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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
GA-TX redux
My head is still buzzing from last week's whirlwind tour of Georgia and East Texas. In Atlanta, it was the premiere of the Concertino, with the Georgia State Chamber Winds, Robert Ambrose conducting, and the fabulous Sarah Kruser Ambrose as the flute soloist. I was a wreck in the first rehearsals - but eventually settled down to realize that despite the severe difficulty of the ensemble parts, the piece works like a sonofagun, Sarah sounds like an angel, and Heck, the piece sounded like real music or something. Y'know, like something you'd sit down and listen to. Weird.
The Recording Gods weren't on our side though. Something about the mics being set wrong. And so it was just one of those things that is there, and then is lost into the ether. So now plans will be put into motion to get Robert and Sarah into a studio and record the sucker for real.
In Athens, at the University of Georgia, I immediately switched gears into HUGE PIECE mode. Maestro Lynch rehearsed his ensemble on My Hands Are a City for my benefit, and we fixed plenty of errors and awkward scoring while I generally swooned at how awesome it sounded.
Then before you know it you're on a plane to Dallas, and over East Texas-way, for the residency at Texas A&M-Commerce. Jeff Gershman, who shepharded the MHAaC consortium despite, y'know, having many other better things to do, rehearsed and premiered the piece with his ensemble, and it was spectacular. So. Very. Loud. I teared up a little at one rehearsal when it all just came together and what I was hearing not only matched the performance in my head, but exceeded every expectation. Pile that up with BBQ and a stomach-overfilling fried catfish buffet, and you've got one great composer residency. My thanks to ALL at TAMU-Commerce for your generosity and hard work!
Now it's off to Kansas City, to the CBDNA Regional hosted by UMKC. I meet up with the TAMU-Commerce gang there, where they play the piece for the CBDNA folks. There are also 2 other performances there - including Texas State's Moon by Night, and Oklahoma University's As the scent of spring rain.... The other day I received from Maestro Wakefield a recording of a previous OU performance of the piece, and it is stunning. After I picked my jaw up from the floor, I got really excited about hearing them playing it live. In KC I also get to hear a new Mackey, and Jeff Gershman's Zappa arrangement again, which clearly just takes us all to school.
Monday, February 18, 2008
LGA-ATL-DFW-MCI
The next two weeks are huge. Tomorrow I go to Atlanta to rehearse and then premiere the Concertino, with the Ambroses (Robert and Sarah) at the SCI conference GSU is hosting, and while I'm down there I'll pop over to Athens to rehearse My Hands Are a City (the new big piece) with co-commissioner University of Georgia, under the direction of the awesome John Lynch. Then I immediately go to Commerce TX for a residency chock-full of rehearsing and premiering MHAaC with lead commissioner Jeff Gershman and the Texas A&M-Commerce Wind Ensemble. A few days after that, even though there a couple performances happening simultaneously at another conference several states away, I go to Kansas City for the CBDNA Southwestern Regional Conference hosted by UMKC, for 3 (THREE) performances of Newman: As the scent of spring rain... with the Univ. of Oklahoma Wind Symphony conducted by William Wakefield, MHAaC with Commerce and Gershman, and Moon by Night with the Texas State University Wind Ensemble conducted by Rodney Schueller. I'm convinced that everyone will leave Kansas City thoroughly sick of Newman, as well as (because they will be so easy to compare sitting next to each other like that) wondering why he writes the same stuff in every piece. After the Newman (I mean CBDNA) Conference I head back to Atlanta, because Maestro Lynch and the UGA ensemble is recording MHAaC for their new Naxos release (!) and I have finagled myself into their sessions. Then, and only then, do I go home. At least until I leave for Boston, Japan, Texas again, and Arizona. But that's more about the other new piece. As we've discussed, I can only deal with one at a time.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Blurb
In anticipation for his World Premiere performance next Sunday of My Hands Are a City, Dr. Jeff Gershman of Texas A&M-Commerce asked all the composers on his program for an answer to the following question:
Has the vernacular music of the United States had any influence on your works or development as a composer?
Here's what I sent him:
American vernacular music has not only overtly influenced my music but also has become a frequent and major source of that music's material. For me that means letting go of any remaining (and counter-productive) "classical" prejudices and embracing my love of American popular music in its countless flavors--proudly borrowing and stealing what might be otherwise completely unassociated popular material in order to form the backbone of any piece. Sometimes that's choosing to concentrate on a certain vernacular style that fascinates me as a compositional starting point, or maybe it's playing with specific-pop-style forms within more traditional classical models. It's all on the compositional palette now, and I can see this path serving as a never-ending fount of inspiration and development for myself for a long time.
My blurb will share his program book with answers by Donald Grantham, Christopher Rouse, and Frank Ticheli. Theirs will no doubt be less wordy and convoluted.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Newman? Newman?
Been waking up each morning, anxiously checking your blogs, only to find the same stale dated entries staring at you each morning from your favorite for almost two months? Thought as much. Funny story. Turns out, I can't actually multi-task. Better Half has been pointing this out for years, but let me explain so that we can all get informed.
So, let's say, that you're reading here in the notebook that I'm working on such and such a piece, or that I'm busy doing what-all. In fact, I lie. I may in fact be taking a few hours a day to actually do what I write that I'm doing, but here's the twisted logic: IF you are reading about it -- I'm NOT spending an inordinate amount of time accomplishing it. Because you're reading about it. Which means that I feel comfortable enough with say, a deadline, or the fulfillment of rental or sales orders or what have you, that sure, why not write a notebook entry, it's been a few days, etc. And when I write about something, I'm probably going to give the impression that I'm burning candlesticks at various ends / midnight oil / what have you, while doing it.
Nope, not so. Because the above is exactly what I have been doing for the last two months and it didn't even occur to me to sit down and write something for this page. Can't. Multi-task. See?
So instead of writing about what I was doing, here's what I was doing: writing. Music. Two new large ensemble pieces, basically simultaneously. I knew the composing schedule was going to be tight this year, but it all caved in on me in a giant/ugly way, and snowballed into having two pieces basically due at the same time. The problem started when the first piece took about 6 months to write (let alone orchestrate, copy, etc.), instead of the 4 I had budgeted. You could see where that would maybe cause a problem. I don't recommend doing it like this. It was not fun. One piece may be going well, but then there's the other... it just means that you're basically always miserable about something.
But Oh! They are complete. It's now February (I think), and it's over. About 2 months later than everyone (everyone!) wanted. One is already in rehearsal (reports are good), and the other is mid-parts-extraction (which, if you've been paying attention, I did not actually accomplish today, because why? Because you're reading this, exactly). And now that that I can do more than one thing (with the only one thing I can clearly do), I'll write the next couple entries on the details on these two new works.
And so, I dare to lift my head up and look around. I hear there's an election?