My grad students and I recently went to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform John Adams’ new opera, Dr. Atomic. It was a splendid performance in every way, but the best part was, thanks to Mark Buller’s insistence, we ended up seeking out Adams and found him afterward, getting to congratulate him, shake his hand, and getting this picture with him! (Minimalism fans, be sure to sit down before clicking on the thumbnail image!)
In Remembrance, a book of late intermediate reflectivepiano solos appropriate for communion or offertories, is now available from Soundforth Music. Additionally, mp3s of performances of the pieces can be downloaded from SacredAudio.com. I think there will be a CD forthcoming, as well, but for now the book and mp3s are available.
Also, But By Love (Beckenhorst Press) and Here Is Love (Hal Leonard) are now in print. Click on the Church Choral tab for more information and sound files.
The USC Concert Choir performance Monday night in Anderson, SC was superb- they demonstrated a great ability at handling a wide variety of styles, from processional chant to Russian orthodox tone to improvised spirituals to….Arise Shine! Their program was entitled “Arise Shine” and their singing of it justified it- they handled it wonderfully, with huge power in the big sections, clean tuning on dissonances, and a wonderful sense of flexible tempo that lingered on just the right places. Congrats to all of you!
Meanwhile, the How Firm A Foundation orchestral version was premiered by almost 650 people, I’m told (by Howard Helvey, who was there!)- an orchestra of 45 and a choir of 600! That sounds almost Mahlerian! I’m looking forward to a recording to see how it went…
Tomorrow night (Monday Nov 24) I’ll be in Anderson for the USC Chorale Tour’s performance of Arise, Shine. A couple friends of mine are in the choir, so it’ll be good to see them, too.
My new setting of How Firm A Foundation (Hinshaw Music, Jan. 2009) will be premiered in its orchestrally-accompanied version, Nov. 23 at the final concert of the Southern Sacred Music Workshop and Hymn Festival at The University of Southern Mississippi, with Dr. Greg Fuller (head of choral activities at the U. of Southern Mississippi) conducting a mass festival choir. (Wish I could be there to hear it!) The event features K. Lee Scott, Howard Helvey, Carolyn Hamlin, and Benjamin Harlan, but my piece will be in Carolyn Hamlin’s section, since the piece was commissioned by her church in honor of her 50th anniversary as organist.
Also, There Is Faint Music, which was commissioned by Daniel Baldwin and the Santana School District in Satanta, KS, will be premiered in the coming weeks. There will be a performance Nov. 30 at Daniel’s church, and then his school choir will premiere it on Dec 2. Also, the BJU Glyric choir (here at home) will perform it in their Christmas concert on Dec 4.
Upcoming performances include USC’s Concert Choir singing Arise Shine on their Fall Tour- I hope to attend the Nov 24 performance in Anderson, SC….and also the premiere of the Choir and Orchestra version of How Firm A Foundation at the Southern Hymn Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi, led by Dr Greg Fuller, Nov. 23.
As far as past performances: my dear wife started poking around YouTube, the other day, looking for various pieces of mine, and she came up with this list- a smattering of performances from big to small, American to Asian, sacred to secular. Some performances may be more elegant than others, and yet how thrilling it is to see and hear people from all over, of all ages, from all walks of life, joining in this music-making…
Singaporean choir singing Basque Lullaby…
Another Basque Lullaby…
Nocturnes excerpt, with slideshow of night sky images…
North Park University singing Arise Shine..
Everglades Legacy Vocal Ensemble singing A Basque Lullaby…
