Conducting at IMEA

You guys!  I had such an amazing time on January 16th at the Indiana Music Educators Conference in Ft. Wayne! I cunducted an "open rehearsal" of three of my pieces - Avatar, Winstride and Gauntlet - and answered questions from teachers.

Johanna Marvin and her Riverside Middle School Orchestra rehearsed the music ahead of time, but we had never met in person before that day. They did such a great job and I think everyone had a good time.

I also got to meet orchestra teachers from around Indiana and participate in a reading session of new music , which was a blast. So how did they get me to come to the event? They asked. It was that simple. I usually charge a nominal fee and ask for expenses to be paid, but other than that, it's pretty straightforward.

Then I had to rush home because on the afternoon of the 17th, the OMEA District XIV Honors Orchestra performed their concert, which featured the world premiere of Victory At Home - a new piece they commissioned me to write.

It was a full weekend and one that I won't soon forget!  Thanks to Johanna Marvin, the IMEA, the ASTA, the OMEA and all the students of the Riverside Middle School Orchestra for being so great.

New Music Selected for 2013

I got word recently from my editor that I'll have two new pieces in Alfred Publishing's 2013-2014 String Orchestra catalog!

First is "Across the Wind," an intermediate-level major-key concert overture that features 16th note ostinatos. It features a lyrical middle section that I'm particularly proud of.

The second is "Dragonfly," an minor key piece that not only features furious 16th note rhythms, but also meter changes. It's intended for advanced groups, but I'm sure it will get picked up by ambitious intermediate players.  "Dragonfly" was developed from a piece I wrote many years ago on commission for a local school orchestra. That version was never published, but I was very happy with the themes, so I split it up and recycled it. The first part of that piece became the main theme to my first opera and the second part developed into "Dragonfly." And now it's getting published! So it's been a long interesting road for this particular piece.