I was honored that Ray Ricker asked me to be a contributing author for the 2nd edition of his book, Lessons from A Streetwise Professor: What You Won't Learn at Most Music Schools. For the past several months, Ray and I have worked closely, writing new sections for the book and updating existing content.
I grew up in Sandy Hook, CT and attended Sandy Hook Elementary School.
I believe that music is one way we can remember the victims of the tragedy, their families, and victims of similar tragedies. This was the hardest piece I have written, but I hope that the music allows listeners to pause and remember these victims, and come together to prevent this kind of violence in the future.
I am very excited about two new pieces that will be premiered in February and March, 2018.
The first is "Ultra," a three-movement, grade 4 work that will be premiered by the Arkansas Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Rob Carochan on February 15th. The piece was commissioned by the Arkansas Chapter of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). You can see a little preview of me playing music from the second movement here.
This Fall, I am teaching two classes in the Eastman School of Music's Arts Leadership Program:
- Creativity and Your Music Career
- Career Skills for the 21st Century
The Career Skills class is new to me and I'm excited to be teaching the class both at Eastman and online, as part of the Eastman Career and Leadership Certificate: Online.
I'm thrilled to share that Magnolia Star will be performed by the Alabama Winds at this year's Midwest Clinic in Chicago on December 20th at 12:00pm. The ensemble is directed by Randall Coleman. It's an honor to have my work included at the conference, and I look forward to working with the Alabama Winds and seeing many friends and colleagues there!
I was honored to have the U.S. Coast Guard Band perform Vermont State Fair (my newest work for band) in March of this year!
Listen to their fantastic concert recording here. View a PDF of the score here.
A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of serving as Composer-in-Residence for the UMass Honor Band Festival. Matthew Westgate, the Director of Wind Studies at UMass invited me to participate in this wonderful day.
I spent two days at UMass; the first was focused on working with UMass students. I worked with the Wind Ensemble in a rehearsal of my Magnolia Star and Goodnight, Goodnight.
