If you haven't heard it already, here's a chance to hear a live performance of Osvaldo Golijov's incredible "Ainadamar" for free. It is preceded by two nice Ravel orchestral pieces. Terrific flute and contrabassoon work in "Mother Goose," and the end of "La Valse" is pretty fucking crazy. But "Ainadamar," which starts shortly past 1/3 of the way ( Read more... )

I peaked at about 220 or 225. Working on my own, I hit 205 in about 6 months ( Read more... )

The bassoon quartet "Bassooner or Later" at the Aspen Music Festival takes on my arrangement of Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" on YouTube ( Read more... )

I'm going to have to pull my calendar out to do an update because I can't remember the past month off hand. I guess I was sort of all over the place - Portland and Seattle mostly, with a week spent teaching in Wallowa Lake, OR. Now I'm back in Portland and I just started work. See you on June 2nd. No, seriously, this season shouldn't be as insanely ( Read more... )

This has been such a strange summer so far ( Read more... )

I was working on a string quartet arrangement tonight for an upcoming wedding. The song is John Lennon's "Real Love." I listened to his version first, which is very nice. The clients asked for the Regina Spektor version, which I also initially thought was very nice. Then, as I was working through it, little details kept popping out. Places in the ( Read more... )

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/20/60minutes/rooney/main662013.shtml

I agree that the "Pigs on Parade" in Downtown Seattle, for example, may not be as artistic as the Mona Lisa or Beethoven's 9th - but that type of vague comparison and system of judgment don't justify his argument whatsoever. Simplifying a complex subject down to a ridiculous ( Read more... )

Flipping past the "Capitol Fourth" - what a ridiculous arrangement of the National Anthem! Whole tone scales? The second verse sounds like the Theme from "Rocky," but with an opera singer. And the ending - how many half steps are we going to move up? Pretty tacky... I mean, I'm all for big, glamorous arrangements but this one was too much for me.

The performances in Corvallis and Astoria went generally well, and I had a great time. After Astoria, I headed up the Olympic Peninsula with J for some camping/hiking/etc. Although it was generally hazy, we still managed to get some amazing views, have fun and relax. Pictures will no doubt be on facebook at some point. One exceptional experience ( Read more... )

Rented a car and drove to Corvallis for a rehearsal last night. It was nice to drive a vehicle in good shape, enjoy the relaxing and uneventful Interstate (5), and listen to music. Rehearsal was fine, a fun piece by Martinů called La Revue de Cuisine. Another rehearsal on Wednesday, performance on Thursday. Then back to Astoria for the weekend for ( Read more... )