IUP Day 1
I’m in Indiana, Pennsylvania, for the world premiere of Radiant Joy. I spent the day driving across Ohio and western PA (through extraordinary Fall foliage scenery), and arrived in time for the 6pm rehearsal with the Wind Symphony. The band sounds great, and the piece really seems to work. We tweaked a few small things, but I ran out of corrections and changes before the rehearsal time was up! It’s obvious Jack and the band have put in some dedicated work on the piece. The sax section was tight, and the percussion section was eating up the wicked mallet lines I have in a few spots. The whole band really seems to enjoy the piece – I have no fear the concert will groove effortlessly on Sunday!
Here’s the band, with Jack on the left and me on the right (photo courtesy of Jason Worzbyt):
Interesting aside: Vinny (or is it Vinnie?), one of the flutists in the band (and grad conducting student), was the pianist for the premiere of RedLine at Rowan State last year. Dude, I promise I’m not following you around the country making you premiere each of my pieces!
Tomorrow I’ll sit in on the Concert Band’s rehearsal of Bloom. Jason Worzbyt, a colleague of mine from back in our Univ. of North Texas days, and the assistant director of bands at IUP, is conducting this group. Can’t wait to hear it!
Ok, I’ve stayed up way too late this evening watching Daily Show reruns and such. I don’t have cable TV at home, and this is probably why it should stay that way…