Music Came and Startled Me

Last night singers and players from Maitland Middle School in the Orlando area premiered my MUSIC CAME AND STARTLED ME as the finale of their bon voyage concert before starting a trip to New York City, where they will also perform it at Riverside Church.  Lori Lovell was, again, my muse, when she suggested last summer that I should write something for all of their music students. She also gave me a wonderful text by her author-poet friend Stacey Barton about the feeling of soaring on music's song -- vibrant imagery of flying -- "I watched my feet float past the ground, they framed the world inside its sound and all at once I knew before, I had flown on music's score".  And that was that.  Last night's performance was a culmination of Lori's vision, her instrumental colleagues Lisa Hopko and Eric Mendez's commitment to the project, and their student's engaged music-making.  Bravo to all on this first-ever Maitland commission!

Weekend in the Capital

It was a beautiful weekend in Washington DC for the Heritage Festival at National City Christian Church and George Mason University  My colleagues and I heard and worked with middle and high school choirs from New York, Nevada, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey over Friday and Saturday.  While there I spent a few hours at the Freer and Sackler galleries of Asian art on the Mall and heard Murry Sidlin's extraordinary performance of the Defiant Requiem -- the film about Rafael Schaechter, who taught Jewish inmates the Verdi Requiem from his smuggled score and an upright piano.  They performed it sixteen times in Terezin, most notably for delegates from the Red Cross, who failed to see the irony in this and found nothing to condemn at the camp/ghetto Theresienstadt.  The event at the beautiful Strathmore music center was a live performance of the Requiem, interspersed with the film and narrators placed within the orchestra. The most touching moments were those that faded from full orchestra to an untuned upright piano accompanying the City Choir of Washington.  This unusual and powerful performance will forever bring an added layer of meaning to this already towering work.  While in DC, I had a great evening with longtime friend Joan Gregoryk (Founder and Artistic Director of the Children's Chorus of Washington) dining al fresco at Jaleo.  The waiter designed the Spanish tapas menu for us and the pairings were gorgeous. (Joan, serendipitously, sat in the seat in front of me at the Requiem two nights before...) Earlier in the day was pulled pork eggs benedicts at the PIG.  Meaty crab cakes and she crab soup the night before at The Wharf in charming Alexandria were memorable, as was the harbor-side performance of Mozart and Bach by Jamey Turner on his glass harp -- dozens of water-filled tuned glasses.  Jamie is an interesting, knowledgeable and eclectic man who has performed with symphony orchestras, recorded at the National Cathedral and performed multiple times on the Tonight Show -- on his musical saw!  

Weekend in the Shenandoah Valley

Just back from Harrisonburg, Virginia where I conducted the All-Virginia ACDA Middle School Honor Choir -- three days with some very talented young singers.  My CANTATE DOMINO (with excellent brass players from James Madison University) and E PLURIBUS CANTUS shared the program with music by Dan Forrest, Ken Berg, Judith Herrington, Dan Davison and Rollo Dillworth.  I enjoyed hearing my friends Sandra Snow and Elena Sharkova's choirs and reconnected with many old friends from around the state.  Big thanks to accompanist Elaine Stanford, organizer Jordan Markwood, and Philip Keirstead for the kind invitation.  

Extraordinary Days at UTSA

For several days last week I was the guest of the University of Texas at San Antonio's Department of Music, where Ron Ellis organized a week full of events that featured new works, premieres, interactions with composers and stunning performances by UTSA ensembles.  I was fortunate to reconnect with long time friends and colleagues Marguerite McCormick and Irma Taute, who invited me to conduct the Children's Chorus of San Antonio in  A LIVING SONG (they had sung the premiere eight years ago) and YO LE CANTO TODO EL DIA, and John Silantien's accomplished singers performed WHEN THE MUSIC SINGS IN THEM and Ron Ellis' gorgeous arrangement of O MUSIC with the University Orchestra.  Ron also conducted his excellent wind ensemble transcription of SIMPLE BOAT.  I enjoyed speaking with student composers and conductors and getting to know student assistants Becky Paul and Justin Gusky (a talented young composer) and faculty composers Ethan Wickman and James Syler. Great composer-talk and sensational performances of their inspiring work!  I enjoyed a lovely post-concert evening at David Frego's beautiful home (chair of the Department of Music) and some memorable food, including appetizers and Pinot at Perry's, BBQ at Rudy's (the smell alone is worth the trip!), a post festival celebration at Piatti's, Tuscan salad and braised prosciutto at Dough Pizzareia Napolitana, and a day in the hill country with dear friend Ellen Dominguez (breakfast at the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls -- they are blooming everywhere!, sips of some interesting wines at Pederales and Himey vineyards, and German lunch in Fredericksburg).  I was flattered by the invitation to come to UTSA as a visiting composer and am grateful for the warm reception from everyone.

Weekend in NYC

Winter ended just long enough for a beautiful weekend in New York City for the Heritage Festival at Riverside Church. I heard some remarkable choirs, notably Rodger Guerrero's singers from Harvard-Westlake school in California, Janine Kirstein's choir from Oregon, and Ron Corbin's groups from Florida. While in the city I saw the Gauguin exhibit at MOMA and a small exhibit of Viennese composer artifacts at Carnegie Hall's Rose Museum, among them Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Webern and Berg manuscripts. Also heard an interesting concert of contemporary unaccompanied choral music (nearly all of which I had never heard) by the Berkley Chamber Chorus, the Ad Astra Singers, and Dominick DiOrio's fantastic NOTUS from Indiana University in Carnegie Hall's intimate Weill recital hall. Memorable food included a great South Indian dinner at Sokum on Lexington Avenue and a few Blue Bottle and Stumptown cappuccinos. A chilly Sunday morning in Central Park (the temperatures went back down!), a prosciutto, pear and fig tartine at Le Pain Quotidien, and classical music in the cab to the airport were a great start to the day. Also glimpsed Alice Aycock's playful white sculptures along Park Avenue ("Park Avenue Paper Chase") on the way out -- fantastic!