3-20: Place of the Sea Mountains, inspired by Robert Manry's 1965 solo trip across the Atlantic Ocean by sailboat, will receive its premiere performance on Thursay, February 6 at Kent State University--Stark at 7pm. Performers are Joanna Alpizar, violin, Eric Dina, trumpet, and Randall Fusco, piano, on this concert sponsored by the Cleveland Composers Guild.
2019
Recording of Lady Glides on the Moon in Progress
5-3-19: Aaron Durst, director of bands and saxophone professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, has been in the studio recording the saxophone version of Lady Glides on the Moon. Look for more news about this project soon!
UPDATE: 10-30-19: The audio for this project is sounding great, and I recently signed a royalty agreement, so this is happening in the near future!
UPDATE: 12-2-19: I've received the CD, Duo Eigentone by Aaron Durst and David Kile. It sounds fantastic, and they are working on making it available to the public. Check here for more information!
UPDATE: 10-30-19: The audio for this project is sounding great, and I recently signed a royalty agreement, so this is happening in the near future!
UPDATE: 12-2-19: I've received the CD, Duo Eigentone by Aaron Durst and David Kile. It sounds fantastic, and they are working on making it available to the public. Check here for more information!
Premiere of And I Live With the Fiction That I Never Get Mad
8-7-19: Loren Reach-Henz and Ben Malkevitch will give the world premiere performance of And I Live with the Fiction That I Never Get Mad, a song for baritone voice and piano setting poetry by Reach-Henz' grandmother Janice Reach on the first concert of 2019-2020 presented by the Cleveland Composers Guild on Sunday, October 13, at Drinko Recital Hall at Cleveland State University at 3pm. Admission is free, and the concert also includes works by seven other Guild members.
Maximum Impact at SCI Region V in Illinois
8-7-19: My first work for jazz big band, Maximum Impact, has been accepted for performance at the Society of Composers Region V Conference at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, October 11-12.
Ophelia Songs at Cleveland Public Theater
6-26-19: ContempOpera Cleveland will reprise their May performance of Ophelia Songs by soprano Andrea Annelli on September 7 at Cleveland Public Theatre's Pandemonium 2019 gala. An expensive ticket, but for a great cause!
Specious Present in Nashville
6-26-19: The ensemble Sound Riot included The Specious Present in a concert on June 21 as part of Make Music Day Nashville. They are planning to program the piece again throughout their 2019-2020 season, so look here for more details. These are the first performances of my music in the Volunteer State!
Ophelia Songs by ContempOpera Cleveland
5-3-19: It has been a number of years since the last performance of my song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano Ophelia Songs, which I wrote in 2006, but the work is being revived as a part of ContempOpera Cleveland's Incubator Series on Friday, May 17 at 7pm at Holy Rosary Church in Cleveland. More information on the ContempOpera Cleveland website.
Duo Capriccio Premiere in South Dakota
10-15-18: Dr. Tammy Evans Yonce will present a faculty recital on Monday, October 22 at 7:30pm in Peterson Recital Hall on the campus of South Dakota State University. The program includes music by a number of living composers, including Duo Capriccio for flute and clarinet, my run at Paganini's twenty-fourth Caprice.
UPDATE: 1-12-19: After having to reschedule this recital, Dr. Yonce will present this program in the same location at 7:30pm on Monday, January 14!
UPDATE: 1-12-19: After having to reschedule this recital, Dr. Yonce will present this program in the same location at 7:30pm on Monday, January 14!
Blue Streak Ensemble at the Bop Stop
10-15-18: The Blue Streak Ensemble, a new music ensemble led by Margaret Brouwer, has commissioned me to write a piece for Pierrot ensemble plus percussion, to be inspired by the 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River that jump-started the environmental movement in the US. The premiere will take place on January 17, 2019 at 7:30pm at the Bop Stop in Cleveland's Ohio City Neighborhood.
I've been doing some fairly extensive research on the river, the industry around it, and the fire itself, as well as its impact as I prepare to write this piece, and I'm starting to transition to the putting down notes phase of the work. Hopefully, a title will present itself in the near future as well!
1-12-19: Notice the updated date: January 17, 2019 at the Bop Stop. Tickets availabe here.
I've been doing some fairly extensive research on the river, the industry around it, and the fire itself, as well as its impact as I prepare to write this piece, and I'm starting to transition to the putting down notes phase of the work. Hopefully, a title will present itself in the near future as well!
1-12-19: Notice the updated date: January 17, 2019 at the Bop Stop. Tickets availabe here.
Alexandrite for Trombone and Piano in Willoughby, Ohio
1-12-19: My trombone student Trent Glass wasn't satisfied with any of Vandercook's Trombone Gems when it came time to plan his recital appearance this winter, so I offered to write him a piece named for his birthstone, the volatile alexandrite. The premiere of this miniature will be on Friday, February 8 at the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, Ohio, on their general recital at 6pm. Admission is free.
My Uncle Was in Derry in Cleveland and Akron
10-15-18: I spent some time recently revising a work from 2010 that never had a premiere, My Uncle Was in Derry for flute, horn, and piano, inspired by a poem by my uncle, Robin Saunders, about his time serving in the US Navy in Derry, Ireland during The Troubles. The result is that the Chamber Music Society of Ohio will give two performances of the piece in February 2019: Sunday, February 10 at 3pm at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, Ohio on a free concert, and Sunday, February 17 as part of a ticketed event featuring the same program at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Boston Heights, Ohio. The second event includes dinner. More information here.
Lady Glides on the Moon in Wisconsin
1-12-19: The clarinet and percussion version of Lady Glides on the Moon will receive its first performance in Wisconsin by clarinetist Zach McCoy and percussionist Olivia Kieffer at the College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. I will be presenting a paper at the same conference on the Cincinnati Symphony Centennial Commissioning Project.
In addition, saxophonist Aaron Durst, of the University of Wisconsin-Stout will be recording the saxophone and percussion version of the same piece this Spring.
I'm glad to see such life in a piece that I've always loved!
In addition, saxophonist Aaron Durst, of the University of Wisconsin-Stout will be recording the saxophone and percussion version of the same piece this Spring.
I'm glad to see such life in a piece that I've always loved!
Premiere of First Chapter in Cleveland
5-3-19: On Sunday, May 5, Hana Marak and Adam Whiting will give the world premiere of First Chapter for violin and piano at the Cleveland Composers Guild Creativity: Learning Through Experience 27 at the Music Settlement in Cleveland's University Circle. This is my fifth contribution to this series of concerts, which is always a fun way to write a short piece for a young performer.
2018
Christmas Suite in Painesville
10-15-18: The Lakeland Civic Orchestra will include my Christmas Suite in its holiday concert at Painesville United Methodist Church in Painesville, Ohio at 7:30pm on Monday, December 10. I composed this piece for them in 2014, and it includes settings of "Angels We Have Heard on High," "What Child is This?" and "O Come All Ye Faithful." I will be conducting.
Gruca White Ensemble Performing Transmissions and Transmutations
9-5-18: This summer, the Gruca White Ensemble, with my approval, worked to adapt my solo flute piece Transmissions and Transmutations (BLF) for flute and guitar, and the result is promising. I'll be taking their ideas and producing an alternate duo version soon, but in the meantime, they've already included it in their fall programming.
They will give the first performance on a WCLV Facebook Live event on September 25, 2018 from 11:30am-12pm (Eastern Time). Head to WCLV's Facebook page to hear the live stream. This will be rebroadcast on the air (104.9FM in Cleveland or WCLV.com) on November 2 from 1:30-2pm. The concert will also feature music by Stephen Stanziano, Kevin Krumenhauer, and Marshall Griffith.
The Gruca White Ensemble is Linda White, flutist, and Robert Gruca, guitar, and they are frequent collaborators with the Cleveland Composers Guild and Artists in Residence at the Music School Settlement.
UPDATE: 9-23-18: The Gruca White Ensemble will also include Transmissions and Transmutations on their October 13 concert at The Music Settlement's Ohio City Campus. The concert is at 12:30pm, and more information is available here.
They will give the first performance on a WCLV Facebook Live event on September 25, 2018 from 11:30am-12pm (Eastern Time). Head to WCLV's Facebook page to hear the live stream. This will be rebroadcast on the air (104.9FM in Cleveland or WCLV.com) on November 2 from 1:30-2pm. The concert will also feature music by Stephen Stanziano, Kevin Krumenhauer, and Marshall Griffith.
The Gruca White Ensemble is Linda White, flutist, and Robert Gruca, guitar, and they are frequent collaborators with the Cleveland Composers Guild and Artists in Residence at the Music School Settlement.
UPDATE: 9-23-18: The Gruca White Ensemble will also include Transmissions and Transmutations on their October 13 concert at The Music Settlement's Ohio City Campus. The concert is at 12:30pm, and more information is available here.
Recent Goings On
7-29-18: I've been neglecting the site a little bit the last few months, but it's finally time to get back to it!
Here's what's been happening with my music in the first half of 2018:
In April, I was at the College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, for a wonderful performance of The Specious Present by the duo that commissioned it, Juan Carlos Ortega and Jacqueline Eichhorn. I also gave a talk on my orchestra role-playing project, the Cabot Symphony Orchestra.
