matt albert leaving eighth blackbird

I found out last night via Chris Richardson that Matt Albert is leaving eighth blackbird; Yvonne Lam will be his replacement.

I know this was a shocker to me a few of my friends, but I understand his decision. As he stated in The Washington Post,

“I just want to find new ways of loving what I’m doing,” he says, adding, “I want to be differently inspired now.”

Well Matt, you will surely be missed, but I'm sure I'll see you around. I will always remember the first time I saw you perform with the group in 2003 (after Stephen Hartke insisted that I check you guys out), hearing you guys perform at that short-lived composer/performer college workshop at UC Davis that same year, and spending time with you this past summer in Switzerland.

Which, by the way, if any of my readers missed his blog post entitled "How Loud Is Loud?", you should read it immediately. I am so thankful Matt posted his non-decibel description of dynamics; I've now used this guide multiple times when composing music. (And...I was in the middle of stuffing my face at lunchtime when Matt discussed this at Music10, so I wasn't able to take notes.)