Wrapping Up

Long time, no write! Needless to say, it has been a hell of a year. I won’t fall into clichés or list every single ‘once in a century’ event that seemingly slammed into this year all at once, but I will say it has been difficult if not next to impossible to write or be inspired. It is hard to write with premiere dates in mind which may or may not occur due to the ongoing pandemic.

However, I am at the tail end of (count ‘em) two pieces! The first, Deep State, for soprano saxophone and percussion was commissioned by Derek Granger and a consortium of saxophonists has been a nice channel for my rage during the past few months (sorry in advance any performers). The second came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Everything Must Go for Sanderson High School in North Carolina. The piece was written out of the necessity for new music for a seemingly new ensemble; the “makeshift” adaptable wind ensemble that arose out of the pandemic. The work is scored for four voices of any wind instrumental setup and can be performed as both chamber music or as a large ensemble. The writing process is more akin to doing Sudoku or a crossword puzzle than writing a piece of music. But like many composers after the First World War, we are gonna have to adapt to the new way music is going to be made.