I've completed four pieces, and two have had premieres:
It's been busy at home and at school, but there has been time to compose and to have performances of the results!
Here's what's been happening with my music in the first half of 2018:
In April, I was at the College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, for a wonderful performance of The Specious Present by the duo that commissioned it, Juan Carlos Ortega and Jacqueline Eichhorn. I also gave a talk on my orchestra role-playing project, the Cabot Symphony Orchestra.
I've completed four pieces, and two have had premieres:
- I'm currently finishing up a song for baritone voice and piano for Loren Henz-Reash based on a poem by his grandmother Janice Reash, called And I Live With the Fiction that I Never Get Mad. Look for a premiere in the near future!
- I wrote a solo cello piece called Fire Floated for the Cleveland Composers Guild Creativity: Learning Through Experience XXVI concert in May. Cellist Theodora Bowne gave a splendid performance of this piece written in reaction to the February shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
- I created a fanfare for orchestra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lakeland Community College. The piece is called The Lovely Soul of Lakeland and had its premiere by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in April.
- Finally, this summer I've finished a duo flute and clarinet for flutist Tammy Evans Yonce. A somewhat conservative piece, Duo Capriccio is a set of variations on the theme from Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin. Looking forward to a premiere this year!
It's been busy at home and at school, but there has been time to compose and to have performances of the results!
2017
Saunders Featured on Podcast
11-2-17: Last month, my former trombone student Kendall Halman interviewed me for his podcast Waiting Here for Everyman. The result was very cool, so check out this episode, which had some great questions from a very smart interviewer.
World Premiere of Maximum Impact
11-2-17: Last spring, Ed Michaels asked me to compose an original big band chart for Lakeland Jazz Impact. The result, Maximum Impact, is my first chart for big band, and will be premiered on Sunday, November 19 at the Rodehorst Performing Arts Center at Lakeland Community College on a joint concert by Jazz Impact and the Lakeland Civic Jazz Orchestra. Tickets are $7, $6 for seniors, and $2 for students, and are available at the doors or on Lakeland's website. I've played in big bands my entire musical life, and I'm excited have now created a work for the medium. Percussionist Larry Smith will be a featured soloist.
World Premiere of On a Clear Night You Can See Forever
11-2-17: My piece for violinist Galo Arboleda will receive its world premiere on Sunday, November 26 on a concert by the Cleveland Composers Guild at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The title is On a Clear Night You Can See Forever, and the work is inspired by the Shafran Planetarium. The concert is at 3pm, and admission to the concert is free with museum admission.
Suite for String Orchestra Returns to Denison University
3-21-17: After a fantastic performance at the Denison TUTTI Festival in February, Andrew Strietelmeier and the Denison University Orchestra will reprise my Suite for String Orchestra on Saturday, April 22 at 7pm in Swasey Chapel on the campus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Admission is free. Also on the concert are Kip Jones' LDMT and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. More information here.
Transmissions and Transmutations (BLF) at the GCFS
2-21-17: Flutist Linda White will reprise last summer's premiere of Transmissions and Transmutations (BLF) on the Greater Cleveland Flute Society's Composer Connection concert at 7pm on Sunday, April 23 at Judson Manor in Cleveland, Ohio. This is second time my work has been featured on this annual concert, following a 2013 performance of Nod a Don.
First Performance of Gravity Waves
1-18-17: I have been privileged to be commissioned for the third year in a row to compose a piece for the Cleveland Composers Guild's Creativity: Learning Through Experience project. This year, I have been working with clarinetist Myles Macke, age 12, on a short piece for clarinet and piano, inspired by our mutual interest in cutting-edge science. The result, Gravity Waves, will receive its first performance at the 25th Annual Creativity: Learning Through Experience concert, sponsored by the Cleveland Composers Guild and the Music Settlement. The concert takes place on Sunday, May 7 at 3pm, at Harkness Chapel on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. Admission is free and a light reception will follow.
World Premiere of The Specious Present
1-18-17: I spent much of the summer of 2016 at work on a duo for violin and clarinet titled The Specious Present on a commission from violinist Juan Carlos Ortega. Juan Carlos and clarinetist Jackie Eichhorn will give the premiere performance of this piece at 3pm on Sunday, March 19, 2017 on a Cleveland Composers Guild concert at Judson Manor in Cleveland, Ohio. Works by seven other Cleveland-area composers will also be on the program, including the Viola Sonata of one of my early mentors, Scott Michal. (I've known Scott for about 25 years, and we are finally having music on the same concert!) This concert is part of the Fourth Annual NEOSonicFest.
