started...finally! YEE-HAW!

After talking about it for a long time (over 4 months ago, to be exact), I'm happy to report that I've finally started writing We, The Boys. Today I wrote the pseudo-quartet between Howard (the old man at the end of his life), Carl (the "man's man" football-watching dude), Robby (the "thoughtful guy") and James (the "boyfriend-about-to-guiltily-leave-his-terminally-ill-girlfriend"). Holy crap, it felt good.

I did a fairly heavy singer/songwriter stint after I finished my latest "classical" piece in early November, so it was incredibly nice to start work on something like this. I did a ton of research during November/December last year and it seemed like a great opportunity.

This is one of those dream projects that composers start in on only a few times in their life so I really, really hope I finish it. My "deadline" for getting everything into manuscript is June 10 (for a grant) but I can push it as far as September if I disregard that and just want to get it done (grants come and go...a hiatus for the first time in 5 years doesn't).

Here's a little sample. The rehearsal piano/chamber orchestra part is in-my-head-and-to-be-fleshed-out-at-a-later-date. It's a baritone/tenor dialogue that switches scenes and results in a tenor/tenor duet into the heights above the staff.

It's such a powerful script. I really hope I can do justice to it. Starting out on something like this is incredibly humbling and exhilarating at the same time.