NEW MUSIC: 2020
With the 2020 Midwest Clinic virtual conference kicking off today, I have some additional exciting announcements to share with you! Check it out:
LARGE ENSEMBLE
No new orchestral works this year, sadly, but two wind ensemble works are new, and newly published!
To kick things off, who says it's too early to start thinking about your 2021 Christmas holiday concert? Give this energetic and fun Grade 6 medley of public-domain Christmas tunes a listen - A Wild Christmas Nightcap is one wild, epic ride you won't soon forget. A perfect concert opener or closer.
Just published yesterday - my friend and colleague, composer extraordinaire Harrison J. Collins, has created an excellent transcription of my orchestral work The Floodgates of the Sky, now available for wind ensemble! This Grade 5 piece is based on the Noah's Ark story - specifically, the moment when the big storm arrives. My sincerest gratitude to Harrison for taking the time this year to create this excellent transcription of this piece.
FLEX BAND/ADAPTABLE ENSEMBLE
Here's the full catalog of my adaptable ensemble works currently available. More pieces are on the way next year, including an adaptable ensemble version of The Floodgates of the Sky (I'm not sure how many parts there will be yet for this one; we'll see what works).
You'll also notice several arrangements/transcriptions listed in the adaptable ensemble link above. Keep reading this blog post for the official announcement about this section of that page.
CHAMBER MUSIC
Two new chamber pieces are available!
All I Wonder was written for Sputter Box's miniatures project "Sputter (SHRINKS THE) Box," meant to create new music and help artists and composers during the pandemic. This piece is one such experience I had this year at the beginning of the pandemic. Sputter Box has created an album of this project - please consider buying it and supporting this fantastic group!
Before the pandemic began, the NASA 2020 Biennial Conference was able to happen last March at Arizona State University. Saxophonists Ben MacDonald and Matthew Hartson commissioned me to write them a new work for tenor saxophone and piano that would showcase the versatility and artistry of an instrument whose repertoire is continuing to now quickly grow.
Excursions is the result of this commission and is an abstract road trip of sorts through four different geographical landscapes.
OTHER NEWS
Two other announcements. First:
Back in 2018 - 2019, I collaborated with fantastic composers Kevin Day and Quinn Mason to create a new triptych for wind ensemble that examines, from an abstract perspective, the progression of a single day. Of Day and Night was commissioned by a consortium of wind ensembles and includes Kevin's vibrant Shimmering Sunshine (Grade 4), Quinn's gorgeous Across a Golden Sky (Grade 3), and my own manic work Midnight Skyline (Grade 5).
The consortium exclusivity for this triptych officially ends this year. Kevin, Quinn, and I will have more information available soon on where these pieces will be made available to the public.
The second announcement:
The sandbox of limitless possibilities offered by adaptable ensemble music was one of a few things which reinvigorated my compositional and creative, artistic spirit throughout the turmoils and challenges of this year. Including the three arrangements of my own music, plus one new composition that I've written (also published), I am so grateful to composers Kevin Day and Harrison J. Collins for entrusting me to arrange THEIR own music for this genre. It's been quite an honor, and a delight, to work with these three fantastic pieces and create new versions of this music beloved by audiences everywhere, now suitable for practically any type of performance situation.
The adaptable ensemble versions of Kevin's pieces Dancing Fire and Havana, and Harrison's piece O rose of May, are all now available and published through Murphy Music Press, LLC, as part of their latest series of flex band/adaptable ensemble music. I am extremely grateful to Sean Murphy for publishing these arrangements of Kevin and Harrison's wonderful music, as well as for his continued championing and support of new music and incredible composers.
I look forward to 2021, and the many exciting new experiences, opportunities, and adventures ahead.
May all of you have a wonderful, safe, and restful holiday season.
