Colorado State University

I've just spent a packed and rewarding two days at CSU here in Fort Collins, Colorado, working with the Wind Ensemble (directed by Steve Moore) and the Symphonic Band (directed by Miller Asbill). The Symphonic Band performed MetaMarch and Rise, and I must say Rise is even harder than I'd thought - especially at the tempo and phrasing Miller took it (which I thought was *perfect* btw). Just as with all slow piece, the slower and more elongated the piece is, the more difficult it becomes. As I told the group, they just need to bring their extra sets of lungs - not sure they thought that was funny. They really rose to the occasion, though, and played very well.

The Wind Ensemble did Suite Dreams, and in fact closed with it, which is an interesting programming choice, considering that it ends so quietly. I thought it was incredibly effective, and the audience seemed to respond to it, too! They also did Gordon Jacob's Concerto for Bassoon with Barrick Stees from the Cleveland Orchestra, and holy COW can that man play the Bassoon. It was extraordinary to hear.

Yesterday, I also make a side detour to work with Matt Arau and his group at Loveland HS, on THREE of my pieces - it was a fast and furious rehearsal, and lots of fun. The group was very, very good, and very large! I had a great time working with them as well - it's always heartening to see such a fine and disciplined high school group.

Gotta head to Denver to catch my plane back home, and madly finish up this new piece for the JWECC consortium in Japan...

Dallas Wind Symphony tonight!

Jerry Junkin and the Dallas Wind Symphony will perform my Stampede tonight at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Full program and more info on their website. If you're there, say 'howdy'!

Duluth Days 2 & 3

(posting from a fogged-in Duluth airport, where I await a bus to Minneapolis since my 7am flight (and all flights) in and out of Duluth are not happening...)

The remainder of the weekend here in Duluth was great. Saturday (Day 2) the two High School Honor bands rehearsed in the morning, and we gave the concerts in the afternoon. At the 1pm dress, Rich Mowers (director of the Maroon Band) and I decided I'd conduct Interruption Overture with his group, so went through it a couple of times with them. More for me than for them - I hadn't looked at the score in a couple of years, so was interesting to remember on the fly. It went great as well as Dusk and MetaMarch with the Gold band. It was quite a new experience for me to take band from first rehearsal all the way through the concert, and in a way, it was the most comfortable conducting gig I've ever had. By the time we reached the concert, I knew the band well, and knew where to anticipate problems in performance and how better to fix them on the fly. So, a great experience for me, and they all seemed to enjoy it too!

Day 3: Met the UMD Concert Band for rehearsal at 1pm to go over Dusk and MetaMarch, and then we gave a combined concert with the Symphonic Band doing Suite Dreams again. The Concert Band is big - 80-100 people I believe, so the music was LOUD. They adjusted well (my tempi in Dusk are slow and very fluid, which threw them a little at first, but they adapted quickly), and gave a really nice performance of it, and of course MetaMarch, which is just good fun. The final performance of the weekend was Suite Dreams with the Symphonic Band, and I think this was one of the best conducting and musical experiences I've had. I went well on Friday night, but Sunday felt truly extraordinary. They played fantastically well, and this particular hall (Weber Hall) seems perfectly suited for the piece. It's rather reverberant, but not excessively so, and it can be quite loud and full sounding, which was PERFECT for the big tutti section of Suite Dreams. I can't wait to get the recording and find out how subjective my memory is, but it felt like a truly great performance. They did a bang-up job on the whole concert, too - they closed with Mackey's RedLine Tango, which sounded great from backstage (though I was on the other side of the wall from the Piano and percussion, so it sounded like a Piano and Marimba concerto sometimes). The director of bands, Mark Whitlock, sent me out for an additional bow after the whole concert, which meant I came out while they're still applauding for Mackey's piece. Kinda felt like I took a bow for RedLine Tango. Which I didn't mind. ;)

So, a fantastic weekend, conducting 6 of my works with 5 bands in 3 days. This is definitely a record. And I'm happy to let it stay as such - that's a lot of work!

Now, if I could just get home...

Duluth Day 1

Last night we had the first of three concerts this weekend here in Duluth, MN. I had the pleasure of conducting Chester Leaps In and Wings That Work with the Twin Ports Wind Orchestra on the first half of the concert, followed by Suite Dreams with the UMD Symphonic Band on the second half. I was particularly happy to do Wings That Work, since this is the first time I've heard the work since the premiere over five years ago. This was also the first time I've ever conducted Suite Dreams, and holy cow is it a fun piece to conduct. The Symphonic Band played really, really well, and I'm excited we get to do the piece again on Sunday's concert!

Today, it's off to work with the High School honor bands on campus this weekend - I'm conducting Dusk and MetaMarch with one of the bands. We started yesterday morning, and I admit I was a little nervous. I've never done a full honor band weekend, starting the group from the very beginning of their first rehearsal. I usually just show up, flap my arms in front of a group that's already well-rehearsed, and take a bow. This has been educational for me, and a lot of fun - seeing the progress they've made just in the first two rehearsals is satisfying, and we'll have a great concert this afternoon! So, a little bit of a Music Education weekend for me. Dad would've been proud.