New developments

First, what's already happened: the three unaccompanied tenor duets were premiered unceremoniously but successfully last spring. I'm very glad to have performed them and to have had such a high-quality singing partner. It really was a lot of fun, though I'd like to sharpen them and give a better performance sometime.

Now, at last, I've begun working on a practical minimalist piece that is to be sung outdoors while walking to Crystal Lake, across its frozen water, and to the island. I am scoring it for a male quartet (a cappella, of course) and am hoping to have it performed in January sometime. I've been thinking about this composition, or perhaps just the act of performing it, for several years and am very anxious to get it off the ground. This is very much intended to be music for the performers' sake and for fleeting audiences only.

In non-practical minimalist news, I am working on a composition for symphonic wind ensemble that will be premiered in February. What an exciting development! It's my first composition for this medium, I'll be using some fun devices that I've been eager to whip out since 2006. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to have such a work performed.

Marching ahead

Practical minimalism, as I am terming it, may make its debut this spring. I'm VERY excited! My three unaccompanied tenor duets, as well as an unaccompanied tenor-bass duet, are now in the rehearsal stage. At last, the first bits of a dream are starting to approach reality.

The prairie cantata, which is not a practical minimalist piece, is also making steady progress. With most of the other choral material finished, I am now working on the most substantial movement and parts of the instrumental interludes before and during this movement. It's all finally taking shape, and for this reason (among others), I can't wait for May to arrive.