saxophone

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Residency at University of Central Florida: Recap and Pictures

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This past week, I had the privilege of visiting the University of Central Florida and working with the UCF Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Chung Park. The orchestra premiered two new pieces of mine - Vermont State Fair and Winter Song - on two concerts.

On Friday, February 20th, the orchestra presented an open rehearsal for an audience of several hundred people at St. Luke’s Church in Oviedo.  The first concert was held at St. Luke’s Church on Saturday, February 21st, and on February 22nd, the orchestra traveled to Leesburg, FL to present the program at Hawthorne at Leesburg.  Between all these events, about 2,000 people heard this brand new music! 

In addition to working with the orchestra, I had a great time meeting composition students at UCF and presenting a short talk featuring career tips for composers.

Here are a few pictures from the events:

 

Thanks so much to Chung Park and the UCF composition faculty for having me, and George Weremchuk and the students of the Symphony Orchestra for performing my music!

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Hearing "Filled With His Voice" Live

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It is always exciting to attend performances of my music in person, and occasionally this happens in the Rochester area, where I live. This past weekend, Dr. Jared Chase led a performance of “Filled With His Voice” with a mass choir consisting of several Rochester-area church choirs. It was wonderful to hear the rich sound of 60 or so voices singing this piece, along with beautiful saxophone playing by Dr. Chisato Eda Marling and piano playing by Alex Kuczynski. Thanks so much to all who were involved!

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Bethel College Concert Choir Performs "Filled With His Voice" Tomorrow at KMEA

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In 2012, Dr. William Eash and the Bethel College Concert Choir (North Newton, KS) commissioned Filled With His Voice for mixed choir, saxophone, and piano.  They have since performed the piece several times and will be including the work on their program tomorrow at the Kansas Music Educators Association Conference.  Best wishes to Dr. Eash and the choir for a great experience at KMEA! When: February 21, 2013 - 2:35 PM Where: Century II MJT Little Theater, Wichita, KS More details: See a full schedule of KMEA here

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New Commission - Choir, Saxophone & Piano

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I'm excited to announce a new commission which has just been finalized and that I am writing this summer.  Dr. William Eash and the Bethel College Choir are commissioning  a new piece for choir, saxophone, and piano!  I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Eash and the Bethel Choir, and also to include saxophone (near and dear to my heart!) in this piece.  The text we decided on is below.  I have been thinking about ideas for the piece for a few weeks and have a good idea of the general structure and to some extent the roles of the various forces (men, women, saxophone, piano).  Yesterday I got to spend a bit of time working on the piece in one of my favorite spots - the basement of the Eastman annex building! Stay tuned for more details about this piece! O thou, in whose presence

O thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight, on whom in affliction I call, my comfort by day, and my song in the night, my hope, my salvation, my all;

Where dost thou, dear Shepherd, resort with thy sheep? to feed in the pastures of love? Say, why in the valley of death should I weep, or lone in the wilderness rove?

Oh, why should I wander an alien from thee, or cry in the desert for bread? Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see, and smile at the tears I have shed.

He looks, and ten thou-sands of angels rejoice, and myriads wait for his word. He speaks, and eternity filled with his voice, reechoes the praise of the Lord.