The Rainbow's Daughter in Repertoire
Long-time champion of my music Avguste Antonov will include my new piano cycle The Rainbow's Daughter in his recital repertoire for 2016-2017, including the world premiere performances. Look for more information here!
UPDATE (10/6/16)--The World Premiere Performance of The Rainbow's Daughter will be on Avguste Antonov's recital at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 23, 2017.
UPDATE (11/16/16)--Avguste has decided to delay the world premiere of The Rainbow's Daughter until his recital as part of the PianoForte Salon Series in Chicago, Illinois, on March 10, 2017. This will be the first world premiere of my work in the Windy City, and the first performance of my music there since Katherine Borst-Jones and The Ohio State University Flute Troupe presented Nod a Don at the 2014 National Flute Association Convention. Follow here for addition information.
Twenty Views of the Trombone Premiere in Atlanta
2-21-17: Last week I returned to Atlanta for the first time in over a decade for the world premiere of the complete version of Twenty Views of the Trombone. Playing the piece is quite an odyssey--forty minutes of music for unaccompanied trombone. Special thanks to Olivia Keiffer for arranging my performance at Eyedrum in downtown Atlanta--a cool up-and-coming venue, and to Leigh Miller at Young Harris College for hosting me there the day before, as well. Special thanks to my employer, Lakeland Community College, for providing the travel funding for this trip.
Mark Gresham reviewed the performance for ArtsATL.
Olivia Keiffer commemorated the occasion with a short piece for toy piano--I don't think I've ever had a composition in my honor before! Check it out here.
I'm currently in discussions with several colleges in Ohio and Pennsylvania to present the work there, including Lakeland Community College.
There will likely be further results from this Atlanta trip. I had an evening flight home the day after my performance, and I took the time to visit the High Museum of Art. Among other things, I was impressed with their collection of marble statuary, and I'm now planning a set of piano pieces based on four statues from their exhibits.
Suite for String Orchestra at Denison University TUTTI Festival
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11-28-16: My 2012 composition Suite for String Orchestra has been selected for the 2017 TUTTI Festival, Denison University's annual new music festival. This will be the second time my music has been performed at Denison's Granville, Ohio campus. The festival will take place February 9-11, 2017. More information here.
Click here to listen to the premiere performance of the Suite for String Orchestra.
Update: 1-18-17: Suite for String Orchestra is slated to be performed on the 7pm concert on Thursday, February 9 in Swasey Chapel on the campus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio. It will be sharing the program with pieces by Augusta Read Thomas, Nina Shekhar, and Jennifer Jolley.
11-28-16: My 2012 composition Suite for String Orchestra has been selected for the 2017 TUTTI Festival, Denison University's annual new music festival. This will be the second time my music has been performed at Denison's Granville, Ohio campus. The festival will take place February 9-11, 2017. More information here.
Click here to listen to the premiere performance of the Suite for String Orchestra.
Update: 1-18-17: Suite for String Orchestra is slated to be performed on the 7pm concert on Thursday, February 9 in Swasey Chapel on the campus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio. It will be sharing the program with pieces by Augusta Read Thomas, Nina Shekhar, and Jennifer Jolley.
Twenty Views of the Trombone in Atlanta
I have been invited to present a recital of unaccompanied trombone works at Eyedrum in Atlanta on February 17, 2016, a part of their Composer's Concert Series. This will be the first performance of the complete Twenty Views of the Trombone, representing the culmination of a project that began with a one-minute piece in 2009. More information on Eyedrum's event page.
UPDATE (1-18-17): I will also be presenting masterclasses at Reinhardt University and Young Harris College while I am in Georgia.
2016
Premiere of Sax Version of Lady Glides on the Moon
As part of the first collaboration between the Cleveland Composers Guild and the Syndicate for the New Arts, the saxophone and percussion version of my piece Lady Glides on the Moon (originally for clarinet and percussion) was selected to be performed at St. John Episcopal Church in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland at 7pm on Sunday, December 4, 2016. This will be the first performance of the saxophone version of this piece, which I created in 2013 after a successful premiere of the clarinet version by its commissioner, Jennifer Laubenthal, of Eastern New Mexico University. Follow here for additional information.
Ohio Premiere of Piano Concerto
Avguste Antonov, the dedicatee and commissioner of my Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, will bring the piece to Ohio on November 13 at the first concert of the season of the Lakeland Civic Orchestra, under my baton. Also featured will be a world premiere commission from my incredible composition student, Cooper Wood, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8. Tickets available here.
