blue and orange

I finished the final "volume" of my Color Madrigals back in November and, last Monday, got the chance to hear both of them. They are the 6th and 7th pieces that The Singers have commissioned since 2004. Since the concert is in honor of Minnesota's 150th birthday, my little pieces (they both barely clock in at 3 minutes) will be hobnobbing with some really great stuff by Dominick Argento, Libby Larsen, Stephen Paulus and F. Melius Christiansen (to name but a few). There are also two other premieres by area composers Tim Takach and Craig Carnahan so you might say that, in terms of Minnesota's choral "footprint," it's an embarrassment of riches. The Land of 10,000 Choral Composers, so to speak.

I caught conductor Matthew Culloton right as he was about to take off. He flew right through the roof the instant after I snapped this picture. It was impressive.













Good company on the rehearsal schedule. All MN composers.













It's always nice to hear this choir perform. Their artistry is near the top of the field and, despite the fact that I've been working with this ensemble for 4 years now, they never fail to give convincing performances of anything I've ever put in front of them. It's a relationship that I hope every composer experiences in their lifetime.

More to come on these pieces. They're going to record them at Minnesota Public Radio on Monday and I'll be there to do some interviewings.