Well the summer season has begun, even though the Phoenix weather is still pretty cool (relatively speaking). The Spring Recital is over and my mind is beginning to move towards projects for the summer.

I recently was hired as the director of the Sunland Singers, a 35-member community choir in Mesa. We won't start the season officially until October, but I have been working with the librarian and starting to plan the repertoire for the fall. I was pleased when they contacted me about the job, because it fits nicely in with the other directing jobs I have: Church, Band, Orchestra, and now Choir.

Meanwhile, I am also thinking about repertoire for the Mesa City Band and the Silveridge Pops Orchestra. I have some ideas for music that I think will be fun to prepare next season.

I have lots of ideas for further compositions, and now I have the time to do them. I hope to have a new Mars piece finished soon--I've been tinkering with one for weeks now. I also have some new jazz piano pieces to polish up and post. Then there are some projects and pieces that are only beginning to form in my head. Hopefully I'll make the time to bring them into fruition.

Well, that's all for now. Happy Summer everyone!

April's been a busy month! I have a lot of music that I've written recently, and more yet to write this week. Towards the beginning of April I was writing music for a Taize service we were having at St. Mark's. Taize is a monastic tradition from France that uses Latin texts and a very acoustic and intimate style of music. Anyway, after getting the music written, copies made and the musicians rehearsed, the service went very well. In fact, so many of the people liked it that Fr Scott says we'll be doing another Taize service again. I'm looking forward to it.

Then, last week I began writing music for a worship retreat that my mother is organizing for her church. I like the songs I've written so far, and maybe I'll post a few of them on this website when I'm done. I'll be finishing all of the songs and recordings of the songs this week.

Also, I'm beginning to get myself, my fellow musicians and my students ready for my Perry Project Spring Recital on May 14th. I think it will be an even better concert than the one in December, so I'm really looking forward to it. I really like the music that we're doing.

And, on top of these things I'm busy keeping the Mesa City Band going until the end of our season in May. Our final concert of the season is May 2nd at Three Fountains Resort.

It's good to be busy! Anyway, I hope to get some more of my compositions up soon.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to a friend that I felt that I have been learning even more about my craft since leaving my job at the school. To my surprise this notion was met with sincere disbelief. I was told that they would have thought that, at this point in my career, there wouldn't be that much more to learn.

It's stuck in my head for a few reasons. On one hand, I have visited this notion before. But, I also wonder: what kind of professions are out there that can be said to be truly mastered at some point? Are there really any?

A favorite anecdote of mine is from Peter Boonshaft, who tells this story often when speaking, and also includes it as a preface to his book "Teaching Music With Purpose". He describes being a freshman in college at the opening convocation of his music school. He tells how he expected a band, orchestra or choir to open the ceremony. That would seem like a likely start for a year at a music school. However, instead he was surprised to see an old man hobble onto the stage "somewhere between 90 and 160 years of age. A little, unassuming old man who would become one of my greatest teachers."

The old man spoke then to the assembled freshman: "When I was twenty-one I knew everything. When I was thirty-one, I discovered I could learn a bit more about one or two things. When I was forty-one I realized there were a few things I didn't know." He went on like this for a while and ending by saying, "At seventy-one, I conceded there was more I didn't know than I did know. And now I stand here before you, at the age of eighty-one, confident that I don't know anything."

You might laugh. It's funny. It's also true. They say wisdom comes with age and if that's the case then wisdom must reveal what our intelligence lacks. What's more is that I feel that it's okay to not know everything. I don't mind telling a student that I don't know the answer to something. Frankly, it's silly to assume that I should.

I also believe it's okay to not do everything perfectly. I was playing a piano piece for a student the other day and I made a mistake. He was a sixth-grader and was eager to point it out to me. I think he was surprised when I agreed with him. Of all things, musicians should understand their imperfections. Of course, the notion that music should be perfect is a product of the over-consumption of recorded music... I'll save my rantings on that subject for another day. :-)

PS. The Mesa City Band has a big concert at the Mesa Arts Center next Wednesday night. It's a big deal for the group, for it's the first time we've been in that facility since it was built.  It's at the Piper Auditorium at the MAC from 7-8:30, Wed. March 9th.