In memoriam Donald E. McGinnis
10-29-16: I received word this morning that Dr. Donald E. McGinnis passed away yesterday, just one week after his 99th birthday. Dr. McGinnis was the director of bands from the 1940s to the 1970s at Ohio State University, and I met him during my graduate work in 2007, when I wrote my DMA document about his Symphony for Band, his 1953 dissertation for his doctorate from the University of Iowa.
The Symphony for Band was published in 1977 without one of its movements, the "Solemn Tune," originally intended to appear between the published third and fourth movements. As part of my work, I created a performing version of this movement from the composer's manuscript score. One of the happiest days of my graduate school experience was March 7, 2007, when the Ohio State University Wind Symphony, under the baton of Dr. Russel Mikkelson, performed the "missing movement" in the presence of its composer, who hadn't heard the music in at least 40 years.
I decided to dig up the recording of that day, which is included in the online version of my dissertation stored at the OhioLink ETD center, and post it on YouTube in tribute. A simple movie, because the music speaks for itself.
Antonov Recitals in Ohio
As part of his tour through Ohio, Avguste Antonov will be performing several solo recitals in addition to his concerto appearance with the Lakeland Civic Orchestra. His repertoire will be selected from works of living American composers, including my The Rainbow's Daughter. Events are currently scheduled at Lakeland Community College on November 9 and at Malone College on November 14. Follow here for additional information.
Premiere of Meditation
'Cellist Renee Goubeaux of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra will premiere my work Meditation for cello and piano in October 2016 in Toledo. Look for more information soon!
UPDATE 10-3-16: The performance will be Saturday, October 29 at 2pm at the First Unitarian Church of Toledo, 3205 Glendale Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43614.
Piano Concerto Two-Piano Version in Texas
In preparation for his November 13 performance of my Piano Concerto, Avguste Antonov and Gwenlyn Kate Boley will include the 2-piano version of that work in a concert at the Master's Touch School of Music in Grapevine, Texas on October 9. More information here.
New Flute Piece to Honor Bascom Little Fund
I am participating in the Cleveland Composers Guild's special concert to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Bascom Little Fund, our major source of support for many years. My contribution is a piece for unaccompanied flute called Transmissions and Transmutations (BLF), which will receive its premiere by Linda White on Sunday, July 17 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights.
One-on-One Premiere in Cleveland
This year I am pleased to again participate in the Cleveland Composers Guild's partnership with the Music School Settlement to create a new work for young musicians. This year, I have been working with Zimu Cai and Timothy Dang, piano students of Esther Chu, on a short work for piano, four-hands, my first attempt in this medium. The premiere performance will take place on Sunday, May 1 at the Music School Settlement in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio.
Suite for String Orchestra in Youngstown
My 2012 Suite for String Orchestra will receive its Ohio premiere in Youngstown on Sunday, April 24 at 4pm at Ss. Peter and Paul Church. More details here.
Moriarty's Necktie in Pennsylvania
My concert band work Moriarty's Necktie was accepted for the College Music Society's 2016 Northeast Regional Conference, and will be performed at 3pm on Saturday, March 19 by the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Wind Ensemble under the direction of Daniel Neuenschwander. Great to return to the Keystone State with one of my favorite compositions!
Poems of Emily Dickinson in Cleveland
Mezzo-soprano Heidi Skok and pianist Randall Fusco will perform my set of three Poems of Emily Dickinson on a concert presented by the Cleveland Composers Guild at 3pm on Sunday, March 13 in Kulas Recital Hall on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. This is an exciting performance of a piece that hasn't been heard in more than a decade, but that I stand by despite its age!
Starry Wanderers on Tour
Pianist Avguste Antonov is touring the Plains states in February and will again be featuring selections from my 2009 piano cycle Starry Wanderers. His schedule includes:
- Friday, February 19, 7:30pm (CST) at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma (a wonderful hall!)
- Sunday, February 21, 7:30pm (CST) at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri
- Tuesday, February 23, 7:00pm (CST) at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas
- Thursday, February 25, 7:30pm (CST) at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri (where my in-laws met!)
Azteca Dances in Oregon
My woodwind quintet Azteca Dances will be featured on the inaugural concert by Wind Speaks, a new quintet dedicated to new music and headed by flutist Rebecca Larkin. The performance is on Thursday, February 18 at 7:30pm (PST) in Beall Concert Hall at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and is the first performance of this piece west of the Mississippi River!
