This past weekend I was in Memphis, TN for the 2014 Tennessee All-State conference. I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful students and teachers from Tennessee, as well as conductors of the all-state ensembles. The 11-12 (junior/senior) all-state band was premiering a new piece of mine titled "Journeys." The band was conducted by renown conductor Dr. John Lynch, who really brought the new piece to life along with a band of really strong young musicians. The students gave a fantastic performance in the Cannon Center on Saturday and it was an honor to be there with them! The day before, Friday, I gave a presentation at the conference titled "Working With Composers: Creative Ideas for Collaboration & Synergy." I had a nice group of participants who were teachers and students in TN, and we had a great time talking about ideas for interacting with composers. Also on Friday, the Ooltewah High School band performed "Goodnight, Goodnight" as part of their concert at TMEA. I had the opportunity to visit with them and tell them the story behind the piece. It was a lot of fun! Thanks to Joel Denton, Director of the Ooltewah band, and Rick Murphy who guest conducted the piece.
Thanks to everyone at TMEA who made my trip possible, and who made the all-state conference a wonderful experience for all! Here are a few pictures from the weekend: