Mid Europe 2006, Schladming, Austria

We just finished our week at Mid Europe 2006, and I have way too many pictures and not enough time to really cover everything so far. The short of it: Austria is stunning. Schladming exceeds the ability of my camera to capture it. Mid Europe is a blast.

For all my new friends in the WYWOP, especially the flutes and oboes (whom I was a sectional coach for), it was truly great to meet and work with you. Thanks for tolerating my tortured Deutsch - I'll work on that for next year. :) As threatened, here's a picture of all of you:



And here's the whole band:



After the concert, the Moesenbichler clan and friends (of which I'm happy to say I'm a part of) gathered for a photo:
(L-R): Johann Moesenbichler, Sieglinde Moesenbichler, me, Verena Moesenbichler, Corey Ganssley, Siegi Moesenbichler, and Wolfgang Auinger



Earlier in the day, Verena, Corey, and I went up to the top of Planai (famous for the night slalom) for the truly astonishing views of the surrounding mountains. Here's one of the amazing views, inadequately captured by my camera:



The day before, I gave a workshop on some of my music, and snapped a photo of participants afterward. Fortunately they all understood English, so the horror of me trying to explain my music in Deutsch can wait until next year...



So, there's a tiny sampling of what's been going on in my first week and a half in Austria. Today, we're off to northern Italy for a much-needed vacation. No internet, which is just fine...

Auf Wiedersehn aus Oesterreich!

to Austria and beyond

I've been neck-deep in this new piece for Jack Stamp's wind ensemble at IUP, thus the lack of timely blogging. The piece will be a 4-5 minute opener, and so far feels very bright and shiny in character. The premiere is October 17th, so I have a little time, but I'm heading to Austria and surrounding areas for for five weeks, starting this Wednesday, so I'm trying to finish the piece pronto.

First stop in Austria: Mid-Europe! This is a week-long music convention/festival held in Schladming, Austria each summer, somewhat akin to the Midwest Clinic in Chicago each December, except with less snow and more mountains. I'll be one of the section leaders for the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project, and I'll be presenting a workshop on my music on Friday (July 14th, 4-5pm). After that, it's off to some vacationing in Italy, a short stop in southern Germany for a gig with the Moesenbichler sisters and friends (where it's rumored I might be enlisted to play Xylophone), as well as a rehearsal of one of my pieces with Joachim Buch's wind orchestra in Ottobeuren. Then it's back to Austria, before heading to Prague to produce a recording session for some tracks from Eric's Paradise Lost. This is going to be fun...

Oh, and on an unrelated note, JM and I recently completed Strangers, our follow-up collaboration to "Wrong About Me." This one was a long-distance collaboration, with the trusty internet bridging the gap.