The Angel Arrives!

Balance Campaign plus Carolyn Shaffer are hard at work to bring you my new setting of William Blake’s The Angel this Wednesday night!

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 7:30 pm, Ward Hall Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, free

New Choral Piece Sweet Stillness

2 Upcoming Local DC Performances Of My Music

The Angel for voice and chamber ensemble from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Carol Shaffer, Mezzo-Soprano, and Balance Campaign

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 7:30 pm, Ward Hall Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, free

Sweet Stillness for soloists, mixed choir, and ensemble on texts by Barthold Heinrich Brockes and Joel Phillip Friedman

Catholic University Orchestra and Concert Choir, Noel Nascimento, conductor

Saturday, April 27 2024 at 7:30 pm,  The Hartke Theatre 3801 Harewood Rd. NE, Washington, DC, free (reservations suggested)

Newsletter

A Special Occasion & Pas de Deux in the New York Times

My cello-piano piece Pas de Deux returns to NYC!

Pas de Deux is a special piece created under unusual circumstances. Initially it was commissioned by a dear friend to celebrate a her spouse’s birthday. It was revised and expanded, reforged even, under the dark shadows cast by 9/11. And now? Performed at a beautiful private ceremony marking the remarriage of these two dear and old friends, Pam and Steve, all the more in love and wiser from the passage of life and time. There is a strong narrative arc to the piece.  It is in one movement divided into four sections: I. Prologue; II. Youth; III. The Limits of Life, a. Dialogue and b. How Time Ends; and IV. Pas de Deux. One of the wonders of art is how the actual notes don’t change over time, we do. Our current dark time creates new resonates and the music seems shine even brighter. Pas de Deux is a demanding piece for performers requiring not only superb technique, but, more importantly, players willing and able to plumb its emotional heights and depths. Its strong narrative arc interpretively demands much from its performers.  It is in one movement divided into four sections: I. Prologue; II. Youth; III. The Limits of Life, a. Dialogue and b. How Time Ends; and IV. Pas de Deux. I am so happy to have found cellist Tommy Mesa and pianist Yoon Lee who rose to the work’s challenges, especially the emotions required to make sense of, and complete this narrative arc. Its subject matter is beautiful and intense, beautifully intense. It’s a big, bold piece that I am proud to say wears its heart on its sleeve. It takes special performers to pull that off, and these two are special. We all felt transformed and exhilarated by the experience. Pam and Steve were not the only ones in tears by the end. As a composer these are the moments that make all the work worthwhile. I can’t wait until we all go through this together, again. (Photo L-R: Jenny Bilfield, cellist Tommy Mesa, pianist Yoon Lee, composer Joel Phillip Friedman, sound engineer Paul Zinman)

New Stanford Beatles Course February 14th: The White Album!

It wouldn’t be a new year without a new Beatles course! Indeed, I return to Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program, where I have taught since 2008, with Music 48 The Beatles (AKA “The White Album”) starting February 14th. From Rishikesh to the last take of Julia, this 4-session mini course will be live online, Wednesday evenings, which means the best of all possible worlds. Watch it live with wonderful audio and attend the post-class Q&A. Missed something in class? Watch it again later at your convenience. Forgot you had that trip planned making you miss the 3rd class? Don’t worry, watch it later upon your return. If you are registered for the class, you have unlimited access to class videos until the end of the quarter. Wait, isn’t February 14th Valentine’s Day? Why, yes it is. It makes a great gift for your Valentine, even if you are registering for yourself. You can register HERE. “A splendid time is guaranteed for all.”

Pas de Deux returns!

A “long time ago” I had the lovely and unusual experience of having a dear friend, Pam, commission me to write a surprise birthday present for her husband Steve. Pam and I sat and discussed ideas for the narrative, the different stages a deep relationship undergoes, and how even the passage of time seems altered by our perceptions of love. The large, one-movement piece is divided into 4 sections: I. Prologue; II. Youth; III. The Limits of Life, a. Dialogue and b. How Time Ends; and IV. Pas de Deux. My wife and I never knew two people as loving and committed as Pam and Steve, so were incredibly shocked when they separated much later. WHAT? But, lo and behold! Pam recently contacted me to say that she and Steve were not only remarrying, but they wanted to mark the occasion with a private performance of their piece: Pas de Deux. Several terrific cellists – Semyon Fridman, Maria Kitsopoulos, and Fred Sherry – have performed the cello part in the past. Now a new generation of stellar artists are stepping up: Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, Thomas Mesa (and pianist Yoon Lee). Pas de Deux is a tour de force, a virtuosic work. I’m so thrilled that it will be revived for the people who inspired it, and will be part of their private ceremony and concert in New York City on January 12, 2024. Contact me for score purchase.

New vocal setting of Blake’s “The Angel”

I’ll be our joining our composition students and other Catholic Univeristy faculty writing a joint song cycle setting of excerpts from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience for talented CUA singers (in my case Carolyn Shaffer) and the awesome ensemble-in-residence Balance Campaign. My friend and colleague Stephen Gorbos and impresario thought up this wonderful project. What was I assigned? The Angel! Mmmm…The song is done and it’s fun. Let’s see where this goes. See you there on April 24, 2024!

Workshop at LaMama!

I’m pleased to collaborate once more with my favorite writers/directors/master puppeteers at Evolve Puppets NYC on our new hybrid multi-media piece They Were Called Tress as part of this year’s LaMama’s Jumpstart Workshop. It’s a great start to a beautiful, dark, slightly twisted, and poignant piece about our petroleum & plasticized world bereft of all that is green from the climate change cataclysm and the social unrest that results. The score incorporates the avant-garde, techno-rock, and even a bit of epic James Bond. Really? Yeah. So watch this space for further developments. You can listen to cues HERE.

Percy & Heathcliff: Parrot podcast stars who are ready for their closeup

If you know Percy & Heathcliff, it was inevitable that our two African parrots would become multimedia stars featured in Johanna Siegmann’s glorious new book In Good COMPANY (Notable People with their Pets), available at all your favorite bookstores, and Tracie Hotchner’s delightful and informative podcast series Exotic Pets™ “An African Gray Keeps The Baby At Bay” (Ep. 221) available on all your favorite podcast platforms (Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible).