ForrestWorks

Had an absolutely wonderful day today, meeting all the people at the main offices of Hal Leonard- from vice presidents to editors to designers, et al. I spent most of the day with Linda Rann and Keith Christopher, and then had a great time with Allen Pote and John Purifoy both at the reading session, and at a wonderful time of fellowship afterward.
They were all very very kind and gracious to me, flying me up here, treating me to some of Milwaukee’s best frozen custard, chauffeuring me around, putting me up in a great hotel, etc. But it’s been especially rewarding to get to hang out with these professionals, pick their brains about various things, and learn, learn, learn.

My two pieces seemed to go over well. I got to talk about each one a little bit, to the 250 people in attendance- I conducted the one, and played the piano accompaniment for the other. I got to meet several new friends afterward, too- some of whom I had only met electronically, and others who I had never met. It’s always encouraging and rewarding, when you sit in one place and dispense music, to discover that there really are people “out there” who are appreciating and using what you do.

Tomorrow I’m attending the Joy of Singing workshop in the morning, before heading back home in the afternoon/evening. Looking forward to both!

Long time no write! My apologies, although the silence was partly intentional, as I was trying to keep the Christmas Cantata release close to the top of my headlines during the annual church “choose your cantata” season. That season continues, but I need to start posting again, and keeping things updated. So if you haven’t heard about LORD OF GLORY, read the post that introduces it, below. If you have, here’s my news:
We’re well settled in Greenville- loving being back at our church here, loving our new home, and slowly easing back into BJU teaching- I’ve been doing a little work over there this summer, in between various projects around our new home (inside and out), house-guests, and some composing.

I’m busy preparing and lesson-planning for my courses for this fall at BJU- some of which are courses I’ve previously taught, and some of which are new. The one requiring the most preparation is Choral Writing and Arranging- a topic dear to my heart, but I’ve never thought through how I’d teach it, especially to 30 students at once! I’m enjoying putting the course together, though.

Composition-wise, this summer hasn’t been the period of voracious output that the last few summers have been, due to so many other things going on. Project updates:

• “Oread Farewell” (collaboration with Anthony Silvestri, commissioned by the University of Kansas) is finished, and has been submitted to the choral department at KU…I’m awaiting the head of the choral department finding time to listen to it and give me input…I’m hoping he loves it! It turned out to be about a 4 minute a cappella piece, without too much heavy divisi, and has a bittersweet wistfulness to it. It’s also one of the first pieces I’ve written in a tonal idiom that doesn’t seem to end on the tonal center- but the way it works, I think the last chord provides a better ending than “returning to home” would have…I’m still mulling over why that is…
• Three Nocturnes (Chorus and percussion ensemble) revision: I realized many awkwardnesses about the percussion plan and layout for the Nocturnes, once they were premiered. Several weeks ago, I sat down, put my brain in high gear, and tried to sort through the mess to find a better percussion plan (not re-scoring, mind you- just re-arranging “who plays what, when” to be as convenient and smooth as possible. After a few hours, I had a better plan- but then I had to go in and actually copy/paste/replace notes and staff styles all over the scores and parts. It felt like I was doing 4 brain transplants at once, and trying to keep everything straight. Whew! Thankfully, it’s done, and has been sent off to Hinshaw’s engraver. What a relief!
• BJU Band/Chorus commission: We’ve FINALLY settled on a style, and a general text, and I’m starting to gather a few ideas. At least it’s getting off the ground finally, even if just barely…
• I’ve written one choral anthem this summer: an arrangement of the beloved hymn The Love of God, for choir, piano, and solo violin. It was requested by Hal Leonard, and its creation was an unusual process for me- I worked closely with Keith Christopher (new head of Hal Leonard’s Church Choral Division) all through its creation. In the end, it worked out quite nicely, and we have an anthem that does what I wanted to do artistically, that also does exactly what Keith wanted, publishing-wise. It’ll be in print this fall…

Current projects include the BJU Band piece (of course), a church commission that’s still on the back burner, and an organ/brass version of Arise Shine.

This week, I’m heading up to Milwaukee for Hal Leonard’s Joy of Worship and Joy of Singing sessions. I’ve been invited to come present my most recent anthems at the Joy of Worship session, led by John Purifoy and Allen Pote. (By the way, Be Thou My Vision (Hal Leonard 2005) is currently listed as one of Hal Leonard’s best-sellers for 2006, on this page.) If you happen to be in the Milwaukee area, come on over for Tuesday night’s session, and I’ll be glad to meet you!

Next week, I’m attending the Hinshaw Celebration, where I’m presenting Words From Paradise…more on that later…