There’s a nice write-up about the ASCAP (and BMI) Young Composer Awards in NewMusicBox, the online magazine of the American Music Center. I would have linked to it sooner but they had some problems with their link to my website. (I’ve gotten lots of hits from people who were looking for Ryan Gallagher!) But it’s fixed now. You can read it by clicking here.
By the way, my copy of Sibelius 4 (part of the ASCAP prize) is on its way…I’m anxious to try it out even though I’ll have to stay with Finale for my publishing work…
Also, I played my choral sketches for Arise, Shine! for Tracy Resseguie this week, and he’s fairly ecstatic about the piece (Whew!!!). As we talked about the piece, he said to me, “Dan, do you know what the difference between you and John Rutter is? You BELIEVE the texts you’re setting.” I was thinking about that later, and I’m really glad that my belief in Biblical texts as Truth is apparent- nothing could be more important for me.
Thought I’d post an update here on a few things, since I’m finding myself typing the same news to various friends these last few days:
- Vanguard Voices: There’s been a delay in their official announcement of the award on their website, but it should be posted fairly soon. I talked to Kevin the other day, and he explained the delay. He also mentioned that his choir “erupted” when he announced to them that I had won their contest- that was nice! Obviously, they’re great folks, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them all again.
- Arise, Shine! (for Carnegie Hall) is my current front-burner project, even though I’m simmering my dissertation. I had been trying to write Arise, Shine!, my dissertation, and my West Valley Chorale Commission all at the same time, and it wasn’t working. So I hope to get a rough draft of Arise, Shine! done as soon as possible, then focus on my dissertation for the rest of the summer, and let ideas for the West Valley piece start simmering so I can write it in the fall.
- Dissertation: My dissertation (which apparently I haven’t really described on here?) is a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra, entitled DE PROFUNDIS (Out of the Depths). It entails six movements, each of which is one of the Ascension Psalms (from Psalms 120-134, and I’m also using 137). The work as a whole will progress from the darkness and despair of captivity (literally, the Israelites in Babylon) to penitence, deliverance, and great rejoicing. I’m letting it simmer, right now.
- West Valley Chorale Commission: I’m leaning toward setting texts about heavens or the stars or the universe or something like that. The commission is for chorus and 4 percussionists, so it’ll be unique no matter what.
- Other projects: Since summer started (the last four weeks), I’ve edited and revised my entire Christmas Cantata with orchestration, written a new song for it and orchestrated it, written a setting of “Alas And Did My Savior Bleed” (AVON) which will be released by Hal Leonard this November, and revised my orchestration for “Thy Word Is Like A Garden, Lord” which will also be released by Hal Leonard this November. (That was all wrapped around trips to NYC/GA and Colorado!)
- I still have several other projects to do this summer, amidst the 3 big pieces, including writing a Hosanna before August publisher deadlines (it’s been trying to write itself for months, and I really want to get it on paper!), editing and writing piano reductions for the rest of Words From Paradise before July 15 for Hinshaw, writing a TTBB/TTBB double men’s chorus version of Amen from Words From Paradise, and revising my 2003 Violin Sonata for Brian Pinner’s graduate recital.
- Other projects that I’d like to do, but don’t have definite deadlines for, include: Writing a 4-hand piano accompaniment for “Make A Joyful Noise”, and pursue publishing it; writing a 4-hand piano accompaniment for “The Kings Breakfast” (2003 humorous a cappella choral piece; text by A.A. Milne, whose estate I’m pursuing permission from; it doesn’t work a cappella, but piano accomp may be the thing that brings it to life); writing several more songs for Kids 4 Truth; and sending several orphaned choral anthems to new publishers.
- Having said all that, I think I’d better stop talking about all this work, and go get something done!
I got a call today from Kevin Dewey, Artistic Director of the Vanguard Voices in Dearborn, Michigan. I won the Emerging Composers category of their 2006 Vanguard Premieres contest with my piece “You Are The Music” for choir, piano, solo soprano, and horn. It’s especially neat because I won an honorable mention in their last contest (with A Basque Lullaby), and so I’ve been to Dearborn (a Detroit suburb) and met and heard Kevin and his choir, before. This year’s contest was judged blindly, so Kevin was especially pleased when he told his secretary which piece won, and found out from her that Dan Forrest had written it.
(Note, the links above don’t yet mention the contest results; they’ll be posted next week, and I’ll provide a new link when it’s available.)
So we’ll be taking another trip to to Dearborn, this time in early June 2007, to hear the Vanguard Premieres concert. Next spring is looking pretty busy, with a trip to Carnegie Hall, a trip to Phoenix, AZ for the premiere of my West Valley Chorale commissioned piece, a trip to Greenville to house-hunt, moving to Greenville in May, and going to Michigan in June. I think I’ll be ready to settle in my new house, and stay put for a while, after all that!
The Lord has done great things, whereof we are glad…
