RedLine (piano) recording session

Last Monday, my dear friend Zoe Browder and I met at the Juilliard recording studio to finally record RedLine for piano. I wrote this piece at her request back at the end of 1999 (the actual date of completion on the piece is December 31st, 1999), and she premiered it about a year later. She's played it a few times since, including at a recent BargeMusic concert in Brooklyn, but we'd never managed to schedule and execute a recording session for the piece until now.

So, Monday afternoon, our friendly recording engineer, Yvonne (who's also a great gal) set us up:



We tried several different mic positions because the low end of this piano kept overpowering the mid-range, which is unusual, and given the prominent low-register pounding this piece requires, we had to adapt and adjust. I think we finally hit on a good mic placement and room ambience combination, and over the course of the next two hours, Zoe played until her arms came off:




I was enlisted to turn pages, which I found stressful:



I think we got some good takes on disk, though, and I'll edit it down soon. It will have to wait, though - the next three weeks I will be in seclusion finishing "Alchemy in Silent Spaces" for the Juilliard Orchestra's premiere in May...

UMass Amherst, Alchemy, CBDNA

Yesterday, Laura Rexroth and the UMass-Amherst Wind Ensemble performed the first movement of Alchemy in Silent Spaces at the CBDNA Eastern Div. Conference in Montclair, NJ. First of all, they sounded great. I heard them a couple of weeks ago when I visited Amherst, and they sounded good then, but they've definitely "gelled" as an ensemble since then. All the pieces were markedly more confident and solid in performance yesterday. If you've read any of my previous entries, you'll know that listening to the first mvt. of Alchemy is always somewhat stressful, since it's extraordinarily quiet for the first 4 minutes or so. Given that, what happened yesterday during this section must have been inevitable: the PA system (specifically, the speakers directly above the stage) started spurting out random blasts of static pops and clicks. It was bizarre. Laura made the right call, and stopped the piece, until the house techs could figure out the problem. I think they eventually just shut the whole PA system down, which I was happy with. Regardless, the band remained calm and focused, and began again, and played really well. I met Laura when she was doing her doctoral studies at IU with Ray Cramer, when he premiered Alchemy, and she told me then and there that she would do this piece when she had an ensemble of her own. She's stayed true to her word, and I'm incredibly grateful to her for her musicianship and dedication to this piece.

Afterward, I managed to snag a picture with British Wind Scene Guru (that's my own appelation for him, nothing official), Timothy Reynish, who happened to be at the conference:



And of course, here's Dr. Rexroth with me immediately after the concert - she seemed much more relaxed and relieved!



To everyone in the band: thank you again for working so hard on my music. It was great to see all of you again, and I wish you all the best!

RedLine. REDLINE!!!!!

Tonight, Lt. Commander (ret.) John Pastin and the Rowan University Wind Ensemble played the sh*t out of RedLine for winds. I'm floored. I'm honored that he and the band devoted so much of their time and energy into pulling this piece off. To everyone in the band: you're awesome. THANK YOU. You all played a great program - RedLine alone was more than enough to chew on. That fact that you also took on Ticheli's "Symphony No.2," Persichetti's "Psalm," and Grantham's "Fantasia on a Song of Mr. Hyde," is a testament to the skill and dedication of everyone in the group. Congratulations on a great concert!

Here I am with the man who made it happen:




I should mention that Mitch Fennell at Cal State Fullerton is doing it with his group this spring - amazing to see this piece start to come to life after all these years...

So, now that it's been proven possible, anyone else out there up for a little challenge? ;)

CBDNA Eastern Div., New Jersey

I have a way-too-early flight in the morning to New York (well, New Jersey), to attend the CBDNA Eastern Division Conference, where the Rowan University Wind Ensemble is performing RedLine under John Pastin, and the Univ. of MA-Amherst Wind Ensemble (whom I recently visited) will perform Alchemy in Silent Spaces: I, under the direction of Laura Rexroth. The Rowan Univ. concert is Thursday night, 8:45pm, and UMass-Amherst will play Sat. afternoon, at 4:30pm. Here's the full concert schedule.

