Summer Projects

Even with the absence of a music festival in my schedule this summer, it has none the less been a pretty busy summer. I understand it's technically midsummer but nothing is about to let up anytime soon. Most of my time has been taken up writing and thinking about how to go about writing two big pieces; a new piano concerto for Kevin Madison and a new piece for high school wind ensemble. The first work (the piano concerto currently entitled Shelter) is slated to be the longest piece of music I've written, 18 minutes. There is also the added psychological barrier of dealing with the tried and true question...how does a concerto work? What is the role of the soloist? What is the role of a soloist that is also kind of a mini orchestra itself? The piece is inspired by an amazing book I read over the summer by Matthew Desmond entitled Evicted. I want the role of the three percussionist to function as a sort of Greek chorus that violently rejects the questions asked by the piano. In the end, I don't want the piece to have a #message, but rather clearly has a strong emotional pull. I really want to give Kevin a piece that allows him to show every angle of his multilayered musical talents. More to come about this piece...

The second piece, a new work for high school wind ensemble, is commissioned by Greg Jenner and the Garner High School Wind Ensemble in North Carolina. Very little is known about this piece right now (yikes...I have time) but Greg Jenner and I have decided to open up this commission up to create a consortium of bands that can participate in the creation of the piece. There is an entire page dedicated to the consortium...so if you are interested...click here.