studio recording of bullet time

Here is a picture, taken by photographer Michael Wilson, of one of the cello parts in Boulez's "Messagesquisse," one of my absolute favorite pieces of music because it kicks ass. It was taken during concert:nova's "Cello Portraits," their concert featuring the cello ensemble. Obviously, I was thrilled they performed this piece.

Why am I mentioning this? I studied this score a little too much, I must admit. But I couldn't put it down. I had to check out the score multiple times from the library.

The result of this obsession "Bullet Time" for 9 violas, although I conceived my piece before I discovered this one. Listen to this with headphones.

composer FAIL #19

Maybe I sound like an bratty young composer, but I am now flat-out umbrageous when I receive a rejection letter via regular post. This wastes resources (in more ways than one), is unsustainable, AND further squanders my time because I have to trek to my office so I can scan this bloody thing. (I did have to trek to the office anyway so I could concoct a syllabus, but still.)

orchestrating with hannah the cat

Lindsay Lohan on my opera sketches and snoring. Loudly.

This post will certainly augment my cat-lady status, for I'm about to show you a video of someone else's cat.

I have been cat sitting lately (it is the winter holidays) and I thought I'd orchestrate Flight 710 while I was cat sitting because (1) my teacher thought it would be a good idea and (2) my composition student gave me a picture of James Brown for Christmas.

oh, i'm david bowie

Here's one of my favorite holiday videos (another being this one). They make the scenario seem so...natural...

william bolcom's first symphony for band

One of my favorite highlights of The Midwest Clinic was a performance of Bolcom's Symphony No. 1 for Band (2008) performed by The President's Own United States Marine Band.

I thought I missed this ensemble because they had a concert on Wednesday night, and since I arrived late Wednesday night, I didn't want to venture into town that evening. I merely read about the Wednesday night concerts via my friends's Facebook statuses, so when I found out The President's Own was performing again, I was elated. Plus they would be having a clinic with Bolcom himself discussing his piece before they performed the whole piece. Joyous.

from chicago

Sometimes I realize this blog is more work than silly hobby when I wake up this morning (waaaaaaaay past the time I meant to get up) and think, "It's Monday! I should have a blog post up by 9 AM!" and I didn't write one the night before.

So today I'm posting a video that I took from my non-iphone taking the Metra train into Chicago superimposed with a song I wrote in 2007. Enjoy.

composer FAIL #18

Wow, what a great couple of days at the Midwest Clinic. I heard The President's Own perform William Bolcom's "First Symphony for Band" (awesome), accidentally ran into Alex Shapiro working the BandQuest booth (!!!), and I finally got to meet John Mackey (it's about time), all while in Chicago and not completely freezing my bum off. I'll be writing about my observations and impressions in the next few posts, but first:

midwest clinic

If you're reading this, know that I'm happily on the road to Chicago, home of the Midwest Clinic. I'm finally able to attend this year: I was able to find a place to stay and someone to feed my kitties Lindsay Lohan and Coco Chanel.

(Yes, we have decided to give Coco a last name to match Lindsay's. As my love put it, it's like having high art and low art in the same household.)

I'm looking forward to this trip and the conference. I will be meeting up with friends and I will finally get to meet John Mackey, cool composer and writer of the most infamous blog post subtitled Band vs. Orchestra. Best. Post. Ever.

For this six-hour drive, I thought it would be fun to listen to some Patsy Cline. It's for a project.

the bocce ball reinstated!

(Tyler Niemeyer, percussion)

Is it bad that I always giggle every time I hear the bocce ball roll?

apology of the robo list #1

Dear Earthlings: We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill. We never meant to offend you...er, why don't you read the email?

Hey, now I know that my ONE composition student can enter because he is certainly under 21 (as long as he pays $25). Also, my friends under 30 can also enter their other competition, because I certainly can't. (I know, I've checked.)

santa's got a brand new bag

This is a quick note that Flight 710 to Cabo San Lucas will be performed TODAY at 3 PM (EST) as part of the Living Music Series in Lexington, Kentucky, along with new pieces by TR Berry and Danny Clay. I'm looking forward to hearing those premieres!

On a side note, I want to set the record straight: I did not rip off Stravinsky. I know a lot of people think that the beginning of this piece sounds like the "Rite of Spring." Nope. The tempo of "Sex Machine" and the tempo of the beginning of my piece is exactly the same. Maybe I should have the pianist count it off for us. Or recite the whole monologue.

And, here is another quick note: my composition student and his dad gave me a framed picture of a young James Brown. It's him pre-James Brown hair.

It's going in my office. I hope my other two officemates don't mind.

attack of the robo list #1

Here is a series I'm starting that highlights cold, heartless form letters that are sent to me via email. Obviously these are sent with no remorse, no research, and therefore used no human brains. Case study #1:

Wait...21 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER? Come on! I have less than one month left to bask in my "young composer" glory. As much as I like being carded now (and trust me, this doesn't happen as frequently as it used to), here I'm being carded in a bad way.

should i do it?

The other day I received an email from the Juventas Ensemble:

Yes, they have already rejected me. Of course, I don't remember what piece I sent them, and I have a feeling I accompanied my score with a (shudder!) MIDI mockup.

I do have a piece that was "influenced by non-classical genres," and I have a good recording. Should I? (Also, this will cost me $15.)

What's the saying? "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?" At least I can quote it.

save the princess! video

For those who missed it:

It seemed as though people had strong opinions about the project; it was a bit polarizing. Around the 1:40 mark, you hear a woman say, "That's Mario Kart...they put this EVERYWHERE....I'm serious!" Wow, she was not happy.

dance in 3D

This past Saturday I went to CCM's Dance in 3D concert, which premiered a new work called Automotive Passacaglia. The piece was choreographed by Jiang Qi and the music was written by Michael Fiday, one of my professors. (He supervised my pieces How to be a Deep Thinker in Los Angeles and part of Bullet Time.)

This was my favorite piece on the program. I don't think I've seen modern dance using toe shoes, but this added to the angular linear lines created by the choreography. (I know this now that I've taken a ballet class. It's all about the line.) Maybe there will be clips of this piece on YouTube and I can post this in the future?

In other news, the Los Angeles Ballet is now five years old. I'm sorry they weren't around when I was in LA.

what i learned from being an art student

(DISCLAIMER: I am not an art student. I realized this when I had problems getting into the building around 6 AM the other day when my crit was due. The building was locked, and my ID, which states that I'm a music student/instructor, could not get me into the building. Thank goodness there are architecture students who are there 24/7.)

My project "save the princess!" was generally a success. When I initially installed the project (at 6 AM!), you could faintly hear glitchy Super Mario Bros. sounds in the hallway. The sounds in the stairwells floated up and confused some students, and the sounds in the elevator made some of them giggle. Also throughout the day, I overheard some students whistling or humming the tunes subconsciously. Weird.

However, when I presented my project for critique, three of the stations were down! I initially thought it was a battery issue, but then one of my colleagues noticed that someone unplugged the speaker. And whoever did this unplugged ALL the speakers in the stairwells.

flight 710 to cabo san lucas preview

Flight 710 to Cabo San Lucas will be performed as part of the View from the Edge series. For a preview of the piece, listen here.



With Pethrus Gardborn, flute, Nicholas Photinos, cello, and Johanna Ballou, piano.