I'm really curious to hear RedLine for winds. I orchestrated it from the original piano version in January, 2000, and I've never heard it. Not even a rehearsal. This of course makes me a little nervous, since I always change things after I first hear a piece. I know for a fact that I need to do some serious surgery on this piece - it's difficult, but probably doesn't have to be quite as difficult as it is. I know some of the orchestrational decisions I made at the time were more from haste than anything else, and I'm sure there are better choices to be made. So...I'm nervous. We'll see how it sounds. Did I mention it's difficult? Yes. Most difficult piece I've ever written. Not intentionally, of course...

Anyway, after over six years, I finally get to hear it! Woohoo!!!

I'll be crashing with the Newman himself, and driving to the conference from his swanky loisaida apt. in the new smoove ride...pictures forthcoming, of course.

Saul Williams / Nine Inch Nails

Last night. Loud. Liked it. Satisfying.

Led me to some deep thought about the visceral vs. the intellectual.

This will come back later. If present nebulous plans come to fruition, in just over a year.

Back to doing my taxes...

Dusk score and m3 are now up!

It's taken me far too long, but I've finally posted a PDF study score and streaming mp3 file for Dusk on the website. If you're interested, go check it out (the links are in the green inset box).

While I'm on the topic, here's a sketch I found for the climax of the piece. I have no idea when I wrote this, but it's essentially what ended up becoming bars 32-41. Nothing particularly ground-breaking, just a fun little diversion (and notice it's on Juilliard stationery...guess I wasn't entirely focused on work that day... ;).



Tonight: Nine Inch Nails concert...

Fayetteville HS Band

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of working on Dusk with the Fayetteville HS Band. Their director, Barry Harper, generously let me have the entire hour to sightread the piece with the group.



There was an audible amount of fear and trepidation when we started, but by the end of the period I could tell the band had begun to get into the piece a bit. I'm not sure whether or not the crazy faces I make when I conduct the huge climax helped or not, but hopefully they got some sense of how big I want that to be.

Now it appears they'll be programming the piece on their May 9th concert, and have invited me back to conduct, so I think it went over well!

After rehearsal, I was ferried by Richard's brother-in-law, C.E. (Claud) Askew, the drummer with the USAF Airmen of Note for 20+ years, and who now resides in NW Arkansas, to the neighboring Rogers HS to hear their jazz band rehearse and chat with their director, Dale Marlow. C.E. sat in one kit on one tune, and samba'd our socks off. I completely forgot to take a picture while he was playing, but got one of the band on the next tune:



It was fun to mix up the day with some jazz, and just reminded me how much I want to pen a big band chart one of these days (most likely based around RedLine).

After some lunch, I ended up meeting with Dale Warren and Jeremy Pratchard from the U of A for some coffee and music-talk. I had an espresso, which is only remarkable for the fact that I don't drink caffeine of any sort, and haven't for over 12 years. I was sort of wired by the end of the conversation... Enjoyed seeing you guys again - many thanks for the encouragement on the project I mentioned for the coming year...let's hope it works! Dale - I'm going to hold your feet to the fire about your performance promise! ;)

I want to give a big thank-you to my host, friend, and former Jr. High band director, Richard Wiseman, and to the Fayetteville HS band staff - Barry, Lewis, Brett, Dean, Tom, and Cathy (I think I got that right), and to the entire band - keep up the good work with the program! It's wonderful to start to do some work here in my home state of Arkansas - thank you for inviting me. I'll see you all again in May!

Turbine / Foodblog

Last night I heard the Univ. of Arkansas - Fayetteville Concert Band and Wind Symphony perform, and they chewed through a LOT of music! I only have a second this morning, but suffice it to say I thought both groups were really solid, and I'm looking forward to hearing one of them do some of my music (nudge, nudge :)! The whole evening had a nice musical progression to it, and I thought the programming choices worked really well. Congrats to Jeremy Pratchard and the Concert Band, and W. Dale Warren and the Wind Symphony for all their obvious hard work - I think it paid off handsomely (and you had a big crowd, too!). Also congratulations to Tim (horn) and Chal Ragsdale (percussion) on a rather virtuosic piece by Mark Schultz called "Dragons in the Sky" they performed with a a subset of the Wind Symphony - quite amazing to hear!

