Month: March 2011

Twice in One Night

In case you haven’t been following my concert schedule (though that’s silly—of course you have!), the next six days will feature four performances of my music, including one night, Friday, when I have two performances. If you’re here in Utah, you have no excuse not to see one of these shows. They’re going to be great! So . . .

Tonight and Tomorrow (March 31 and April 1), BYU’s Contemporary Dance Theatre is putting on its “New Works New Voices” concert featuring choreography by Annie Garlick to my recent piano trio, “Gorre and Daphetid.” She’s created a powerful dance, “Reaching the Threshold,” that responds to the sadness of when one is helpless while loved ones suffer. The rest of the evening will be fabulous as well. Show starts at 7.30 pm at the BYU Richards Building Dance Studio Theatre. Tickets are $6; you can order them here. Also check out the article in the Daily Herald.

. . . But, as promised, there’s more!

Tomorrow and Tuesday (April 1 and April 5), Tara Hill and Mark Witmer will be premiering the first movement of my Clarinet Sonata. Tomorrow night’s performance is part of Tara’s senior recital. She’s assembled an exciting program that, in addition to my piece, features composers as far flung as Max Bruch, Elliott Carter, and Bela Kovacs. The concert starts at 9.30 pm in BYU’s Madsen Recital Hal, leaving you plenty of time to see “New Works New Voices” beforehand. Oh, and it’s free.

Finally, for those who will miss this weekend’s performances, as stated Tara Hill and Mark Witmer will be reprising their performance for the BYU Student Composers Recital on April 5. The concert starts at 7.30, is free, and will be followed by refreshments and witty banter.

I hope you all can make it to at least one of these concerts to see some really great music and dance!

Latest News: London, Reading Session, Premiere

I

The past few weeks have been an exciting time for me. At the end of February I took a trip out to London to check out music schools. While there I was fortunate to meet many wonderful professors at King’s College London, the Guildhall School, the Royal College of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music. Between the time I spent, the warm greetings I received, and what I heard of the music making at these schools, I got some very favorable impressions of all of them. Moral of the story: if they’ll have me, none of you readers of my blog (all three or four of you) need be surprised if I end up in London soon.

The Philharmonia in action
The Philharmonia in action

I also got to catch a concert of the Philharmonia perform Debussey’s La Mer and Ravel’s La Valse. Sitting in that concert, I realized that I’d never actually heard a world class orchestra perform before. The difference between them and what I have heard was phenomenal. (And to think it was just a routine, season concert.)

II

In other news, my piano trio “Gorre and Daphetid” was read and recorded by Curtis Macomber, Chris Finckel, and Stephen Gosling while I was away in London, and the recording was a wonderful “welcome home” present. I had written the piece in collaboration with my dancer friend, Anne Garlick, for a performance in April. Stay tuned for more news as the premiere of her choreography approaches! In the mean time, you can listen to the music and read more about it.

Update: I just found out the dates for the dance concert: Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1.

III

The premiere of my organ piece, “In and Through All Things,” is coming up at the end of March. If any of you happen to be in Moscow (Russia—not Idaho) then, I encourage you to go. Doug Bush is a fabulous organist, and I expect the premiere and the concert to be wonderful.

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