still working...

I'm still slogging away on my piece for Ankeny High School. I think it's going to be a blast to sing and hopefully I've done justice to the poetry. I'm on track for my Monday deadline (it's my hope that putting this on the internets will make me actually meet this deadline). Of course this really means Sunday is my last chance since Monday is a school day.

Last weekend I spent about 4 hours in St. Paul recording the score for a dance project that will premiere next week. Nicholas Lemme wrote the music (we collaborated in June 2006 when Spaghetti Western did a concert with the Singers...he played the mandolin part on my arrangement of the Irish folk tune Nell Flaherty's Drake) and Vanessa Voskui did the brilliant choreography.


















Having never worked with dancers before I will just say that it was an eye-opening experience to say the least. Although both aspects of the project (music and dance) are interesting on their own, it is the synergy of the 2 that makes it interesting. If I can I'm going to try and make it to the performance.

In other news it turns out that I got a bump from Minnesota Public Radio yesterday when they played a performance of my Color Madrigals, vol. 1 around 3:30 or so. Thanks to Matthew Culloton for commissioning them and The Singers: MN Choral Artists for singing the bejeezus out of them. We'll finish off the whole set with the third volume in January to celebrate the 150th anniversary of my adopted state. Go Minnesota!