2008

December 18

BACK FROM RESIDENCY

The residency at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center was a great success, and I want to give a special "thank you" to everyone in New York Mills, MN who contributed to making this residency possible Heather, Lynn, Trisha, Dennis, and too many others to name!

While I was in Minnesota, I was able to do a tremendous amount of composing. I finished up a short sonatina for piano, and I made a huge dent in my piano concerto. I also did several outreach programs teaching elementary school children how to listen to classical music. To see photos from this residency, click here.

The next residency will be at Banff (Alberta, Canada) from January through March.

Happy Holidays to everyone! May you all find time to enjoy this blessed season.

October 27

MODERN DAY HEXAMERON

In 1837, Princess Belgiojoso commissioned six composers to write a set of variations on "March of the Puritans" from Bellini's opera "I Puritani." Commissioned were Liszt, Chopin, Czerny, Thalberg (Liszt's chief rival), Nerz, and Pixis. It's a fun piece, highly virtuosic, and quite unique.

In 2007, pianist Kai Schumacher commissioned twelve composers to collaborate in a similar fassion. It's a rather eclectic group of composers including, in addition to myself, Pierre Jalbert, Marc Mellits, Danny Felsenfeld, Ken Ueno, David Jarrett, David Rakowski, Robert Carl, and Christopher Biggs. The piece will get it's first performance in January at the Folkwang-Hochschule. Visit upcoming concerts for more details.

September 27

NORBY RECORDING ANNOUNCED

The Adventures of Norby was selected to be released on the "Music from SEAMUS" CD series early in 2009. I would like to thank the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in NYC for funding this recording! Check back soon for more information.

Also be sure to check my upcoming concerts page as I have new up-to-date information regarding my programs in Colorado and Bowling Green.

January 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope this new year has found everyone well. I was able to spend a few days in Oregon with my wife's family, and I greatly relished the time off. The Christmas Season is truly my favorite time of the year, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to spend it with so many people I love.

DVD for Sale

My previously advertised DVD is for sale now, and if you haven't done so already, I strongly encourage everyone to purchase this exclusive recording. This DVD Video is being sold as a fundraiser to help raise money for my upcoming solo album (The Piano Music of Frederic Rzewski) on Bridge Records. It's my goal for this new year to get this CD released, and your purchase of this DVD will help that goal become reality as all the money raised from the sales go directly into the project.

The DVD includes three recent live performances:

1. Rzewski: De Profundis (a sneak peak at one of the major works to be included on the Bridge CD) [Recorded 2007]
2. Ives: Emerson Concerto with the Ives Festival Orchestra [Recorded 2005]
3. McConnell: Concerto for Toy Piano with the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra [Recorded 2005]

There are also three special features included: an Ives featurette, an exlusive interview with composer Matthew McConnell, and excerpts from a live lecture I gave regarding the music of Rzewski.

Each DVD sells for $30 plus $5 shipping per order. For more information or to order your DVD now, click here.

More Video

I recently posted a video of myself playing Henry Cowell's Tiger on YouTube. You can view that video either on YouTube or on my recordings page.