It has been quite an eventful past couple of weeks. One moment I’m camping in the desert with no cell service where the nearest camp neighbor is 300 yards away, and the next moment I’m in a crammed conference ballroom listening to some amazing percussion performances. Life is pretty wild.
Here’s the short version of what happened:
Flew from Vegas to Chicago (where my fam lives)
Drove my car to Indy, attended PASIC
Drove back up to Chicago, had a few days of fam time
Flew from Chicago to Dayton
Hung out in Dayton for 24 hrs and got to hear Wright State premiere my newest piece
Flew Dayton to Vegas and reunited with Erin & Harvey, and it was back to the vanlife
I just need to take a moment to express gratitude for all those who helped me in my travel experiences, whether it was giving me a ride or a place to stay, etc. I couldn’t have done it without all the help. So THANK YOU!! (You all know who you are.)
PASIC
This year at PASIC, my piece Through the Emerald Lens was included in the New Percussion Literature Session performed by the East Tennessee State University Percussion Ensemble. The piece had been pre-recorded in order to help with some logistical challenges, but I was still honored to have it included on the program alongside so many other incredible new compositions. About a week prior, I had watched ETSU’s PASIC Preview Concert livestream, and was really pleased with their performance- not to mention the time and effort it took for them to make such a stellar video recording:
Other PASIC highlights included:
-Being able to spend some short but quality time with old friends that I don’t get to see often.
-Putting faces to names of percussion directors and composers I’ve interacted with over the phone/email but hadn’t yet met in person.
-Seeing my former student, Emma Kieselhorst, perform not once but twice: as a member of the Collegiate All-Star Percussion Ensemble directed by She-e Wu, and in the collegiate keyboard solo competition in which she performed her marimba solo Merlin and finished in 5th Place.
-Attending a super engaging and informative clinic by my friend, Dr. Arin Levy of Enso Sounds, about musical sound baths. The music therapist in me was totally into this, and I’m not kidding when I say that this was one of the best PASIC clinics I’ve ever been to (PAS, can you have Arin in every year? Please?)
While at PASIC, I was grateful for a few directors who approached me to let me know that they had my pieces programmed on their fall percussion ensemble concerts. I was actually able to catch a few of these performances via livestreams. This was super special, and I really appreciated these directors for reaching out.
Thanks to Nathan Daughtrey, Mat Campbell, and all those with the C. Alan Publications team for all your support. Also I can’t wait to start digging into a new Mat Campbell piece that I purchased at PASIC 👀
And finally, in addition to all the PASIC excitement, I had a couple of chances to walk over to Lucas Oil Stadium for a quick visit with some of my marching clients and former colleagues and students.
Adrift a Luminous Sky
After PASIC, I flew to Dayton and got to hang out with the Wright State University Percussion Studio (my grad school alma mater) and hear them premiere my newest piece Adrift a Luminous Sky. I was lucky enough to sit in on their dress rehearsal, so I got to hear this incredible concert twice!
My former student whose parents the piece was dedicated to was able to attend the concert, which was really special. It was also great to see some other familiar faces in the audience during my brief visit.
Huge thanks to Jerry Noble and all those in Dayton who helped me get rides and have a place to stay. You know who you are and you are all the best ❤️
Turkey Leg Jam
You may have heard that the Saluting America’s Band Directors Band is back together this year for the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade. While I am not marching in the parade this time around, I was asked to write a cadence for the drumline.
It’s called Turkey Leg Jam and you can listen to it here! … get it? Turkey leg… drumstick… 🥁 🍗
(📸 Laura Bukosky & Melissa Fuentes)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Comments ()