Looking ahead

The end of pandemic restrictions and the return to group singing are occupying my thoughts quite a lot lately, as I think they are occupying many folks' thoughts. I got my first vaccine shot a week ago and am planning choral events with medium confidence for late June and with high confidence for mid-October. It feels awfully good to be able to say that.

I'm very lucky to have had time to compose this past year, and to have had a wonderful teacher, Vince Peterson, to guide me in my composing process. I highly encourage anyone interested in his teaching to check out Vince's new project, Greenhouse Music, a venture aiming to reinvent conservatory-level music education for the 21st century. If you want to get serious about leveling up as a musician, but are turned off by the barriers to entry of a typical conservatory, I can think of nobody more passionate, more committed, or more qualified than Vince to help people like you.

In my own news for 2021, I have two new pieces for a cappella SATB choir up on SMP Press, both looking forward to the spring-of-love spirit that I hope will accompany our emergence from social distancing: Invitation to Love and Letabundus rediit. I am also working on a cantata for TTBB choir, soloists, and chamber orchestra, tentatively titled "Hakol Hevel (All Is Mere Breath)," which will serve as both my first "major" work and my definitive emotional statement on the extraordinary and difficult experiences of the past year. It is currently on track for a premiere sometime in the 2022-23 season, most likely in the early spring of 2023. Stay tuned for more details!