Rob Waugh performing the third movement of Refractions at ITG 2017:
Poem at Cantwell Cliffs
Michael Brest recently sent me this video of his performance of "Poem at Cantwell Cliffs"
I am amazed at the musicality in his playing and am beyond pleased and impressed with this performance of my piece. This is exactly how I imagined the piece to be played.
ITG 2017
I have attended each International Trumpet Guild conference for the last 4 years as my music has been performed. I always enjoy being surrounded by the sounds of trumpet and catching up with old friends (and making new ones!) This year my trumpet solo, Refractions, was featured on the New Works Recital. Rob Waugh approached me about a year ago to write him a solo. He mentioned that he'd like it to be a piece that his students could also easily perform. He performed the third movement of this piece on the recital in Hershey, PA. He sent me a recording of the piece from a recital he gave at his school last Fall, but it was so wonderful to finally hear his big and beautiful sound live.
It was also great getting to catch up with a former Michigan classmate, Jason Bergman. He is such a great trumpet player and is a person of great personality and character! He has some of my music in his hands and I can't wait to hear what he does with it.
It was a great conference as always and I walk away ready to write some new music!
Recording!
I received the concert recording of Eternity in an Hour, which is on the Dublin Wind Symphony's 5th Year Anniversary CD. Here is an excerpt from the third movement:
More can be found HERE
Refractions chosen for New Works Recital!
My trumpet solo, Refractions, written for Professor Rob Waugh has been selected for the New Works Recital at the 2017 ITG conference. It's always a pleasure to attend these conferences and be around great trumpet players!
Music and Beauty
Interview with Classical 101
News Post
Premiere!!!
Excited to hear the Dublin Wind Symphony perform "Eternity in an Hour" this month!
Read more about the piece here
"Here in America people think that music must bring only pleasure, must entertain. That, of course, is not so, especially if you are a professional. Music also brings suffering and a sense of your own insignificance. It's not always comfortable to be one-on-one with it. That's why it's more pleasant to listen to music in a concert along with an audience."
-from "Balanchine's Tchaikovsky"
News Post
I will be in residence at California State University from July 10-24 for a course in brass quintet composition with the Principal Brass of the New York Philharmonic. Looking forward to this great opportunity!
"Why, it has often occurred to me to ask myself, do I so frequently choose death, transience, and the grave as subjects for my paintings? One must submit oneself many times to death in order some day to attain life everlasting."
-Caspar David Friedrich
Concert in April
Excited to be back in East Lansing, MI in April for the premiere of my choir piece, Bread of Life.
Performances This Week
There will be two performances this week, including a world premiere!
My piece, Through Wind and Whispers, will have it's premiere in Europe at Bath Spa University under the direction of Jeff Boehm on Wednesday. Wish I could be there!
Davis Middle School will premiere my piece, On A Hill Far Away, this Thursday at their 8th grade concert. This piece was written in honor of the band director's mother who past away last year. I've gotten to work with the students each week in preparation for the concert and it has been a joy. I must say, my favorite pieces are the ones with a dedication written on the top of the page.
Enjoying the longing and tension
“Learning to hear passing dissonances in counterpoint, for instance, made me more attentive to (and thus in greater control of) subtle dissonances arising in other areas of experience. (the most conspicuous example is writing.) More generally, the ‘inner dancing’ involved in listening naturally suggests ‘moving well’ in life. Similarly, the organic development of a theme evident in symphonic music, or the culmination of a tension toward climax in a jazz solo, are images of motional possibilities that are akin to configurations that arise in practical life…The symphonic development of a theme brings to mind the possibility that I can take a longer view of my relationship to any particular project, that perhaps I am making progress even when my particular hours of effort seem ungratifying. Or when a project is moving comfortably forward, music of admirable complexity can suggest the possibility of organization on multiple, often subtle levels”
-Kathleen Marie Higgins, The Music of Our Lives
Premiere!
I was recently at Michigan State for the premiere of "Through Wind and Whispers". I had a great time talking with the composition studio class earlier in the day and felt honored to have a piece on the Symphony Band concert in the evening. The piece was on the first half of the concert along with great pieces by Aaron Perrine, Joel Puckett, and Joseph Spaniola. The second half was a bit lighter with Ewazen's "Celtic Hymns and Dances" and two pieces by Grainger. There was a great surprise as Professor Madden's sister sang "Oh, Danny Boy" before Grainger's "Irish Tune from County Derry". How refreshing to hear a folk singer! I thought that was a great idea to introduce the piece. And I cannot help but smile and be moved whenever I hear Percy Grainger's band works. It was a great concert and I hope to work with John Madden and the Symphony Band again.
Listen to the piece here:
