September
Premiered in September, this is a piece for baroque orchestra with two sopranos. The orchestra includes the usual component of harpsichord and strings, but also two baroque flutes, tenor recorder, and chalumeau. The poem is by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
Lonesome Whistle
The video below is of Sarah Brady performing in the Berlin Chapel at Brandeis University. The video was shot and produced by my old friend Charles Merzbacher, who I met at the Governor’s School of North Carolina in 1974.
Hard Weather Makes Good Wood
Hear a free sample of the opening 4 minutes of the title track, for string quartet and tape. (Listen to the whole piece on Spotify.)
The Heart Poems song 5
A track from my CD Hard Weather Makes Good Wood, which includes the entire 7-song cycle called The Heart Poems. Text is by Ruth Montgomery, my mother-in-law, who was recovering from open-heart surgery when she created the poems. Maria Jette is the soprano, with Susan Billmeyer on piano. Hear more samples, purchase individual tracks here. (Listen to the whole piece on Spotify.)
Rising Blue I
Another track from my CD Hard Weather Makes Good Wood, this one for violin and tape. Troy Gardner is the violinist. An interlude and second large section which complete the piece are not included in this sample. Hear more samples, purchase individual tracks here. (Listen to the whole piece on Spotify.)
Lecture on Hard Weather Makes Good Wood delivered at Davidson College on March 18, 2003.
(Windows Media Video)
part one
part two
In March, 2003, just after the CD Hard Weather Makes Good Wood was released, I gave a talk at Davidson College on the piece for string quartet which lends its title to the CD. Michael Shaffer of College 500 came up from Savannah, GA, and recorded the lecture. Many thanks to College 500 for keeping the video online.
Wright Songs
I’ve posted one song out of four from a set entitled Wright Songs. The title gives credit to the poet whose work I set, Charles Wright. The poem is Anniversary, one of my favorites.
Notes and Shockwave movie for In God We Trust
In early 2000, I collaborated with a group of people from other disciplines (visual art, theater, dance) to create an evening-length production for which I produced an electronic score. The notes for the production are found at the link above, along with a Shockwave movie using a fragment of the score with some very interesting visuals. Here’s a composite video made from the production:
Conquest of Cold
The Redline Brass Quintet, which commissioned and premiered Conquest of Cold, has graciously allowed me to post the recording of the premiere performance for all to hear.
TTC #12: a realization in sound of Tao Te Ching poem 12
Hear a performance of the piece, peruse the score. A version of the poem I put together as a setting for treble choir.
