Conductor's Craft

The Hal Leonard workshop at Carthage College last week brought together many choral conductor-teachers from a wide geographic region for nearly three full days of workshops and reading sessions.  Carthage College is perched on the shore of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin and the summer breezes and 70 degree temperatures were dazzlingly beautiful.

My sessions focused on our emotional geography -- the patterns of closeness and distance in human interactions that shape the emotions we experience about relationships to ourselves, each other, and the world around us -- and a guided reading session with an eye and ear to teaching potential and age-appropriate vocal and musical challenge.  Thanks to all at Hal Leonard for assembling such a dynamic learning experience and for the invitation to be part of it as featured composer.

While in the area I was able to visit with family in the Chicago suburbs to help celebrate my niece's 16th birthday.  Squash and bacon dumplings and Thai shrimp udon noodle bowl at Urban Belly, a Vietnamese chicken sausage with pickled green papaya, curry mayo, crispy shallots, Thai basil & lime at Franks and Dawgs, and Intelligentia's expert cappuccinos topped the food list.

Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble Anniversary

The Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble celebrated their 20th anniversary this weekend and sang a memorable concert that honored their history and looked to the future.  As part of the program they presented three premiere performances, those of student composition contest winners Ben Sides and Stephen Lounsbrough, and my WHEN THOU COMMANDEST ME TO SING, the commissioned work in honor of the anniversary.  Conductor Tim McMillan and the singers brought the words of Rabindranath Tagore to life in a remarkable way.  I was happy to be with them for this significant occasion and wish them many more years of music-making and community-building in Des Moines!

Heritage Children's Choir Festival NYC

Just back from New York City where I spent the weekend with Sandra Snow and the fantastic children's choirs of the Heritage Children's Choir festival, which culminated in a performance at Riverside Church this morning, including my SONG TO END ALL WAR.  Congratulations to all the choirs and their directors for their individual performances on Friday and their massed choir performance today.

It was great to see Al Holcomb of Westminster CC and George Grace for memorable Asian food at Buddakhan (a favorite!), wood fired pizzas and green asparagus salad with Sandra and Scott Sells at Co., and terrific cappuccinos at Gimme Coffee!  Enjoyed an evening stroll on the Highline and a little time in Central Park, both always a pleasant bit of the country in the city.

Also discovered David's Tea, a Canadian company with its first US locations now in New York (a really interesting selection, of which we brought home many samples, including Mango Diablo and Winter Woods) and the Chelsea Market (breads, meats, produce, chocolates, espresso, books, sweets), many merchants under one roof in the funky old National Biscuit Company (NABISCO -- I never knew that!) building.  Yes Oreos first rolled off the production line here!  A final surprise was seeing the space shuttle Enterprise, still atop its NASA 747, in a hangar at JFK, just as we were taxiing for takeoff back to Orlando.

New York Weekend

It was a wonderful weekend in New York City, where I had the opportunity to hear and work with thirty choirs from Alaska to Florida, Vermont to California, at Worldstrides Heritage Festival at Riverside Church.  Some wonderful musical moments! (including an unexpected performance of my CANTATE DOMINO)  While there, I heard Michael Tilson Thomas' intriguing concert of "American Mavericks" at Zankel Hall, a warm and intimate space beneath the larger Stern auditorium at Carnegie.  Wow!  The program was Daphne of the Dunes by Harry Partsch on his orginial playful and quirky instruments by Newband (who now cares for and curates the collection), David del Tredici's Syzergy, with incredibly fearless and flexible soprano soloist Kiera Duffy, the premiere of Mass Transmissions, a new work by Mason Bates for chorus (Francisco Nunez' Young People's Chorus of NYC), organ and electronica (manipulated by the composer), and Lou Harrison's Concerto for Organ and Percussion.  Such an unique evening!  Also visited the Rubin Museum of Tibetan art and spent several hours exploring in the Metropolitan on Sunday (the new exhibit of Gertrude Stein and her brother's collection of Picasso and Matisse is huge), a walk in the park, good food at BLT Prime, a large capuccino at JOE, a slice or two of Ray's Pizza...

Vierne in St. James Cathedral

On Sunday March 18th, I had the great privilege to conduct Louis Vierne's Solemn Mass for chorus and two organs in the beautifully renovated St. James Cathedral in downtown Orlando.  This opportunity doesn't present itself very often (who has the instrumentation?) and was imagined by the central Florida chapter of the American Guild of Organists.  Singers from the choirs at St. James and the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, along with other AGO member choirs and students of mine from the University of Central Florida joined organists Ben Lane and Glenn Osborne for a really memorable performance.  Thank you to all who organized, sang, and played!