Seven Last Words Premieres in Willlowick, Ohio
I am pleased to announce the first premiere of my sacred music in over a decade, the first performances of my organ pieces Seven Last Words. Each piece explores one of the seven final sayings of Jesus Christ on the cross, and they will be premiered at my home church, Shoregate United Methodist Church here in Willowick, Ohio. The first piece will be premiered during 10am Sunday worship on February 14, with additional pieces following each Sunday during Lent, and on Good Friday. Shoregate UMC's organist Rob Shuss will give the premiere performances on the church's Rodgers organ. The pieces will be premiered as follows:
- Sunday, February 14: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
- Sunday, February 21: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
- Sunday, February 28: Woman, this is your son... This is your mother.
- Sunday, March 6: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
- Sunday, March 13: I thirst.
- Sunday, March 20: It is finished
- Friday, March 25: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit
2015
New Chamber Orchestra Work in November
5-21-15: On November 1, 2015, my new work for the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, directed by Dr. Antoine Clark, will receive its premiere in Worthington, Ohio, which is just north of Columbus. The piece is titled ...into the suggestive waters... I'm immensely excited about a premiere in my hometown.
UPDATE 8-17-15: Here's a link to more information on the performance. I will be sharing the program with works by Rossini, Mozart, and Hadyn.
UPDATE 8-23-15: Here's a link to the classical music section of the Columbus Dispatch's fall arts preview--I'm thrilled to be mentioned!
UPDATE 8-17-15: Here's a link to more information on the performance. I will be sharing the program with works by Rossini, Mozart, and Hadyn.
UPDATE 8-23-15: Here's a link to the classical music section of the Columbus Dispatch's fall arts preview--I'm thrilled to be mentioned!
Starry Wanderers in Texas
8-19-15: On September 20, at 4:30pm CDT, Avguste Antonov will present selections from my piano cycle Starry Wanderers at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas. Here is a link to the facebook page for the event. I'm glad to have my work featured in Avguste's programs again this season!
UPDATE 9-7-15: Avguste Antonov has added two more performances to his Autumn schedule in Texas, and both will include selections from Starry Wanderers. On October 2, 2015, he will appear at Steinway Hall in Ft. Worth.
On October 3, 2015, he will appear at Steinway Hall in Plano. Both concerts are at 7:30pm, CDT.
UPDATE 9-7-15: Avguste Antonov has added two more performances to his Autumn schedule in Texas, and both will include selections from Starry Wanderers. On October 2, 2015, he will appear at Steinway Hall in Ft. Worth.
On October 3, 2015, he will appear at Steinway Hall in Plano. Both concerts are at 7:30pm, CDT.
Saunders Elected to Officer Position
5-3-15: I'm pleased to announce that I've been elected to the position of secretary for the Cleveland Composer's Guild. I look forward to continuing the traditions of this organization!
New Piano Piece in May
4-19-15: My solo piano piece Polychrome's Prism will receive its premiere at the Cleveland Music School Settlement on Sunday, May 3 at 4pm by pianist Taniya D'Souza. Taniya is a student of Nella Kammerman, and the piece is a commission by the Cleveland Composers Guild as part of their ongoing collaboration with the Music Settlement. Polychrome's Prism is the first piece of an anticipated cycle called The Rainbow's Daughter, inspired by L. Frank Baum's Oz books.
Tuba Quartet Premiere in Minnesota
4-19-15: Four on the Floor, a tuba quartet based in Morris, Minnesota, will give the world premiere of my work Through a Glass, Darkly on Friday, April 24. This work was commissioned by friend, colleague, and mentor Wes Flinn, who will participate in the premiere, the first performance of my music in Minnesota.
March performance of Azteca Dances at CMS Mid-Atlantic
11/11/14: My woodwind quintet Azteca Dances has been accepted for performance at the College Music Society 2015 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, to be held at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, March 19-21, 2015. I wrote Azteca Dances on a lark in 2010, and it lay fallow until its premiere by Solaris in March of this year. Very excited for another performance, my first in the Tarheel State.
March performance of Voyage Dans la Lune in Florida
9/12/14: The Southwest Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, based in Ft. Myers, Florida, under the direction of Dr. David Cole, will perform my film score, Le Voyage Danse La Lune on March 29, 2015. When David Cole gets behind a piece, he gets behind a piece, and I'm thrilled that he's programmed my work twice this season with two of his ensembles. The score was written in 2013 and premiered by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in April 2013. Here it is synced with George Melies' film at the premiere performance. This will be my first performance in the Sunshine State since 2013, when Dr. Cole led the world premiere of my Suite for String Orchestra at Florida Gulf Coast University.
