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Upcoming projects/premieres:
Wind Ens. and Electronics consortium, 2008
JWECC (Japanese) consortium, 3/14/2009
Upcoming concerts

NOTE: None of my pieces are out of print - if someone tells you otherwise, please let me know.

Blog

Back in the USA

Finished up a fun week at Marktoberdorf (pictures here, including my Krummhorn lesson), returned briefly to Austria to repack, and have returned to the USA. Now I'm heads-down focused on finishing the Winds+Electronics piece (I really need a title, don't I?). I'll resurface when the piece is finished and give the full rundown on it. I'm proud of what I've created so far...

Labels: Krummhorn, Marktoberdorf, WIndtronica

Bier, Klavier, mehr Bier

Wednesday night is a special night at this festival in Marktoberdorf - everyone puts on a show, which included PDQ Bach, a Krummhorn quartet, double-reed rendition of YMCA, and an Obi horn (which would translate roughly to a "Home Depot horn"). And then we all moved down to the beer cellar where I was cajoled into playing very bad piano and singing drunkenly with a large chunk of the band.

I love my job.

Labels: Bier, Grand Pianola, Krummhorn, Marktoberdorf, PDQ Bach, YMCA

Marktoberdorf, Germany

I'm now in Marktoberdorf, Germany, giving a week-long composition masterclass as part of the Bavarian Summer Music Academy. This is in conjunction with a wind band component, which is currently rehearsing four of my works (Suite Dreams, Dusk, Stampede, and MetaMarch) for their concert Saturday night. They're all in sectionals at the moment, so I can hear the clarinets rehearsing Suite Dreams juxtaposed against trumpets working on Stampede. Ivesian ... and very cool.

Had a great vacation last week in Malcesine in northern Italy - this is the same place we went last year, and is the location for the sunrise that inspired First Light. This year, I managed to get a cool photo of a night-time storm from the terrace:

Labels: Dusk, Malcesine, Marktoberdorf, MetaMarch, Stampede, Suite Dreams

Unplugged until Friday

I will be away from the internet from today through Friday. If you e-mail me, I'll answer when I return.

I've almost finished Mvt. IV of the new piece. I'm inordinately excited about this one - amplified, effected bassoons and solo clarinet, in a delicious 12-tone serial groove. It's sort of Webern meets Radiohead.

Now I need to figure out how Mvt. V works. And I need a title...

World premiere: October 23rd, 2008, Bowling Green Wind Symphony, Bruce Moss, conductor (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Second performance: October 26th, 2008, The Univ. Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor (Austin, TX)

Labels: Bowling Green, Bruce Moss, Jerry Junkin, UT Wind Ensemble, WIndtronica

WYWOP 2008

The World Youth Wind Orchestra Project gave their concert last Saturday night to a packed house and a well-deserved standing ovation. They rocked Stampede and brought the house down by closing with Maslanka's Give Us This Day.

To everyone in the WYWOP - I really enjoyed working with you and thank you for working so hard on Stampede - it was a blast to hang with all of you. Here are the photos from the week, as promised!

WYWOP 2008 photos

If you weren't in the band, these will mostly be meaningless and boring. If you want to see more pictures from my time in Europe, go here. I will be adding more as the summer continues. For now, I'm 'underground' composing, so no updates for a little while.

Labels: MidEurope, Schladming, WYWOP

Circus Maximus and more

The UT Wind Ensemble arrives today for their concert at MidEurope. They'll be performing Corigliano's "Circus Maximus" - can't wait to hear it again! After that, the WYWOP will give their concert, which includes my piece, Stampede. The band is sounding fantastic this year, and it should be a great concert.

Also, I've added more pictures from the past week.

Labels: Circus Maximus, MidEurope, Schladming, Stampede, WYWOP

Hohenwerfen und Dachstein

The last few days we've visited Hohenwerfen Castle (outside of Salzburg) and the top of the Dachstein mountain (well, almost the top - you have to have ropes and gear to go the last 300 meters). Saw a fantastic falconry and bird demonstration at Hohenwerfen (they were flying right over our heads at insane speeds - none of the pictures I took are cropped - there were *that* close). Then we drove up to a traditional restaurant for lunch - the sign at the bottom of the hill said 4km, but they neglected to explain that they meant *straight UP*.

On Saturday, Michael Hancock (conductor, clarinetist, and all-around great guy) and I headed up to the Dachstein, which is one of the large mountains in the area (being in the Alps, it's not alone). The bus ride was nearly an hour up the mountain, and *then* we took the cable car the rest of the way - up to 2700 meters (that's 8850 ft). There's a glacier up there, with year-round skiing and snowboarding. It was also slightly chilly and windy (i.e. freezing). And spectacular.

Pictures are here.

Labels: Dachstein, Europe, Hohenwerfen, MidEurope, Schladming

Hausmusik

As promised, a few shots from yesterday's Gerburtstag Feier for Opa's 80th birthday:

Siegi und Verena:



Wolfgang on Zither, Siegi on Steirische, Steve on Hackbrett:



Fred und Hans, performing wild clarinet tricks:




Opa, Oma, and a subsection of the Eberschwanger Bauernkapelle (one of the two community bands in Eberscwhang). They provided music and fun for the party as well, in between beers. :)

Labels: Eberschwang, Geburtstag, Hackbrett, Hausmusik, Opa, Steirische, Zither