How I'm celebrating 30 years as a composer
Yes, you read correctly. Thirty years as a composer. 1980 was the year I revised something I had written as undergrad and declared it my first "official" concert piece (For Clarinet Solo). That was also the year I completed my Masters thesis work, Woodwind Quintet No. 1. I have worked hard but I have also been fortunate in many ways. Especially considering the current economic climate, this is especially true this year. Here is what I've been working on and will be working on for the near future.
Recent Work:
* Finished Volume 1 of The Etude Project, a series of original graded performance etudes for chamber ensembles, written in consultation with the faculty of the U.S. Navy School of Music. While it incorporates elements of the USNSoM curriculum, The Etude Project can be used in any educational setting at high school and above. It is already being used at the Navy School and at Sacred Heart University. It will be officially published by year's end.
* Finished The Apian Way for piano. This two-movement work was requested by pianist Laura Leon. Laura is not only an incredible pianist, she has been a consistently strong supporter of my music. She has requested and/or commissioned several works, including Pro*Ject, Matilda Variations, and the Waltz Rhapsody -- and now The Apian Way. And yes, that's "Apian" as in "bee-related." Laura hopes to premiere the work later this year.
* Finished Unbreakable for concert band. In addition to Laura Leon as a champion of my music, I'm blessed with several folks of a similar bent who serve (or have served) in the U.S. military. CDR Ralph Ingraham, who currently serves as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Navy School of Music, is one. While he did not initiate The Etude Project (that was his predecessor, the now-retired CDR Donald Keller, Jr.), CDR Ingraham has been extremely supportive of the work (and patient with me while I worked to get it "just right"). And, as soon as I handed in the aforementioned Volume 1, he commissioned me to write a work for the School's concert band to celebrate the School's 75th anniversary. The title "Unbreakable" refers, in an oblique way, to the men and women who serve our country, but also to the quality of diamonds -- the traditional association with a 75th anniversary.
Now and Upcoming:
* I'm in the third week of my three-month composer residency at Flushing Town Hall (FTH), which entails my coming in...to compose. That's all. Just compose. Basically whatever I want (see below for my current work). And I get a stipend. Oh, and did I mention I will be putting on a concert there within a year as part of it? (This is my first such composer residency, after many times applying for, and not getting residencies at MacDowell Colony or Yaddo. Who knows what will happen next?)
* I finished the last bits of Unbreakable at FTH and, unusual for me, set right on to composing a new work. This one is a commission for the New York Repertory Orchestra; the work (as yet untitled) will be premiered in one year (May, 2011). It's slow going right now (as it always is at first), but the groundwork continues apace.
* In the meantime trombonist (and Sacred Heart University Band Director) Keith Johnston has asked me for work using trombone and organ. I have never written for organ before, but I follow the composer's unwritten rule: "Say 'yes' to the gig, then figure out how to do it." I'm already learning a lot, but I'll have to work with an organist at some point soon.
* One more commission coming up, this from the New York Chapter of Music Teachers National Association. I won't have any details until at least October of this year (the premiere will be in October 2011), so all I know is that it is to be a chamber work.
* I'm also in the rewrite stage of a new book, The Concertgoer's Guide to the Symphony Orchestra. It's meant to be user-friendly introduction to the concert-going experience. The publishers like it enough so far to continue the project.
Not at all a bad way to celebrate.
Recent Work:
* Finished Volume 1 of The Etude Project, a series of original graded performance etudes for chamber ensembles, written in consultation with the faculty of the U.S. Navy School of Music. While it incorporates elements of the USNSoM curriculum, The Etude Project can be used in any educational setting at high school and above. It is already being used at the Navy School and at Sacred Heart University. It will be officially published by year's end.
* Finished The Apian Way for piano. This two-movement work was requested by pianist Laura Leon. Laura is not only an incredible pianist, she has been a consistently strong supporter of my music. She has requested and/or commissioned several works, including Pro*Ject, Matilda Variations, and the Waltz Rhapsody -- and now The Apian Way. And yes, that's "Apian" as in "bee-related." Laura hopes to premiere the work later this year.
* Finished Unbreakable for concert band. In addition to Laura Leon as a champion of my music, I'm blessed with several folks of a similar bent who serve (or have served) in the U.S. military. CDR Ralph Ingraham, who currently serves as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Navy School of Music, is one. While he did not initiate The Etude Project (that was his predecessor, the now-retired CDR Donald Keller, Jr.), CDR Ingraham has been extremely supportive of the work (and patient with me while I worked to get it "just right"). And, as soon as I handed in the aforementioned Volume 1, he commissioned me to write a work for the School's concert band to celebrate the School's 75th anniversary. The title "Unbreakable" refers, in an oblique way, to the men and women who serve our country, but also to the quality of diamonds -- the traditional association with a 75th anniversary.
Now and Upcoming:
* I'm in the third week of my three-month composer residency at Flushing Town Hall (FTH), which entails my coming in...to compose. That's all. Just compose. Basically whatever I want (see below for my current work). And I get a stipend. Oh, and did I mention I will be putting on a concert there within a year as part of it? (This is my first such composer residency, after many times applying for, and not getting residencies at MacDowell Colony or Yaddo. Who knows what will happen next?)
* I finished the last bits of Unbreakable at FTH and, unusual for me, set right on to composing a new work. This one is a commission for the New York Repertory Orchestra; the work (as yet untitled) will be premiered in one year (May, 2011). It's slow going right now (as it always is at first), but the groundwork continues apace.
* In the meantime trombonist (and Sacred Heart University Band Director) Keith Johnston has asked me for work using trombone and organ. I have never written for organ before, but I follow the composer's unwritten rule: "Say 'yes' to the gig, then figure out how to do it." I'm already learning a lot, but I'll have to work with an organist at some point soon.
* One more commission coming up, this from the New York Chapter of Music Teachers National Association. I won't have any details until at least October of this year (the premiere will be in October 2011), so all I know is that it is to be a chamber work.
* I'm also in the rewrite stage of a new book, The Concertgoer's Guide to the Symphony Orchestra. It's meant to be user-friendly introduction to the concert-going experience. The publishers like it enough so far to continue the project.
Not at all a bad way to celebrate.