I’ll soon be starting work on a voice and chamber winds version of my newest song cycle, Six Little Songs. I wrote the songs for voice and piano a couple of years ago based on texts written by my wife Ashley. The chamber version will be scored for voice, piano, flute, 2 clarinets in Bb, bass clarinet in Bb and 1-2 percussionists. The piece was originally written with a soprano vocalist in mind, but the piece could be done with a baritone as well.
There is currently a consortium being organized by Trae Blanco, Director of Bands at Murray State University. If you are interested in being part of this project, please reach out to myself or Trae.
Here are details of the inspiration of each poem, from Ashley:
The Letters - a poem about the letters Steve and I wrote to each other the summer after we first met, when we were living on opposite sides of the country.
Academy Hill - a poem about a quiet hilltop park in the small Massachusetts town where we lived just after graduate school. (The place where Steve proposed.)
Orchard - a reflective poem about our visit to a small, family-owned apple orchard in Central Massachusetts one Sunday afternoon in early fall. It was a quiet, grey day, and the owners invited us to wander through the orchard as long as we liked.
Thanksgiving - a poem about our travels to visit Steve's family in Connecticut for our annual Thanksgiving gathering.
The Chase - a playful poem about the sun and the moon and a reflection on how fast time moves (especially when you’re in love).
The Man in the Moon - a poem about childhood memories and the mystery of a moonlit night.