So, the focal point for me being there was of course Mackey's Turbine. This piece is loud. In fact, it's almost a problem apparently - they had to tone the percussion down a hair so you could, you know, hear the band! I think the balance issue could be resolved if you mic the band, but then I'm insane. Anyway, It was cool to hear the piece live after the recording John posted a few days ago. This is definitely a piece you need to experience live to get the full effect. Since John couldn't make it, I called his cell phone during the piece and left part of the performance as a voicemail for him.

After the concert, a bunch of us went out for coffee and such, and in honor of Mackey's propensity for (some might say obsession with) taking pictures of his food on his various adventures, we took a few shots. They're a little blurry, but I'm just a neophyte food-photograper, so these'll have to do. So...

Scott's Triple-Threat Cheesecake:


My milkshake. I live dangerously:


Nicole and her "birdseed" salad (as she called it):


And finally, the maestro himself, W. Dale Warren and his delectable burrito:


Thanks to Dale and the whole gang - had a great time meeting all of you!

"Turbine" - UA Fayetteville Bands

I'm driving up to Fayetteville for the University of Arkansas Wind Symphony and Concert Band concert tonight. On the program is John Mackey's new Turbine (UA was one of the members of the commissioning consortium for the piece). Looking forward to hearing it live!

Tomorrow morning I'll be at the local high school band's rehearsal - we're going to sightread Dusk. I might then be going to another high school in the area that afternoon - it's something of an improvised trip...

In the interim, check this out: The Site of Reversible Destiny.

Human Radio

The Blue Monkey, Memphis, TN:

Last night, James A., Walter, and I got to see Human Radio. Human Radio (Ross Rice, vocals and keyboards, Peter Hyrka, violin and assorted electric string instruments, Kye Kennedy, guitar, Steve Arnold, bass, and Steve Ebe, drums) existed from 1989-1992, so this was an unexpected and most welcome opportunity to hear them in a one-time reunion concert. They rocked. Hard. Still.

Ross Rice then followed up with a raucous (and rockin') set from his new album, "Dwight" (also featuring songs from his previous album, "Umpteen").

If you don't know Human Radio, check'em out, though their first (and only released) album is difficult to find.

This will mean nothing to most of you, but it was an epic moment of unexpected satisfaction for me...



Human Radio, live at The Blue Monkey, Memphis, TN, March 11th, 2006

Amherst Redux

Saturday afternoon, Rob Franzblau and I headed back up from Providence to Amherst, MA to hear Laura Rexroth's joint Wind Ensemble / Symphony Band concert that night. First up was the Symphony Band, taking on Copland's "Outdoor Overture" - I think they were a little nervous at first, but after it got going, they opened up and played quite well. My own Dusk was second, and by this point, they were much more comfortable, and I thought they did a fantastic job. The tempo worked, and the arc of the piece was satisfying, which is the most important thing in any of my pieces.

The Wind Symphony opened the second half with the lengthy and difficult Sinfonietta by Ingolf Dahl. As with the Symphony Band, I think they weren't quite focused at first, but eventually zeroed in a bit. Alchemy in Silent Spaces, mvt. I was up next. I think this movement of this piece is the most nerve-wracking of all my pieces for me to listen to. It's extremely exposed and quiet for several minutes at the beginning, and a single wrong note rings forever. Then there's the possibility of someone in the audience coughing (and the even worse possibility that that someone might be me, which it almost was at the premiere at IU!). So, hearing this piece two nights in a row was both exhilirating and exhausting (I'm NOT complaining, however!). There were some bobbles here and there in the opening, and once again it sounded like some nervousness in action. It's evident they know the parts, they just need to relax a little and get 'in the zone' - I have no doubt the concert at CBDNA will go really well. The sound and balance of the percussion, harp, and piano was beautiful. And of course, when the band kicks in, it's always satisfying - all I'll say is... MORE!!! I always say that, though. Special thanks to Bonnie for the lovely flute solo - do it just like that at CBDNA!

