I will be heading back down to Texas on Wednesday and will be there till the 3rd of July. My two “business” goals are to get my house all situated and to test drive the car I intend to purchase!
So if you’re in the SA/ATX area, “holler at your boy!”
Pieces.
Happy Father’s Day to all!
Dropping another quick line to let all my readers (dad, cathy, connie, martin?) know that I am moving back to the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!!!
*pause for jaw-droppings… applause… going to kitchen to get napkins to clean up mess from spitting drink on screen/keyboard*
That’s right… back to the city I love, Austin.
I will set sail on July 31 and arrive sometime on the 1st of August. I am visiting Texas for the next week and a half to get a home all situated. As it stands now… it looks like north Austin is the place for me! What can I say… I lived in the ‘45 for 28 years and I think it’s time to experience an entirely different part of A-town.
So there you have it… trading in 10 months of snow, for 10 months of summer. No more small town life, but big city living! No more nation’s worst economy and highest jobless rate, but… well, just HOME! Yes, I will miss lots of things about Michigan. The friends, the colleagues, the snow (but not that much!), and other things that made my time here fun. But home just calls me…
And I am THISCLOSE to finishing up all my marching band shows for the year! HUZZAH!!
And speaking of “UP,” MAN… what a FANTASTIC MOVIE!! Easily the best Pixar movie yet, and just an all-around great movie!
So I shall update more once I get a chance. Till then…
Oh yeah… did I mention I am getting a new car, too?!?!?!
Sorry there hasn’t been an update for quite some time. I have just been swamped with marching band shows. By this time last year, I was done with all my shows. This year, I have 3 left!!
Once I can bring my head above water, I’ll be sure to update with all the going ons of my life.
To say that 2009 has been the best year (so far) for performances would be an understatement. By no means do I have Mackey numbers, but for me, this is a HUGE improvement and a sign, I hope, of things to come.
While it was the end of last year, November 2008 saw the premiere of Winter’s First Whisper, Mvt. I: Midnight Snowfall, by the Central Michigan University Wind Symphony; James Batcheller, conductor.
March 7th was the California premiere of Danse Moods by the California State University Concert Band under the direction of Doug Davis. The Highway had two performances (that I know of) in March as well. It was performed by Birdville High School (Texas) and PLK Chee Jing Yin Primary School (HK).
April was of course, a busy month as the premieres of Fantasia for Marimba (& Wind Ensemble), Mvt. I: Effervescent, Voodoo, Winter’s First Whisper, Mvt. II:Fresh Powder, and Delirium: Five Episodes for Saxophone Quartet, took place. The Texas Tech University Percussion Ensemble performed Spatial Tendencies on April 7th. And Grinnell College (IA) performed The Highway on April 24th.
And May was the busiest month so far! On May 2, Jeffery N. Lund premiered Fantasia for Marimba (& Piano), Mvt. I: Effervescent. Robert E. Lee HS (Tyler, TX) and Ronald Reagan HS (San Antonio, TX) performed The Highway on May 9th and 21st, respectively. The Plymouth Community Band (MI) performed the Michigan premiere of Danse Moods on May 15th. And Voodoo had four performances this month: St. Charles East HS (IL), Plymouth-Canton Educational Park (MI), Robert E. Lee HS (Tyler, TX), and McNeil HS (TX).
A big thank you for playing my music and here’s hoping that next 7 months see the same growth!!
When deciding on what to compose for my Master’s Thesis Composition, after much discussion, contemplation, and pestering, I ultimately decided on a work that would incorporate two things that “scared” me the most compositionally: a marimba solo and the orchestra.
Being a percussionist, one would think that I would thrive when writing a solo for marimba. But before I began I was always concerned that I would only write what I could play. And to be honest, I was not a great marimba player. So to write a concerto for an instrument I am supposed to have an intimate knowledge of did indeed frighten me. The orchestra scared me for two reasons. First, outside of undergraduate composition lessons that focused on exercises for all instruments and groups, I have never composed for orchestra. Add to the fact that the odds of even securing ONE performance with an orchestra are pretty slim, and you have a great case for me not to write for orchestra.
After I began writing the piece, however, I fell in love with the instrumentation; the colors the strings could provide, how versatile the marimba was, and how lush and pretty the whole orchestra could sound. I realized quickly how great the orchestra was and was glad I took the chance.
The concerto consists of three movements:
I. Effervescent – a lively, exhilarating trip through a musical, marimba obstacle course; where the music bubbles and hisses and the soloist announces to the audience, “Hey, look at me!”
II. Gotas (de Lluvia) – drops of rain; starting softly, slowly, and sparse, sometimes falling quickly and full, but to me always beautiful and calming.
III. Ostentatious – a tour de force, intended to attract notice, and to impress others.
My colleague, fellow percussionist and dear friend Jeff Lund, for whom the piece is for and dedicated to, assisted me through the compositional process and acted as a mentor through my orchestral revelation. His friendship and invaluable guidance has influenced me more than I could ever tell him.
Fantasia for Marimba & Orchestra, Mvt. I: Effervescent – midi
Fantasia for Marimba & Wind Ensemble, Mvt. I: Effervescent – Performed by Jeffery N. Lund, marimba; Daniel Montoya Jr., conductor.
Fantasia for Marimba & Piano, Mvt. I: Effervescent – Performed by Jeffery N. Lund, marimba; Sangmi Lim, piano (reduction by Nathan Daughtrey)
Now you can hear the thrilling conclusion to Winter’s First Whisper!!!!
Winter’s First Whisper – II. Fresh Powder (2008)
Douglas P. Burtch Jr., conductor
Enjoy!!
Here is the last movement of my saxophone quartet.
Delirium: Five Episodes for Saxophone Quartet – V. (Un)Consciousness (2008)
Performed by the Spectrum Saxophone Quartet: Jon Yuhasz Pratt, Jordan Van Hemert, Cassandra McKindles, Alexandrea Surinck.
The next mp3 I am uploading, is the fourth movement of my saxophone quartet (the third was not performed). It will end abruptly as connects to the fifth and final movement.
Delirium: Five Episodes for Saxophone Quartet – IV. Intoxications (2008)
Performed by the Spectrum Saxophone Quartet: Jon Yuhasz Pratt, Jordan Van Hemert, Cassandra McKindles, Alexandrea Surinck.
The third mp3 I am uploading, is the second movement of my saxophone quartet.
Delirium: Five Episodes for Saxophone Quartet – II. Restlessness (2008)
Performed by the Spectrum Saxophone Quartet: Jon Yuhasz Pratt, Jordan Van Hemert, Cassandra McKindles, Alexandrea Surinck.
Next on the download list is the first movement from my saxophone quartet:
Delirium: Five Episodes for Saxophone Quartet – I. Fevers (2008)
Performed by the Spectrum Saxophone Quartet: Jon Yuhasz Pratt, Jordan Van Hemert, Cassandra McKindles, Alexandrea Surinck.