February performance of Antoine Clark's Fantasy
9/12/14: Dr. Antoine Clark, a classmate from our days at The Ohio State University, and I have worked on several versions of a piece that his Fantasy on Themes from the Barber of Seville for clarinet and piano. He will be conducting a version for clarinet and chamber winds with clarinet soloist Dr. Charles West and the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra at Kenyon College on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 8pm. The instrumentation of the accompaniment is the same as the Richard Strauss Serenade for Winds.
2014
Antonov Releases Starry Wanderers recording
Avguste Antonov, the Texas-based pianist who has performed my piano sonata and my cycle Starry Wanderers, and who commissioned my piano concerto, has recorded three movements from Starry Wanderers on his first commercial CD, An American Journey for Hartshorn Records. CDs are available from www.avgusteantonov.com for $15.00. Click here to go directly to Avguste's website.
My main employer, Lakeland Community College recognized the CD release on their website here.
My main employer, Lakeland Community College recognized the CD release on their website here.
Saunders receives ASCAP Plus Award
10/25/14: I've received word that I've been granted a 2014 ASCAP Plus Award. These are awarded annually to author members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) who earn less than $25,000 in royalties in the previous calendar year but make important contributions to America's musical life (often through performances in educational settings). This is the second year I have applied for the Plus Award, and the second consecutive year I've received one.
December premiere of Christmas suite
9/12/14: The Lakeland Civic Orchestra has been asked to perform at the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, Ohio during the 2014 holiday season, and we will be obliging with a free concert on Monday, December 8 at 7:30pm. We will give the world premiere of a suite of Christmas carols that I've arranged--"Angels We Have Heard on High," "What Child is This" and "O, Come All Ye Faithful."
November performance of Starry Wanderers in Texas
11/11/14: Late notice, but Avguste Antonov will be performing excerpts (again) from Starry Wanderers on Friday, November 14 at Lone Star College-Montgomery in Conroe, Texas, between Houston and Huntsville, a part of the world where I recruited while I was at Sam Houston State for my first Society of Composers conference back in 2008! Something of a homecoming! Here's the link to the facebook event.
Starry Wanderers in Texas
9/18/14: Avguste Antonov will continue to promote my solo piano music as well, with another performance of excerpts from Starry Wanderers at Tarrant County Community College Northeast Campus in Hurst, Texas, near Dallas-Ft. Worth, on Tuesday, October 21 at 7pm CDT. Here's the link to the facebook event.
October premieres scheduled for Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
My major work for 2013 was a piano concerto for Avguste Antonov. It was very exciting to work in a genre which has captivated my attention since I began listening to the Mozart Concerto No. 20 in D minor as a middle-school student.
The result was a 20-minute work with the instrumentation 2(1)-2-2-2--4-2-3-1--timp--2perc--strings, cast in two connected movements.
As of 8/7/13, the world premiere performance is scheduled for October 12, 2014 by the University City Symphony Orchestra, in University City, Missouri (near St. Louis). This will be the first performance of my music in the Show-Me State since 2009. A second performance is tentatively scheduled for late-October or early-November 2014 by the Orchestra of the Alleghenies, which performs near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
UPDATE 10/6/13: A preview of the orchestrated piece, about six minutes of music, is available on the Freebies page. If you are a conductor interested in the piece, or a pianist who would like to perform it after the 2014-2015 season, please check it out and let me know what you think!
UPDATE 3/12/14: The University City Symphony Orchestra performance has been confirmed for October 12. The Orchestra of the Alleghenies performance will be one of the following two weekends. Negotiations for additional performances of the piece are in the works, and the piece will be available for all pianists, not just the commissioning artist, for the 2015-2016 season.
UPDATE 9/12/14: The world premiere by Avguste Antonov, with Leon Burke and the University City Symphony Orchestra is now a month away! Can't wait to hear the piece, which is the result of a wonderful collaboration!
The result was a 20-minute work with the instrumentation 2(1)-2-2-2--4-2-3-1--timp--2perc--strings, cast in two connected movements.
As of 8/7/13, the world premiere performance is scheduled for October 12, 2014 by the University City Symphony Orchestra, in University City, Missouri (near St. Louis). This will be the first performance of my music in the Show-Me State since 2009. A second performance is tentatively scheduled for late-October or early-November 2014 by the Orchestra of the Alleghenies, which performs near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
UPDATE 10/6/13: A preview of the orchestrated piece, about six minutes of music, is available on the Freebies page. If you are a conductor interested in the piece, or a pianist who would like to perform it after the 2014-2015 season, please check it out and let me know what you think!
UPDATE 3/12/14: The University City Symphony Orchestra performance has been confirmed for October 12. The Orchestra of the Alleghenies performance will be one of the following two weekends. Negotiations for additional performances of the piece are in the works, and the piece will be available for all pianists, not just the commissioning artist, for the 2015-2016 season.