I've been attending the annual AMEA in-service conference for the past seven years, and it's a great opportunity to experience the larger community of music educators in the state and beyond. In past years I've attended sessions by truly inspring musicians and educators, such as Peter Loel Boonshaft and Tim Lautzenheiser. What's more, at the conference I've also been privileged enough to meet great composers and conductors, such as Robert Sheldon and Thomas Bough, who are both guest clinicians this year.

But, even more than these great people, I am inspired by the music that is being made all around me, from all corners of our state. Today I saw a fantastic jazz band from Flowing Wells HS in Tucson and the Mountain Ridge HS Wind Ensemble performed an amazing Renaissance suite (Margolis's "Terpsichore" based on music by Praetorius) on authentic instruments. And yesterday's performance by Desert Vista HS really demonstrated how skillfully and musically high school students can really play. I congratulate the conductors and students that were a part of these fine groups.

The theme of the conference is Musical Advocacy. While this is a common theme of most arts events, there seems to be a particularly sobering pitch to the speakers' strains. I'd hate to live in a world where all of music education is capitalized into what can be best marketed to the public at large, but this seems to be the direction things are going. I'll refrain from getting on a soap box now, but suffice it to say that the future of music education (and maybe all education in America) looks pretty grim.

What's even more sad is that I personally know many music educators that believe that this conference, or any conference, isn't worth their time. This is sad to me because musicians and music educators tend to get locked into their own small worlds of students, rehearsals and concerts. There is nothing more invigorating and inspiring than getting out of the classroom or studio and seeing first-hand what the rest of the professionals in your field are doing. The moment that I think that I know 'Enough' about music or music education will be the moment that I have stopped becoming a better musician and educator. Hopefully that never happens.

Ah, you fickle Project. I had thought that I'd be posting my latest hymn tune this week ("Navy Hymn"-click for a gorgeous, if brief, performance) or even a new Mars piece ("Medusae Fossae"). But, alas, it was not meant to be.

Instead, I've been writing backing tracks that I can use at St. Mark's. My drummer has recently gone AWOL (and the bass player has been missing for months!). As much as I'd rather have a living body filling those roles, I've decided that I can't wait any longer. Unfortunately I don't have enough arms and hands to play all those parts by myself. Yet, with the wonders of modern technology, I can record myself playing bass and (synthesized) drums and then use them while I play live guitar during the church service. Today I demonstrated this for the rector at the church, who mightily approved (it does sound pretty good, if I say so myself).

Anyway, I've been busy programming Mainstage and writing drum patterns and recording bass lines. When I'm done I should be able to control a wide variety of backing tracks with foot switches (thanks to Apogee GiO). Once I get the basic rhythm tracks down, maybe I'll get really adventurous with some guitar leads or piano backings.

Honestly, it's been a ton of fun and I don't mind that I have temporarily shelved my other compositions. Besides, there's a good deal of composition that goes into writing these parts and this has been satisfying that particular itch.

Some related notes: Swing Memories is at the VFW this Saturday with two more swing gigs next week. Also, the Mesa City Band performs at Friendship Village next Tuesday (with my conducting debut!).

And for an unrelated note: I just discovered The Ministry of Shakespeare, a podcast where they explore different readings of Shakespeare. I only listened to the most recent episode, but it was very cool.

The New Year began on Saturday, but Monday was the first day of getting back into the rhythm that will carry us through 2011. Anali and I both ended our vacations; she went back to the library and I went back to my office and rehearsals. It felt good to get back, and I'm anxious to continue with many of my projects into the new year.

I have three new students starting this week, which I'm very pleased about. I have a new piece coming for Shades of Silver and String, as well as one for Sounds of a Sphere. And, of course, I am constantly toying with other ideas and projects--even I'm not entirely sure what will come to fruition over the next few weeks.

Overall I'm pleased with the way this Project has gone since I began in August. For my father's birthday I prepared a CD with many of my pieces and recordings and was pleasantly surprised to see how much music I had written and recorded.

On another note, I discovered yesterday at the Silveridge rehearsal that the Pops Orchestra has a website. Aside from some general info, there is a nice calendar showing our performances with links to maps. The flute section of the orchestra will be performing my arrangement of Haydn's String Quartet Op. 76 No. 5 II on Feb. 9th and I'll be playing alto flute (which I enjoy a lot!). I'm also very fond of that piece, so I'm looking forward to that performance in particular.

