Bowling Green-bound

I'm about to begin the long process of dissasembling my studio and packing into my pickup truck for the long drive to Ohio. I almost finished this piece for Jack Stamp's wind symphony at IUP, but I still need an ending. I wish I could do a fade out - that's what sounds best to me at the moment. Also, I still have no title. Some ideas, including one I might keep, but need to think on that a bit more.

I did come up with a title for the next piece, which I'll be doing for a high school in Indiana. It will the fourth of my "Parody Suite pieces, based around the Holst Suites in Eb and F. I should put it in the key E... (...sound of crickets...). Uh, anyway, it'll be more dreamlike and textural in character than the other three (Chester Leaps In, ImPercynations, and MetaMarch). This should complete the suite, though I reserve the right to do more of these parody pieces - they're incredibly fun to write.

So, time to pack. I'll be on the road with my brother for a couple of days, then after a detour through East Lansing to pick up V, we're off to Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio, to meet with C & M, and ride massive rollercoasters until we lose our funnel cakes all over the pavement.

Maybe I'll have an epiphany on titles while I'm accelerating straight upward 420 feet into the air at 120mph. See you in Ohio!

Back in the US

Beethoven's grave in the Zentralfriedhof, in Vienna:



I'm finally back in the US after an extended and spectacular stay in Austria and surrounding countries. Too much to describe in this post, but it was truly phenomenal. I'm going back next summer.

Flying back last Thursday was less spectacular (though I did get a free upgrade to Business Class, somehow, which made the 10 hour flight really quite enjoyable). Didn't know about the British terrorist arrests until I arrived in Atlanta and found myself in madhouse of security lines. Woohoo. Made it through (though I had to repack my wine, schnapps, and Italian olive oil in the checked luggage - no way I'm going to let the TSA have those!). Now I'm back in Arkansas for a short time while I finish this new piece for Jack Stamp and IUP, and then move to Bowling Green, OH, to begin my residency in a couple of weeks.

I'll come up for air again sometime after that...gotta come up with a title for this piece - sometimes I think coming up with titles is more difficult than composing. Sometimes.

Oh - one last thing - a new version of my piece "Loose Id" for the Sound Inn Brass ensemble will be premiered at Midwest this December. If you're at the convention, you MUST come to this concert. I heard them perform in Austria, and they're pros. Wall of sound. Amazing. Don't miss this concert - you'll love it.

Auf Wiedersehen!