UPDATE 9/12/14: The world premiere by Avguste Antonov, with Leon Burke and the University City Symphony Orchestra is now a month away! Can't wait to hear the piece, which is the result of a wonderful collaboration!
November performance of Voyage Dans la Lune in Michigan
9/12/14: The Marquette Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. David Cole, will perform my film score, Le Voyage Dans La Lune, on November 22, 2014. Dr. Cole gave the premiere of my Suite for String Orchestra in 2013, and I'm ecstatic that he has chosen to program my work again. The score was written in 2013 and premiered by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in April 2013. Here it is synced with George Melies' film at the premiere performance. This will be the first performance of my music in the Great Lakes State, and in the Upper Peninsula near the shore of Lake Superior, no less!
Starry Wanderers in Cleveland
I'm very excited to announce that Starry Wanderers will be performed on the October 12 concert of the Cleveland Composers Guild by the brilliant young pianist Liliana Garlisi, who has taken up the work in her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Ms. Garlisi will perform the complete cycle of ten pieces. The concert is Sunday, October 12 at 3pm in Drinko Recital Hall at Cleveland State University. Admission is free.
Starry Wanderers in St. Louis
9/19/14: In addition to premiering my piano concerto a few days later, while he's in St. Louis, pianist Avguste Antonov will give a solo recital including excerpts from Starry Wanderers on Thursday, October 9 at 6:30pm CDT at Steinway Piano - St. Louis. Here's the facebook event. Admission is free!
Avguste Antonov Interview on Kansas Public Radio
10/7/14: Avguste Antonov, who has championed my solo piano work, and who will give the premiere of my piano concerto this weekend in St. Louis, was interviewed by Kansas Public Radio about his work. He discusses his new CD, An American Journey, which includes my work, and the upcoming premiere.
Listen here. Discussion of my work starts about about 8:30.
Listen here. Discussion of my work starts about about 8:30.
What it's Like by a very small consortium
9/19/14: The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based a very small consortium is programming my solo trombone piece "What It's Like" (one of the movements of Twenty Views of the Trombone) on their upcoming fall program on Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm CDT. I've been promised a link to the live stream of this performance, so look here. You'll miss it if you get up to go to the bathroom--the piece is only one minute long!
UPDATE 9/23/14: The link to the stream for this performance is www.ustream.tv/channel/a-very-small-consortium. The link will go live just before 7:30pm CDT on Saturday, and you will need to create an account to participate in the chatroom.
UPDATE 9/23/14: The link to the stream for this performance is www.ustream.tv/channel/a-very-small-consortium. The link will go live just before 7:30pm CDT on Saturday, and you will need to create an account to participate in the chatroom.
In June 2014, I completed a tuba quartet for Wes Flinn, my first composition teacher, who is now on the faculty at the University of Minnesota-Morris. Hopefully there will a premiere in the near future!
Here's a Freebie--a song that I wrote for former classmate Stephanie Kime Popa about inversions.
Here's a Freebie--a song that I wrote for former classmate Stephanie Kime Popa about inversions.
Seeking Consortium Members
I am currently (early 2014) seeking consortium members for two commissions:
1. A transcription of Starry Wanderers for wind ensemble, to be delivered by September 1, 2014, with commission performances between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015. The fact sheet is here.
2. A new cycle for solo piano, tentatively titled The Magical Land of Oz, to be delivered by December 1, 2014, with consortium performances between February 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016. The fact sheet is here.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you are interested in joining either of these consortiums!
1. A transcription of Starry Wanderers for wind ensemble, to be delivered by September 1, 2014, with commission performances between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015. The fact sheet is here.
2. A new cycle for solo piano, tentatively titled The Magical Land of Oz, to be delivered by December 1, 2014, with consortium performances between February 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016. The fact sheet is here.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you are interested in joining either of these consortiums!
August 8 Starry Wanderers in Edinburg, Texas
Avguste Antonov will again be performing pieces from Starry Wanderers as he promotes his new CD this season. The first performance in 2014-2015 will be Friday, August 8 in Edinburg, Texas at 7pm in the Edinburg City Auditorium. Admission is free! Here's the facebook event.
August 9 Nod a Don at National Flute Association Conference
Katherine Borst Jones, flute professor at Ohio State, who commissioned Nod a Don in 2012 has let me know that the OSU Flute Troupe will include my piece on their performance at the 2014 National Flute Association Annual Convention in Chicago, the first performance of my music in the Windy City. The performance will be on Saturday, August 9 at 2:45pm at the Hilton Towers, Continental C.
