Steven Bryant

FOR SALE: Most of my computer / music studio gear. I'm going totally portable with a new MacBook Pro, and cleaning house in the process. If you're looking to build a powerful music studio, this is your ticket. I hate to let this stuff go - this is the gear I've used for years to make all my greatest hits... ;)

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I never got around to the Midwest recap post, and since I'm supposed to be doing my taxes right now, this is as good a time as any. Eric didn't make it out this year - first time he's missed in something like 11 years (or was it 13?). Definitely wasn't the same without him (for one, I went to sleep a lot earlier...), but we were joined by someone I just never would've expected to see at...

The MSU Wind Symphony's performance Tues. night was a great success - really fine performance. The hall was less than optimal (very dry and the audience is too far from the stage, so there's little impact or presence in the sound), but ironically, I suspect that will make the recording sound quite good. The band played nearly flawlessly, of course due in no small part to VM's superb...

We're back in East Lansing after a quick (but wonderful) trip to Austin, TX. Verena is conducting Radiant Joy tonight with the Michigan State Wind Symphony, which promises to be quite good. The hall is a bit dry and tends to 'sand off' the edges a bit much, but they're playing really well, and anyone in the area should come to the concert if you can! It's at the University Auditorium on...

BGSU is hosting a conducting workshop this week, and today's featured guest and clinician was Leonard Slatkin. I spent the better part of the day and night watching him work with the BG Philharmonia on Brahms 2nd, and then working with a number of student conductors on the same piece, as well as hearing him speak at the conferral of his honorary doctorate from BG. Quite an experience. He's...

I've mentioned the festival before, but I thought it warranted its own post, most importantly to invite any players ages 15-30 who want to perform with the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project - you should apply NOW! If spending a week in the stunning Austrian Alps, playing lots of music, and hanging out with all sorts of interesting people from Europe and the world sounds intriguing, then come...

Sunday afternoon, I finished my "Concerto for Wind Ensemble" for the USAF Band of Mid-America, led by Commander Donald Schofield. Cdr. Schofield asked me for something virtuosic, and we batted around ideas along the lines of a concerto grosso that represented the USAF Thunderbirds. As the idea evolved, I gravitated away from a specific, fixed concertino group opposed to the wind ensemble...

Eugene Corporon and the brand-new Lone Star Wind Orchestra will be performing Radiant Joy tonight. This is their first season, and the group owes its existence to fellow composer and UNT survivor, Christopher Tucker. I strongly suspect the group is red hot - definitely looking forward to hearing them in person at some point. If you're in the DFW area, check it out. It's at the Eisemann...

Suite Dreams, my fourth (and final?) Parody Suite piece, is finished and in rehearsals at Jasper High School in Jasper, Indiana! I'll go out there for the premiere in late April. I have a feeling I'll need to make some fairly serious revisions - not sure if the timing and flow works well yet (there's a fair amount of aleatory in the piece, which I didn't mock up in the computer, so I had to...

The Symphony Band's performance last Wed. night was wonderful. Many thanks to Miller Asbill for programming the piece and the great job conducting, to Michael Haithcock for making this possible (and for dinner!), and of course, the band. As is often the case, the dress rehearsal was even better than the performance (it was, in fact perfect). The opening 4 minutes or so were the best I've...

Just a quick announcement:

The University of Michigan Symphony Band will perform Mvt. I from my Alchemy in Silent Spaces this Wednesday night, February 21st, at 8pm. I heard them in rehearsal on Friday, and this promises to be a spectacular performance!

If you're in the southeast Michigan / northwest Ohio area, I'd love to see you there! The concert is at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, and is...

On Monday, we head to the annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago. This year, the Austrian brass ensemble, "Sound INN Brass" will premiere a brand new version of Loose Id for brass and drumset. The concert is Saturday morning, 9:30, in the Grand Ballroom. If you're at the convention, don't miss this concert - this group will floor you!

And of course, don't forget to come by and say 'hello' at the...