Time-management here is fixed. There are exactly three things I can be doing in any given period: 1) Compose 2) Maintain my publishing/composer “business” 3) Be with my family #1 is a bit more than just the actual time it takes to write; it’s inclusive of the months of research and Thinking About a Piece [...]
Category Archives: commentary
Two out of three
19-Nov-10American Muse Me
10-Aug-10You’re following my ridiculous Twitter project, right? Read along with me! And while Bill Schuman spins dramatically in his grave, at least we’ll be having a good time.
All the news that’s fit to e-mail
06-Aug-10I’ve been tardy with posts, so if you didn’t already receive one (and let’s face it, you, and 1100 of your closest friends, probably did), you can read through the latest Newman Newsletter to get the gist of what’s been going on. If you’d like to join the mailing list, there’s a handy link in [...]
Ugly American
16-Jun-10Leavin’ on a jet plane, for the Hochzeit in the Alps, starring Steve Bryant and the Divine Dr. Verena Mosenbichler. (My fancy Google phone won’t let me do umlauts, sorry Frau Doktor.) I’ve brought along all my manuscripts for Sowing Useful Truths and plan on continuing work in the infrequent breaks between parties. Nothing new [...]
21st Century Symphony
07-Jun-10On the arts think tank website The Loose Filter Project, carve out some minutes and dive headlong into The 21st Century Symphony, or, “Why Stuart Sims is Awesome.” I recommend first watching the video of Stuart’s brilliant lecture on my piece, including live examples with the ensemble. (I learned a lot myself.) It was one [...]
The List
28-May-10Every year around now I submit my “ASCAP+” application, which is, for all intents and purposes, a simple listing of any performance, any recording released, any award, and any piece you’ve written during the past concert season. I’ve written about this before, but the issues this particular activity drudges up will never be resolved. One [...]
More from Kurashiki
21-May-10In 2008 I went to Japan for the Japan Wind Ensemble Conductors Conference‘s premiere of Climbing Parnassus. When I returned to the U.S., I found an e-mail waiting for me from Jim Ripley, a conductor in Kenosha, WI. Jim introduced himself as not only the Director of Instrumental Activities at Carthage College there, but also [...]
Just try and guess
18-May-10I have an exciting premiere at Tanglewood on July 30, so as I just finished Hila’s arrangement, and a euphonium sonata, I’m scrambling here to get the piece off the ground. As usual, in the beginning of sketching a piece, I do quite a bit of listening and score study. For a couple of reasons, [...]
WordPressed
13-May-10In order to avoid Google’s recent removal of ftp-publishing from the blogging game, I’ve imported these pages to a WordPress database, and took the opportunity to refresh the look and liven things up a bit. Dragging this site into the 2nd decade of the century means including such goodies as Twitter and Facebook feeds, mirroring [...]
The Specifics
23-Nov-10Dear Directors and Conductors, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and the 2011 Japan Wind Ensemble Conductors Conference is looking for a U.S. commissioning partner, for a piece for women’s chorus and chamber orchestra, premiering in Kawasaki City Japan on March 27, 2011. The work will set the text of contemporary New York City poet Marcella Durand. [...]