After a reading session with the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble, Spinning Yarns was selected as a winner of the USC New Music for Wind Ensemble Competition adjudicated by conductors H. Robert Reynolds and Sharon Lavery and Thornton composition faculty members Donald Crockett and Frank Ticheli. The USC Thornton Wind Ensemble will perform the piece sometime during the 2015-2016 academic year on one of the regularly scheduled wind ensemble concerts in Bovard Auditorium at the University of Southern California.
I was one of three composers invited to participate in the 2015 National Band Association Young Composer Mentor Project, which will be held in mid-June at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. During the program, "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and a talented young conductor (TBA) will rehearse and premiere Spinning Yarns on a concert on June 16 in Washington, DC. I'm elated.
I've just finished up a terrific four days at the RED NOTE New Music Festival Composers Workshop held at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. As one of eight participants, I had a lesson with Steven Stucky, gave a presentation on Short Stories, and had a piece rehearsed and premiered by the fabulous City of Tomorrow Wind Quintet. A big thank you to Carl Schimmel for running a very smooth festival.
The City of Tomorrow performed Word Salads Wednesday night on a joint recital with the Momenta Quartet. (Half the composer participants wrote string quartets, and half wrote wind quintets.) The wind quintet is a tricky yet awesome ensemble, and these guys gave a wonderful performance of my music. I can't wait to share the recording. |