Shit, it isn't interesting.
So, I'm going to try to be better -so I will use the countless hours I spend at bedtime in the room of my 4 3/4 year old triplet boys to keep a better blog on the Internets.
----------
Winter break has been a revelation. I have been busier than 10 dogs in a butcher's shop. In addition to the normal holiday stuff, I completed a 7 minute duet for flute and cello (Duplicitous Encounter) and finalized two movements of a Sonata for Solo Guitar. I still need a damn name for that one!
These pieces are - by far - my favorite pieces I have written. They are complex (or at least not simplistic) and beautiful - a duality I strive to attain.
Both works will be premiered in the next eight weeks. In late January I head to Boston to hear the duet at a venue called the Lilypad. The players playing the piece - Rachel Arnold and Ashley Addington - are great and terribly musical. They will do a wonderful job and I really look forward to hearing them play the piece.
The sonata starts getting rolled out on January 15 in New Jersey by Dr. Keith Calmes - a friend and Julliard trained guitarist. He will then travel to California to premier whole work for the first time on February 21 at CSU Bakersfield.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I also built a HUGE play yard/swing set for my boys over break.
Here is a pic:
Yeah, that was intense. About seven days - two of which were eight hour days - were used up to build that bad boy. It was fun though, and I enjoyed the change of pace. There is a peace that I can fall into when doing that kind of work, listening to my iPod (lots of Duncan Shiek, RENT, David Tanenbaum playing Brouwer or Maxwell-Davies) and just doing what the directions say. Being creative is a tiring activity. Sometimes it is nice to just do something that requires discipline but not much creative energy.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I also built a HUGE play yard/swing set for my boys over break.
Here is a pic:
Yeah, that was intense. About seven days - two of which were eight hour days - were used up to build that bad boy. It was fun though, and I enjoyed the change of pace. There is a peace that I can fall into when doing that kind of work, listening to my iPod (lots of Duncan Shiek, RENT, David Tanenbaum playing Brouwer or Maxwell-Davies) and just doing what the directions say. Being creative is a tiring activity. Sometimes it is nice to just do something that requires discipline but not much creative energy.
--------
Lastly, I'd like to thank my wife for making this composing possible. There were a few days where she bit the bullet and dealt with the trio all by herself so I'd have an uninterrupted chunk of time to work. That was awesome and the only way I've been so productive this year. I wrote a lot of music this year and she helped every step of the way by hanging with the crazies we call children.
Thanks Jenn!
Gotta run!
Lastly, I'd like to thank my wife for making this composing possible. There were a few days where she bit the bullet and dealt with the trio all by herself so I'd have an uninterrupted chunk of time to work. That was awesome and the only way I've been so productive this year. I wrote a lot of music this year and she helped every step of the way by hanging with the crazies we call children.
Thanks Jenn!
Gotta run!
