Composer
SHORT VERSION: Music education is important Writing “easy” music is hard Add electronics: The Machine Awakes, for young band + electronics, premieres this Thursday night, May 10th, at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsboro, NC! Score and Recording (MIDI) MUCH LONGER VERSION: A vital component of my mission as a composer is music… continued
Another full semester of guest composer residencies, world premieres, and even a little conducting in Orchestra Hall in Chicago. The festivities begin… NOW! JANUARY 28-29 [Baltimore, MD]: Peabody Conservatory – David Vickerman’s Digital Embrace, featuring Christopher Stark’s Augenblick, Jason Gerraughty’s TWEAK, and my Ecstatic Waters – a full concert of works for winds, percussion,… continued
THREE WORLD PREMIERES in Spring 2012: I’m fortunate to have yet another very busy season to kick off 2012, including the world premieres of three new works: FEBRUARY 19th (Ball State Univ.), MARCH 1st (ABA Convention), MARCH 16th (Orchestra Hall, Chicago): Paean: Chant and Triumph, a new work for the Ball State University… continued
My mentor, first composition teacher, and friend, Dr. Francis McBeth passed away on Jan. 6th. He was a great teacher – funny, wise, sharp as a tack, with strong opinions on how music should sound. Every note I’ve written in the past 21 years bears his mark in some way, and it’s no exaggeration to… continued
Once again, I’m fortunate to have a lot of groups performing my music (particularly Ecstatic Waters and the Concerto for Wind Ensemble) and bringing me in to work with them this Fall. Below is the party bus tour schedule. If you’re in any of these areas, please come by! SEPTEMBER 12-14 [Athens, GA]:… continued
I’ve posted complete recordings of (almost) all of my music on SoundCloud. Leave a comment at your favorite moment in a piece (or not-so-favorite moment…). BTW, these are my favorite recordings of each of my works (in some cases, I’ve posted multiple versions), so please start here if you want to hear any of… continued
I just posted a “video score” version of a great recording of Dusk by the Police Band of Munich, Germany, on YouTube. This is one of the best commercially recorded versions of the piece out there, so far. Buy this recording on iTunes Download a PDF of the score
Many (all?) states in the US have a “list” of music for school bands, orchestras, and choirs to choose from when performing at state-sanctioned contests. The biggest of these is the Texas Prescribed Music List (everything’s bigger in Texas…), and many other states simply copy this list for their own use. After 12 years of… continued
Anthem is finally posted! This is the live premiere at Purdue University, conducted by Jay Gephart, last April. I conducted 6 of my other works with their bands while I was there, but told Jay I couldn’t conduct the premiere of a brand new piece – I really wanted to sit in the audience… continued
My fellow composers and I have written a number of times about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, covering everything from copyright to licensing to notation. However, I don’t recall that we have actually demonstrated, in simple steps, the physical process of making of the paper product, so I shot a video here in my home studio/office… continued
I made a short video tour of my home studio. It’s not Jerry Bruckheimer material, but I invite anyone with FX skills to add lasers and explosions.
I finished two new pieces last week. That makes three in the past month. This can’t be good for me… The first, Anthem, is a brand new work for Jay Gephart and the Purdue University Wind Ensemble, commissioned to celebrate the Purdue Bands’ 125th anniversary. It’s 7’30” of joy, featuring twittering flutes, vibraphone, glockenspiel,… continued