I thought the overal musical effect of the piece was great, and once again, that's the most important thing - hopefully they won't take my nitpicking personally - it was really great to work with all of you last week, and I'm sorry we didn't all get to hang out after the concert. Maybe in New Jersey in a couple of weeks?

I didn't get a chance to take many pictures with the band, unfortunately, but did manage to get one with Laura just after the concert:



I had a great time, and I have to thank Laura for bringing me in to work with both bands. You all had a lot of meaty music on your plate, and you devoured it with ... gusto? I'm not sure where I was going with that metaphor, but you get the idea. Great job, and I had a lot of fun meeting all of you. I'll see you in New Jersey on March 25th!

Rhode Island Recap

Just have a few minutes before I head back to Amherst for tonight's concert up there. Around 6pm, I met with the Brown University Wind Ensemble, and the director, Matthew McGarrell, surprised me and asked if I would like to conduct Dusk that night! Being completely unprepared, I of course said "yes," and off we went! Had some good run-throughs, rescored a couple of things to make up for only having two horns, and it all came together nicely. I headed back to Rob Franzblau's (RIC director) office to study Dusk (and deface it with red ink):



Meanwhile, Rob was doing last-minute study of Alchemy:



At 8pm, Brown kicked the show off with Ellington's Creole Rhapsody which from what little I could hear, came off well (I was backstage quietly freaking out about conducting Dusk). Eventually my turn came up, and despite getting lost at the end of the first page (I turned the page too soon and lost my mind for some inexplicable reason), the band played on and ignored my obvious facial displays of terror, and just played the music. I rejoined them at bar 13, the whole thing came off exceedingly well - they put a lot of passion and power into the piece, and I think the audience felt it, too. I know I had a great time working with the band - wish it had been for more than just a few minutes!

After intermission, the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble took the stage, and opened their half with Holst's Hammersmith: Prelude and Scherzo, conducted by graduate student Jonathan D'Amico. It's a meaty, difficult piece, and Maestro D'Amico and the band did a fine job with it. After that was the final piece on the program, Alchemy, which is also *slightly* difficult. The band really rose to the challenge, though, and in particular the first movement, the percussion, harp, and piano did an excellent job of creating extremely long phrases out of very few notes. The tempos were all perfect (fantastic job, Rob!), and special kudos to Katie for all the solo flute work. The opening of the second movement was wonderful - all you had to do was relax and take your time! :)


Matt, me, and Rob after the concert


We had a short Q&A session after the concert which was fun, and then it was off to Greg's for some fish & chips and a relaxing beverage. A contingent of the RIC band was there occupying a couple of tables:



(they're all flashing gang symbols the "shocker," but I'm just making 'bunny ears'...I guess I'm even more square than I thought...)

A huge, huge 'thank-you' to both bands, Matt and Rob, and everyone who came to the concert. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this, and for playing my music with such conviction!

WRR 101 Classical - Saturday, March 4th, 8pm CT

This Saturday, March 4th, fellow composer and UNT alum Christopher Tucker will do his next-to-final Main Event program on WRR 101 Classical. His guest will be Eugene Corporon, renowned wind band conductor at the University of North Texas, and the program will feature various pieces from UNT's most recent CDs "Poetics" and "Passions", including my very own Stampede and Eric's October. Chris has done a short 2 or 3-minute interview with Eric and with myself as part of the program. Tune in if you can - you can listen via the internet from WRR's home page.

Tonight is the joint Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble and Brown University Wind Ensemble concert, featuring Dusk and "Alchemy in Silent Spaces." We had the dress rehearsal last night amidst a snowstorm, which, while quite pretty, was a bit messy to be out in. Most everyone made it to rehearsal, though, and "Alchemy" is going to be great! I meet the Brown Univ. group at 6pm to work on Dusk a little bit, which I'm definitely looking forward to as well. I've had a lot of fun here in Providence (cute town!) the last two days including some delicious seafood (clam chowder beyond compare), and I'm looking forward to the concert tonight! Wish us luck!