Reflections on TMEA 2020

This year I was fortunate to attend my first TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association Convention), held in San Antonio. The stars aligned and I had a total of five performances (?!?) at the convention, including one world premiere.

Music education is Texas is an inspiring thing to see. The amount of dedicated teachers, the size of the audiences, the enthusiasm for music - it’s amazing.. Here is a quick rundown of my performances that took place at TMEA this year:

The Sam Houston State University Wind Ensemble premiered “Lamentation for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble.” Irving Ray, Euphoniumist in the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” was the soloist in this new work written in memory of his older brother Isaiah. Brian Gibbs conducted the wonderful SHSU students in a moving performance that capped one of the most rewarding collaborations I have been a part of. The audience was huge and encouraging, cheering on the students before they even began their first piece!

The Baylor University Wind Ensemble, directed by Eric Wilson, performed “Into the Silent Land.” I had the pleasure of working with the ensemble in a short rehearsal the day of the concert, and was blown away by the musicality of this ensemble. Their concert was packed and the final piece on the program was Omar Thomas’s “Come Sunday.” The audience was cheering throughout the piece as sections of the ensemble stood for featured moments. I have never been to a wind ensemble concert that had that much energy from the audience - it was incredible.

The Texas ATSSB All-State Symphonic Band (Association of Texas Small School Bands), conducted by Eugene Corporon, performed “Magnolia Star.” I had the chance to visit a rehearsal with the ensemble and hear them play. They were cookin’ on this piece! It was an honor to be on their program.

The Texas Community College Band Directors Association (TCCBDA) All-State Symphonic Band, conducted by Sarah McKoin performed “Into the Silent Land.” I visited with the group in a rehearsal and had a wonderful time not only listening to them make beautiful music, but also answering questions they had about the piece and other topics. It was a great experience.

Finally, the Texas 6a All-State Concert Band, conducted by Robert Ambrose performed “Magnolia Star.” It was so much fun to stand in front of this group of students and hear them play. The sound was glorious! I had the chance to meet many of the players and their families after the performance and the whole experience was really inspiring.

THANK YOU to all of the conductors and performers who brought this music to life. What an amazing time - thank you Texas!

"Entrata" Now Available

Entrata is a new work for wind band (grade 4+) that was recently premiered by the Florida 9-10 All-State Band, conducted by David Ragsdale.

It was a special performance, as the piece was written in honor of Gary Green, who was in attendance at the premiere. And David Ragsdale was a conducting student of Mr. Green’s. The piece was commissioned by a consortium of Mr. Green’s students.

The piece is now available here.

Here are the program notes for the piece, which provide some more insight into the work:

Entrata is a gift for conductor and teacher Gary Green from his students. For 22 years, Mr. Green was the conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the University of Miami, inspiring countless student performers who played under his leadership, and conductors who trained under his mentorship.

I was fortunate to play saxophone in the Wind Ensemble under Mr. Green's direction when I was an undergraduate student studying composition. During this time, I was introduced to an incredible variety of music, and began to develop an interest in writing for the wind ensemble. I learned from numerous guest composers through the wind ensemble - one memorable highlight was playing in the East-Coast premiere of David Maslanka's Mass.

In 2018, Mr. Green gave me a print of a photograph he had taken of the entrance to a church in Savannah, Georgia. The striking photograph has many interesting features, and shortly after I received it, I knew I wanted to write a piece inspired by the scene. The church appears somewhat dark and mysterious, with a stone facade and arched stained glass windows. Two items in the photograph immediately caught my imagination: First, there are beams of light streaming down from the sky, above the church. Second, the doors of the church seem to be ever-so-slightly ajar. It’s a beautiful and captivating photograph.

Entrata, Italian for entrance, is a nod to the doors in the photograph that are cracked open - mysterious and intriguing. Much of the music is inspired by “Third Mode Melody,” a haunting tune written by English composer Thomas Tallis in 1561. Around the same time that I began brainstorming ideas for this piece, I sang “Third Mode Melody” in a choir, and found the melody and harmonies lingering with me for weeks. Its mysterious and haunting sounds seemed like apt inspiration for this piece.  

The first half of the piece draws inspiration from the open doors in Gary Green’s photograph. In the second half of the piece, I tried to capture the beams of light shining down from above. And then at the end of the work, we return to the open doors, and finally enter through the darkened doorway to find what mysteries lie within.

New Project: Six Little Songs for Voice & Chamber Winds

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.

, ,

New Commission: Work in Honor of South Shore Conservatory's 50th Anniversary

, ,

I’m excited to announce a new commission project! I will be writing a new wind ensemble work to be premiered in July 2020 at the South Shore Conservatory in Boston, MA. The piece will celebrate the conservatory’s 50th anniversary. I can’t wait to work with the conservatory students and their director Eric Laprade!

New Commission: Work for Euphonium & Wind Ensemble

I’m currently working on a new commission for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble, a project being led by Sam Houston State University. The work is being commissioned in memory of Isaiah Ray, a Euphonium player and alum of SHSU who tragically passed away in 2006.

Isaiah’s younger brother Irving, now a Euphoniumist with the U.S. Army Band “Perishing’s Own” will be the soloist. Quite an amazing story that Irving, also a Euphonium player, has gone on to be a Euphoniumist with the Perishing’s Own.

The music is lyrical and reflective and I’m enjoying the process of thinking about interesting timbres that can be realized between Euphonium, winds and percussion. Stay tuned for more!

The work will be premiered at SHSU in early February, followed by a performance at TMEA.

"Six Little Songs" for Voice and Piano Now Available!

I’m excited to share my latest song cycle - Six Little Songs! These six songs are settings of short, whimsical poems written by my wife, Ashley. Listen to four of the songs below, and click here to view the score and read more about the work.

The Man in the Moon - a poem about childhood memories and the mystery of a moonlit night.

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.

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.)

"Winter Song" for Chamber Winds & Solo Flute Now Available

Winter Song, for solo flute and chamber winds, was recently premiered at Sam Houston State University with conductor Brian Gibbs and solo flutist Kathryn Daniel. The work is based on one of my favorite sonorities - the major 7th chord.

Throughout the piece, I use different voicings of the chord to create harmonies and textures that are sometimes stark, and other times beautiful, reflecting the varying landscapes of winter.

There is much stillness and starkness in the music throughout, but at times the music grows intense and dramatic, especially as the work leads to a climax in the middle of the piece. After this point, we hear the beginnings of a familiar bird call (the black capped Chickadee), perhaps a sign of spring. The quiet and stark music begins to grow warmer at the end, hinting at the gradual relenting of winter and the unfolding of spring.

Listen, view score, and purchase here >>

Free Teacher's Guide & Student Workbook Now Available for Street-Wise Professor Book

For the 2nd Edition of Lessons from a Street-Wise Professor: What You Won’t Learn at Most Music Schools, lead author Ray Ricker and I developed a FREE teacher’s guide and student workbook to accompany the book (both available below). Find out more about the book and read testimonials here, and purchase from Amazon here.

teacher%27s+guide+cover.jpg

Having used this book in our classes at the Eastman School of Music, we have developed a wealth of in-class activities and assignments that we are sharing here. Our goal is to save teachers time and provide some tried and tested ideas that we know are effective and that students find helpful. The Teacher's Guide includes 18 topics taken directly from the 2nd edition of the book, and has suggested page readings, in-class activities, and assignments for each topic. 

student+workbook+cover.jpg

We’ve created a FREE student workbook that has prompts and brainstorming space to help guide students through the self-reflection parts of the book. 

Download your free copy >>