I have a friend, John, who has for some time now been trying to get me to come watch his jazz combo play. He plays bass, but in particular he told me that I needed to see the pianist in action. "He plays chords you wouldn't believe." I was very interested in going, but I hadn't gone for the longest time because they play Monday mornings from 9-11 and Mondays are very busy days for me, since I'm already in east Mesa at different rehearsals from 3-9pm.

However, after yet another invitation to come, I made the long trek to Viewpoint RV park yesterday morning. It's a typical double-wide trailer park--nothing fancy. The man at the gate was helpful and directed me to the activities center in the middle of the park. Then I found my way to a small ballroom called The Garden Room.

The Garden Room is a simple and small, yet pleasant ballroom. There is a garden motif painted on the walls that is attractive and somewhat homey; I liked the space very much. But what surprised me was that--at 9am, mind you--there were about 10 couples, dressed very nicely, dancing to lively jazz music. Someone later told me that they normally have more people attend their sessions, but many are out of town for the holidays.

But I didn't come to dance, but to hear some jazz. There on the small stage sat five men, most of them around 60 years old. The pianist, however, was in his 90s and looked pretty fragile as he sat at the instrument. Yet he played with confidence, strength and skill. After they finished the number they were playing I approached the stage and was introduced to everyone. I enjoyed watching them all play, but I was particularly interested in watching Ted, the pianist; I was hoping to learn something from him.

So I watched them do number after number that morning. They're all top-notch performers. Ted knew all the songs by heart and never looked at a single sheet of music the whole time. I watched his hands, his feet; I considered his changes, his solos, his chord voicings. I took in what I could and committed it to memory. I was inspired. He really was as great as I had been told.

One of the dancing couples danced up to me during one of the numbers and the man said, "So, you're here to watch 'The Boss'?" I assumed he was referring to Ted and I nodded. He continued, "He's good and he's been playing forever." Two understatements, to be sure. I didn't ask, but I don't think Ted goes by that nickname normally. I think that man was only showing some casual respect to Ted's knowledge and skill.

I'd like to go back someday, despite the long drive and the complications it makes to my Monday schedule. People who know Ted have told me that he might not be playing that much longer and I'm sure I can learn a lot from watching him some more.

What's more, it's kind of nice to know that there is live music and people who want to dance to it at 9am on any given Monday morning.

I've made the switch to hosting my scores at Sibelius Music. After some investigation, I'm convinced that this is the best way to go for now. They have a great collection of music and it is well organized, presented and maintained. I have been a long-time user of Sibelius, having used their software for composition since the first version of it came out in the late 90s.

Otherwise, there isn't a lot to report other than that there are a lot of projects that are underway. I've got new pieces for "Shades of Silver and String" and "Sounds of a Sphere", a new flute quartet (to be performed at one of the Silveridge orchestra concerts), as well as a new composition for concert band (to be performed at one of the Mesa Band concerts). My recital of students and friends (December 5th) is coming up and we're rehearsing a lot for that. Then, of course, there's the swing band, the concert band, the orchestra... Not to mention that Anali and I are attending the Phoenix Symphony this Friday for Dvorak's New World Symphony. It's a great mixture of composing, teaching, rehearsing, performing, and attending concerts--the five 'food groups' of any healthy musician's life.

Oh, right... Thanksgiving is tomorrow too.  :-)  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Last night we attended the Phoenix Symphony for their performance of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony. This in itself is nothing unique, for this piece is an excellent composition in the standard repertoire. However, director Michael Christie likes to introduce us to new things--something that I very much appreciate. So, (along with a funny little 'Salute' by John Corigliano) we were presented with Marcel Tyberg's "Completion of the Unfinished Symphony". This 20th century composition had never been performed before, and sadly Tyberg never even heard his composition played by a live orchestra.

Just a brief history: Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony was his 8th, and the reasons he left it unfinished are unknown. He had written sketches of a third movement and possibly even had intended writing a fourth (which would have made it a traditional symphony). However, he never orchestrated his sketches and the piece remained unfinished even as he wrote and completed his 9th symphony. It is unknown if he ever intended to return to it.  Either way he died six years after writing it. Anyway, Tyberg is one of a few people that has attempted to finish Schubert's 8th symphony. He studied Schubert's style extensively and attempted to write two final movements as Schubert would have written them.

