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!
New Works
9-6-20: Tom Lempner, saxophonist of the Ekklesia Reed Quintet, approached me this spring with a request for a composition, and the result was a short three-movement suite, Mind, Body, and Soul, which I delivered in early August. Hopefully, the pandemic will ease and allow them to rehearse again soon, because I can't wait to hear what these five great local musicians do with the piece!
9-6-20: The collaboration on the reed quintet went smoothly, so I asked Tom Lempner if he would be interested in a solo work for saxophone. We decided that we would realize a long-held vision of mine, a "Carmen Fantasy" for baritone saxophone and piano (possibly to be adapted for orchestra), and dedicated to my father, a saxophonist whose love of Carmen inspired him, and later me, to explore classical music, with stunning results. Watch this space for updates!
9-6-20: I have also agreed to write a new piece for Just This, a duo of bass clarinetists Ayslin Rice and Ivan Ferguson based in San Francisco, for a premiere on Ivan's recital at SFCM in the spring. I'm very excited to explore this combination with them, two people I've only just met (although Ayslin and I have been connected via Twitter for some time.
9-6-20: The collaboration on the reed quintet went smoothly, so I asked Tom Lempner if he would be interested in a solo work for saxophone. We decided that we would realize a long-held vision of mine, a "Carmen Fantasy" for baritone saxophone and piano (possibly to be adapted for orchestra), and dedicated to my father, a saxophonist whose love of Carmen inspired him, and later me, to explore classical music, with stunning results. Watch this space for updates!
9-6-20: I have also agreed to write a new piece for Just This, a duo of bass clarinetists Ayslin Rice and Ivan Ferguson based in San Francisco, for a premiere on Ivan's recital at SFCM in the spring. I'm very excited to explore this combination with them, two people I've only just met (although Ayslin and I have been connected via Twitter for some time.
On the horizon...
10-30-19: My big project for the next two years is writing a symphony that will be premiered in November 2021 by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra, and hopefully by other ensembles. I'll be blogging my progress, as this has been a career-long dream of mine, so watch for more details there. I'll be writing other music during that time, but it will be smaller projects so that I can focus on this big one.
UPDATE 9-6-20: The symphony is on hold for the time being--other projects have come along, and COVID has meant a lot more computer time than I would like, so I haven't prioritized composition to the same degree. I revisited my drafts recently, and I'm still happy about the project, but it's not something I'm actively working on at this moment. Once the Lakeland Civic Orchestra is back to regular performances (hopefully in 2021), I will feel ready to come back to this piece.
9-6-20: I delivered my fanfare for the Ohio Valley Majestic Brass, a brass music ministry in Cincinnati, entitled, aptly enough, Majestic Fanfare. They are currently not rehearsing due to COVID, but my work is on their docket as soon as they are back.
UPDATE 9-6-20: The symphony is on hold for the time being--other projects have come along, and COVID has meant a lot more computer time than I would like, so I haven't prioritized composition to the same degree. I revisited my drafts recently, and I'm still happy about the project, but it's not something I'm actively working on at this moment. Once the Lakeland Civic Orchestra is back to regular performances (hopefully in 2021), I will feel ready to come back to this piece.
9-6-20: I delivered my fanfare for the Ohio Valley Majestic Brass, a brass music ministry in Cincinnati, entitled, aptly enough, Majestic Fanfare. They are currently not rehearsing due to COVID, but my work is on their docket as soon as they are back.
