Sunday, August 5, 2012

Upcoming Performances by SoundProof Ensemble

The performance ensemble SoundProof (Patricia Strange, violin; Stephen Ruppenthal, trumpet; Brian Belet, viola and electronics) will include my new one-minute composition Impervious, written specifically for the ensemble, on the "15 Minutes of Fame" portion of their Fall 2012 Midwest Tour. The competition was hosted by Vox Novus.
I crammed a lot of music into my one minute. Impervious is the single climactic arc of an obsessive, asymmetrical rhythmic idea. Electronics were based on my voice and processed using Pure Data and SoundHack, plus analog synthesis. The trumpet is featured in half-valve, growl, and wah-wah effects, while the violin and viola use whispering sul ponticello technique.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Definiens plays my Tangle in L.A.

Kudos and gratitude to the Definiens Project in Los Angeles for their July 1 premiere of my Tangle: An Off-Kilter Tango for flute, English horn, violin and cello. I have to say I'm thrilled with the results; they really played it beautifully! The performance was at Hope UMC in Torrance, CA. You can see the video here
The Definiens Project have been great friends and allies, promoting and repeatedly performing my Blugue for reed trio and now giving the premiere of this newest of my chamber pieces.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Early album preview!

Here's a very early preview of the Fairy Tale album, courtesy of SoundCloud.

You can listen to a brief excerpt of the very end of the chamber piece (rough mix), plus two very fun remixes, all here!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Fairy Tale session's best takes

Since composing the chamber piece Fairy Tale a few years ago, I've dreamed of making it the centerpiece of an album, to be framed by remixes of the various movements.

On January 22 I took a big step toward making it a reality. That was the date of a recording session with a dream line-up of players: flutist Marissa LaBant, guitarist Mark Edwards, percussionist Patrick Roulet, and cellist Caleb Vaughn-Jones, engineered and co-produced by Ed Tetreault at The Peabody Conservatory.

Now that spring semester is ending, I am selecting the best takes from that session, and having a blast as I begin to create remixes. More news soon.