Coming Attractions

The next eleven months are going to be a hurricane of activity in these parts: with high hopes of finishing my PhD from Universitas Chicaginiensis by the end of Summer 2011 and a docket of intriguing projects, I fear no lack of excitement for the 2010-11 season.

Fresh off our collaboration from last year, marimbist-luminary Makoto Nakura has commissioned another piece, this one for marimba and choir, on texts of Walt Whitman. This project likewise will have dual premieres, one in NYC with Cantori New York (Saturday, May 7, 2011, 8:00pm at Church of the Holy Trinity) and another in Kyoto, Japan (details TBD).

And while I’m at it, I’ll also be completing a solo vibes commission for Melanie Sehman, gifted NYC percussionist and an old Chestnut Square neighbor of ours (the Sehmans were #422, the Bancks were #322, composer David Plylar was #522… do the math).

Of course if it’s PhD-finishing time, it’s time for my dissertation, which will premiere Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 3:00pm at Ganz Hall in downtown Chicago. The work, preliminarily titled Litany of the Sacred Heart (read more…) (for six strings, two clarinets and six voices), will premiere with Pacifica Quartet, members of eighth blackbird, and Schola Antiqua of Chicago, with maestro Cliff Colnot conducting. That’s going to be a big one…

And finally, looking to next season, expect a major new solo piano piece for Daniel Paul Horn, eminent Chicago-area pianist (and my old piano teacher!), who is commissioning the piece as part of a major professional development award he received from Wheaton College. The exact premiere dates are still TBD, but probably some time in Fall 2011.

So plenty to look forward to over the next year! In the midst of all the excitement, I hope to update the site more regularly, so check back often.