(Oh yes, I’m totally ripping off Design Mom’s Substack for these future blog posts. What can I say? She’s my hero, and I want to be her when I grow up.)
Personal Update
Happy Memorial Day, Citizens of the Universe. I was supposed to go over to a friend’s house for some good times and barbeque, but alas, we have a rain delay. I was going to bring over a huge casserole of Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding, but instead, I distributed the component parts into mason jars to freeze while I composed two dainty servings for tonight.
Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. Here’s what I’ve been doing for the last couple of weeks.
OMFG I finally finished my piece for the U.S. Navy Band. It is called Protector of the East Sea. It’s possible some Japanese won’t like this title, but I am Korean after all.
Here’s a MIDI mockup of the work.
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I went to see The Hours again, but this time, Kevin Puts revised his work by tightening up the orchestration. However, the dancers are still distracting. This time, I accompanied some Lehman College students, and for some, it was their first opera. (Spoiler alert: when Richard falls out the window of his umpteenth-story apartment, the audience audibly gasped, whereas the student next to me muttered, “Oh shit.” That my friends, is an appropriate reaction.)
I attended Reina Hondo’s recital. Congrats, girl!
I saw the closing night performance of El Niño at the Met. The last time I saw this oratorio, I was about to graduate college and was absolutely transfixed by the three countertenors on stage. (By the way, shout out to grad-school friend Eric Jurenas, who was one of the countertenors in this production.) Now as an opera, it’s the most visually stunning and beautiful production I have ever seen. However, during this viewing, I wondered during the second act if this was the beginning of the end for John Adams since he decided to start writing his own librettos.
The Lehman Percussion ensemble had their Afro-Caribbean Celebration.
Huge, huge congrats to my former professor and current pal composer Michael Fiday, for receiving an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Husband™ and I were guests at that ceremony (which included a miniature performance of Laurie Anderson using a pillow speaker as a talk box. I know she has done this before, but let me tell you—the moment was magical). I also ran into my Fairy Godmother. That was fun.
The Mets lost to the Giants. Boooooooo.
Current Projects
My current project is recovering, thank you very much. I will say that I have many projects in the pipeline, and I hope to share a video of a work in progress in the next week or two.
What I’m Reading
Did you know you can get rid of junk results on Google? Thanks to Lexi Temple, she directed her friends to this website Turn Off Google AI Overview
Set "Web" as Default. Seriously, it’s worth it folks.
A Black rising star lost his elite orchestra job. He won’t go quietly.
Josh Jones thought the Kansas City Symphony dismissed him unjustly — and took his complaints public. Supporters say he’s exposing an antiquated system that thwarts promising young talent.
Richard Sherman, Songwriter of Many Spoonfuls of Sugar, Dies at 95.
He and his brother, Robert, teamed up to write the songs for “Mary Poppins” and other Disney classics. They also gave the world “It’s a Small World (After All).” I have to admit that Richard and Robert Sherman completely shaped my childhood. In fact, they probably taught me how to scat.
What I’m Listening To
I’ve heard Arirang 아리랑 my entire life. And while I was a child, I may have rolled my eyes a few times during this tune because I heard it millions of times. Now that I’m older, I get teary-eyed. My friend and Korean-American soldier Esther Kang sang and produced this arrangement. She writes on her Facebook,
“What a team. Huge honor to produce and sing in Dan Campolieta’s new arrangement of “Shin Arirang” with Korean American soldiers from The United States Army Band. So grateful for the immense hard work behind the scenes from our PAO team, our amazing music team, and all of the heart that went into this passion project honoring our Korean heritage.
This song is dedicated to my mom and dad. They sacrificed so much when they chose to emigrate to America. Proud to be their daughter and proud to be a Korean American soldier.”
Shopping
Speaking of Korea, I bought my first hanbok 한복 to wear at my WASBE world premiere. For the record, this is not the first time I’ve worn one, and the one I purchased has a modern flair. I love it so much.
Lately on the YouTubes
Here’s David Kehler conducting the Atlanta Wind Symphony performance on March 19, 2023, of Lichtweg/Lightway. Thanks, David!
That’s it for now. Thanks for listening. <3
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