This past fall, I wrote a new arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner, which was premiered in October by the University of Central Florida Wind Ensemble, conducted by Chung Park. Listen (and see the score) here. The arrangement includes a few exciting harmonies and I hope you enjoy it!
This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting a rehearsal of the NYSSMA New York All-State Wind Ensemble, conducted by Jared Chase. The opener for their program was my Magnolia Star, and these young musicians sounded incredible! We spent about 45 minutes together, worked on some musical details, and I tried my best to answer all their great questions about music careers, improvisation, what inspired my work, and more. It was super fun, and the concert at Eastman Theater was equally thrilling. These fantastic young musicians had the great honor of playing on Eastman Theater stage and looking out to a packed, beautiful hall. It was a great honor for me as well, and I'm grateful!
I’m thrilled that the Northshore Concert Band, directed by Mallory Thompson, will perform Magnolia Star on their November 5, 2016 concert. The band recently featured my work on their blog – check it out here.
Magnolia Star (for wind band) was recently performed at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia by the Los Altos High School (CA) Festival Ensemble and by the U.S. Navy Band on the steps of the U.S. Capitol! It is a great honor to have my work included on these programs. Magnolia Star has been performed by a wide range of ensembles: high school, all-state, college, community, and professional. This past year it was performed by both the U.S. All-National High School Band and the Canadian National High School Honor Band.
An Hour of Hallowed Peace is now published by Augsburg Fortress Press! They have produced a wonderful recording of the piece - you can listen and view the music in this YouTube video:
This past week, I had the privilege of visiting the University of Central Florida and working with the UCF Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Chung Park. The orchestra premiered two new pieces of mine - Vermont State Fair and Winter Song - on two concerts.
On Friday, February 20th, the orchestra presented an open rehearsal for an audience of several hundred people at St. Luke’s Church in Oviedo. The first concert was held at St. Luke’s Church on Saturday, February 21st, and on February 22nd, the orchestra traveled to Leesburg, FL to present the program at Hawthorne at Leesburg. Between all these events, about 2,000 people heard this brand new music!
In addition to working with the orchestra, I had a great time meeting composition students at UCF and presenting a short talk featuring career tips for composers.
Here are a few pictures from the events:
Thanks so much to Chung Park and the UCF composition faculty for having me, and George Weremchuk and the students of the Symphony Orchestra for performing my music!
Exciting news! My Saxophone Quartet No. 2: Chant will be recorded this coming May by the Iridium Saxophone Quartet. The CD release is planned for Fall 2016 on the Blue Griffin Label. Stay tuned!
Happy New Year's Eve! As 2015 comes to a close, I'm spending a little time looking back on the past 12 months and remembering everything that happened this year. I don't often share behind-the-scenes posts, but today, I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favorite things from 2015.
Enjoy!
2015 was a big year for me, personally and professionally. My wife and I bought our first home in Rochester, NY this summer (a 1920 Colonial) and we're slowly learning how to be homeowners (and how to fix things!).
On a professional note, it was an honor to have my music performed at a number of all-state conferences and honor band festivals in New York, South Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Hawaii, and Kentucky. In addition, I was thrilled to have my music performed at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) conference in July and by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) All-National Honor Band at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in October.
I attended the Chamber Music America (CMA) conference in NYC in January and helped organize the pre-conference day, "How to Succeed in a Changing Musical World," hosted by Eastman's Paul R. Judy Center for Applied Research. We had a great time at the conference and enjoyed exploring Times Square for a few days!
I had the pleasure of working with several great high school and college bands this year (and a church choir, or two!), with residencies, guest rehearsals, and Skype sessions at Nazareth College, Augustana University, Liverpool High School, Trinity Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Arkansas Tech Summer Band Festival, and Canandaigua Academy, among others.
As a composer, the best part of my job is when people play (or sing) my music. This year, I counted over 65 performances in 18 states (and I know I'm missing some! Side note: I'd love to include your performance on my events calendar! Just fill out this form).
As most of you know, I self-publish the majority of my work, but over the past few years, I've started working with a few publishers for some of my choral and chamber music. This year, I had five pieces accepted for publication with Colla Voce, Augsburg Fortress, and Keyboard Percussion Publications:
- Speaking Love - An Hour of Hallowed Peace - Wake, O My Soul - Filled With His Voice - Chorale Variations
It was a busy writing year for me, with two new pieces for band (Vermont State Fair and River Town Jubilee), two pieces for orchestra (Winter Song and Vermont State Fair), a new chamber version of "A Country Boy in Winter" (from Alcott Songs), and my second song cycle (New England Folk Songs).
P.S. Thinking about a commission for the 2016-2017 year? Let's talk!
As always, thanks for your continued encouragement and support of my music. Cheers to 2016!
SD
