DOAC: 10.28.11

October 28, 2011 • Blog, Diary of a Composer • by
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Instead of going for the trumpet today, I went straight to the piano. As I was saying before, I’m working on a piece that is all tied together with a single theme. This can be a tough thing to do as it requires a discipline over a long period of time that, honestly, is a challenge for me. I’ve noticed over the years that I have trouble with very focused structures like this. Perhaps I will finally win the “long form” contest.

So, today I tried to just write a piece, and if I end up liking it, then I’ll keep it and just call something from the piece “the one theme to rule them all” rather than trying to come up with this magic sequence of noises before I really know what the piece is going to sound like. I made some progress on a first piece for the suite, so we’ll see if I keep all of it and pull something out of it that will be useful in the next piece.

On another note, I was ordering more of my favorite manuscript paper, and it turns out that I ordered the big size, about 12×18″, with 18 staves on each page. This sort of thing is really great from writing large ensemble music, but for my quintet its a bit on the large side. But then I remembered one of my favorite poets, Robert Creeley, who was talking about his writing process. He said that when he was writing a novel, as opposed to his short poems that he’s known for, he had to switch to a different size paper. I’ll dig up the quote later, but it made me feel that perhaps I was destined to buy big paper so I can write a bigger piece! I don’t know, I guess it makes sense to me.

Off to rehearsal with James Ilgenfritz for his “The Ticket that Exploded” at the Issue Project Room.

DOAC 10.26.11

October 26, 2011 • Blog, Diary of a Composer, Essay • by
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Began actually working on this piece in earnest, after thinking about it for several months. I decided to start improvising with some themes and played trumpet for about an hour, sometimes going to the piano and sometimes opening the refrigerator and looking inside for something, but mostly playing things on the trumpet. Read More…

Diary of a Composer

October 24, 2011 • Diary of a Composer • by
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This a sweet mechanical drafting pencil that I use. It's sweet.

Welcome to the first post of this blogging project.

As you may or may not know already, I was the very proud and very surprised recipient of a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant in 2011. This is a great program which includes as its centerpiece a commission for a new, large-scale work for a small jazz group. When I first found out about the NJW grant I knew that it was perfect for my group. The grant supports an ensemble that has worked together with the same core musicians for at least two years, and AnyWhen Ensemble fits this bill perfectly. We had only been together a year at that point, so I waited until the next year, then I applied. It was my first application, so I feel very lucky to have been chosen as a recipient on my first go-round, though it certainly wasn’t my first application to a grant. I’ve gotten plenty of rejection letters, and will continue to get them. This was the first big one that I had gotten. Hopefully I’ll get more, but I’m not going to hold my breath. Composing for money is nice and a great honor in this case, but I’ve composed for free before and won’t hesitate to do it again. Read More…

Performing With the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the music of Christian Wolff

October 21, 2011 • Blog • by
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I’ll be performing With the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, performing the music of Christian Wolff at 6 events at the Park Avenue Armory with the incredible Robyn Shulkowsky and Joey Baron. I’m thrilled to have this incredible opportunity. The Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Christian Wolff are both legendary to me. MCDC is an institution that will be sorely missed, but the farewell tour it has put together for this year is a truly incredible collection of events. I wish I could have all of you attend, but the events are already sold out! I’ll be sure to write about this experience after the fact, but until then, I’ve got some practicing to do!
Location: The Park Avenue Armory
Link out: Click here
Description: Park Avenue Armory Events
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Arranged by Robert Swinston
Music by David Behrman, John King, Takehisa Kosugi, and Christian Wolf
Décor by Daniel Arsham

The Merce Cunningham Dance Company returns to New York City—its home since its founding in 1953—for six historic final performances at the Armory, culminating a two-year farewell Legacy Tour that brought the Company to more than 50 destinations worldwide. For this last engagement, the Company will perform a series of Events created especially for the occasion across three stages in the Armory’s dramatic drill hall. The Company has mounted these signature site-specific choreographic collages in unusual locations around the world throughout its nearly 60-year history, including two previous engagements in the Armory’s drill hall, a 1983 performance and the 2009 public memorial for the legendary dancer and choreographer. The Park Avenue Armory Events will feature the last-ever music commission by the MCDC Music Committee and a specially commissioned décor by visual artist Daniel Arsham, who will fill the drill hall with massive suspended “clouds” comprised of thousands of individual colored spheres. This momentous engagement marks the final opportunity for audiences to experience first-hand the work of Merce Cunningham as performed by the Company he personally trained and to celebrate Cunningham’s lifetime of creative achievement with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company before it disbands.
(from Armoryonpark.org)
Start Date: 2011-12-29
Start Time: 18:30
End Date: 2011-12-31

Kenny Wheeler

October 21, 2011 • Blog • by
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I published two pieces about Kenny Wheeler on the Festival of New Trumpet Blog at fontmusic.org. I’ve been volunteering for the festival since earlier this year, and I’ve been incredibly impressed with the people I’ve worked with so far. Taylor Ho Bynum, Rich Johnson and of course Dave Douglas, the festival’s founder and president, are all fantastic people to work with, and I look forward to getting even more involved in the festival. I haven’t met the board yet, but I anticipate that all the same things will apply to them as well. FONT has brought Kenny Wheeler to New York in order to perform his music and honor him for his achievements as both a trumpet player and a composer.

The first piece is a profile of Kenny’s career, meant to give context to his visit to New York for those who may not be very familiar with his large and diverse discography. For those who are fans of this veteran trumpeter, hopefully there will be some new information as well. The second piece is an interview with Nick Smart, a trumpeter, friend and student of Kenny’s. He has developed a special relationship with Kenny that is evident in how he talks about him. Enjoy!

Kenny Wheeler: Profile of an Incredible Career

On Kenny Wheeler: Interview with Nick Smart