If you've never heard Schubert's 8th, you should take a moment and give it a listen.  Likely you've heard it before because it is so memorably fantastic. If you haven't heard it before, it's likely that you will listen to it and think that you have heard it before--I believe that there is a class of music that is so excellent that even a first hearing will touch an emotional place in your heart and mind where other well-loved pieces of music reside. This is one of those pieces.

I applaud Christie for introducing us to new music. I also am grateful that he has introduced me to Marcel Tyberg, of whom I was previously unaware. He has a most fascinating life, from what I've read in the program last night and on Wikipedia. However, the two movements that Tyberg wrote to complete Schubert's 8th symphony are pale shadows of the greatness that the original two movements represent. I recognize that they are very much in the style of Schubert. They are also well composed and stand as fine pieces in their own right.  But, when juxtaposed to Schubert's originals they are most unsatisfying.

Don't let this stand as a judgement on Tyberg's compositional skills. In fact I very much wonder if, after Schubert wrote those original two movements, that even he felt that he couldn't write a satisfying conclusion to such excellent music. Personally I think this is the most likely answer to why he left them 'unfinished'. Part of the reason why it was always called "Unfinished" is that composers in Schubert's day insisted on following strict forms. Scholars and historians spent a lot of time justifying it's incompleteness. It was difficult for people to comprehend an orchestral piece that only had two movements and was complete in itself. Even Schubert may have been frustrated by the anomaly that his genius had produced. Today we don't even blink at the prospect of something as mundane as a two-movmement orchestral piece. After all, the opening of last night's concert had a piece for brass and kazoo choir. (Corigliano's 'Salute' -- I'm not kidding).

P.S. On another note: Swing Memories first concert was also yesterday and was a rousing success. We all played very well and, according to Anali, the audience was really into the music. (I was too busy playing to notice the audience much). It's hard not to move and tap your foot when listening to the likes of Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. P.P.S. Also, I played the WW2 songs for the Adult Center today--also successful and a lot of fun. I was told that I'd be asked to come back sometime. I said I'd be glad to do it.  :-)

For the past month and a half I've been sitting in with another swing band at Leisure World because their regular pianist has been out of town.  I enjoy the rehearsals because it gives more more opportunities to practice these big band pieces (which is especially helpful, considering Swing Memories' first concert is tomorrow!)  It's also a good opportunity to meet and learn from other jazz musicians who have been around for a long time.

It was at one of those rehearsals a few weeks ago that I was recently invited to play piano at the Mesa Active Adult Center for a sing-along group that meets every Friday.  Their normal pianist would be gone, so they needed a substitute for that day.  I was interested--especially because I love learning old songs.  Even so, I wanted to know what I was getting into, so I asked if I could come and watch before the date they needed me.  So I went last Friday on a scouting mission and I had no idea what to expect, but I showed up with an open mind.

First of all, Connie, their normal pianist, turned out to be blind.  But don't let that fool you: she was very good.  And I was especially impressed with her knowledge of these songs, which she pulled effortlessly from her memory.  Their theme was Irving Berlin songs, most of which I didn't know.  But these old timers knew them like I know Beatles tunes, and they were clearly having a lot of fun singing them.  I took a lyric sheet and joined in to the best of my ability.  In particular there was a sweet old couple sitting in the back that were smiling at each other as they sang the lyrics to the romantic songs.  They definitely don't make them like they used to...

All in all, it was a lot of fun.  There's nothing like making music to bring people together.  CD players just don't cut it.  Afterwards, the man who runs the group gave me a folder with two dozen songs in it to learn for this Friday.  I'm glad I got the music ahead of time; I only know a few of them and some of them are pretty complicated.  However, I've been checking out old movie clips on YouTube to get to know the songs and that's been fun.  Here's one I particularly like called September Song.  (Jimmy Durante is quite a character).

P.S.  Concert season is coming and I've been spending a great deal of my time these past few weeks rehearsing and practicing.  However, I haven't forgotten my compositions!  Another guitar and flute duet is almost done (titled Tune My Heart) and another HiRISE piece is underway (Russell's Velvet Dunes).  Anyway, I'm very interested in keeping up with those projects, so they'll be up as soon as they're done.